Second Amendment Foundation

BELLEVUE, WA --(Ammoland.com)- The Second Amendment Foundation today announced that GunBroker.com has joined SAF’s new corporate sponsorship program at the Bronze level, allying themselves with SAF in the 2012 battle to win back firearms rights one lawsuit at a time.

By their generous sponsorship, GunBroker.com demonstrates their strong support of the Second Amendment Foundation and SAF’s on-going efforts in defense of firearms civil rights. www.gunbroker.com

“The support of GunBroker.com for our mission to recognize and restore individual gun rights one lawsuit at a time leaves all of us at the Second Amendment Foundation deeply grateful. It is particularly important to offer special recognition to pioneering entrepreneurs such as GunBroker president Steve Urvan and their team when they have the courage and conviction to stand up for their principles in a concrete fashion,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb.

“The sponsorship commitment by GunBroker.com begins just as SAF is working harder than ever with over twenty five active lawsuits, and potentially thirty by the end of 2012,” Gottlieb added. “Most SAF members and supporters make contributions in the $10 to $25 range, and the substantial additional support of GunBroker.com makes a major difference in our efforts to win back firearms freedoms.”

“Each SAF triumph over unconstitutional and unreasonable restrictions on firearms rights is a building block towards fully restoring firearms freedoms,” Gottlieb continued.

GunBroker

Gottlieb urged supporters of the Second Amendment Foundation and all persons concerned about individual firearms freedoms to support GunBroker.com and other organizations that support Second Amendment rights.

“It is easy to talk the talk. Not everybody has the courage to walk the walk,” concluded Gottlieb. “GunBroker.com has shown that courage with deeds and dollars in becoming a sponsor of the Second Amendment Foundation.”

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. In addition to the landmark McDonald v. Chicago Supreme Court Case, SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; New Orleans; Chicago and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and numerous amicus briefs holding the Second Amendment as an individual right .

Second Amendment Foundation

BELLEVUE, WA --(Ammoland.com)- The Second Amendment Foundation immediately filed an appeal following dismissal of its challenge to Illinois statutes that prohibit the carrying of loaded firearms outside the home for personal protection in the case of Moore v. Madigan.

The case is named for individual plaintiff Michael Moore, and defendant Lisa Madigan in her capacity as Illinois Attorney General. Joining Moore and SAF in the case are Illinois Carry, and three other private citizens, Charles Hooks, Peggy Fechter and Jon Maier.

The complaint was dismissed by Federal District Judge Sue E. Meyerscough, an Obama administration appointee who formerly served on the Illinois State Appellate Court.

In her ruling, Judge Meyerscough stated, “This Court finds that the Illinois Unlawful Use of Weapons’ and Aggravated Unlawful Use of a Weapon’ statutes do not violate Plaintiffs’ Second Amendment rights. The United States Supreme Court and the Seventh Circuit have recognized only a Second Amendment core individual right to bear arms inside the home. Further, even if this Court recognized a Second Amendment right to bear arms outside of the home and an interference with that right, the statutes nonetheless survive constitutional scrutiny.”

In response, SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb suggested the judge’s ruling defies common sense.

“We look forward to winning this important case on appeal even if it means going back to the United States Supreme Court for a third time,” Gottlieb stated. “The Second Amendment does not say, the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed except outside your home or that it only applies inside your house. We don’t check our constitutional rights at the front door.”

Judge Myerscough denied SAF and its co-plaintiffs a preliminary injunction against two laws in Illinois that make it a crime to carry loaded firearms outside the home for personal protection. Instead, she supported the state’s motion to dismiss the case.

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. In addition to the landmark McDonald v. Chicago Supreme Court Case, SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; New Orleans; Chicago and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and numerous amicus briefs holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.

Crossbreedholsters.com

BELLEVUE, WA --(Ammoland.com)- The Second Amendment Foundation today announced that Crossbreed Holsters has joined SAF’s new corporate sponsorship program at the Bronze level.

Crossbreed Holsters shows their sincere support of our Second Amendment rights in joining the Second Amendment Foundation in our battle to restore firearms civil rights one lawsuit at a time.

SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb announced the sponsorship today, noting the generous support of SAF by Crossbreed Holsters.

“We at the Second Amendment Foundation are truly grateful for the support of Crossbreed Holsters and their leadership team for SAF’s mission of recognizing and restoring the gun rights of private individuals one lawsuit at a time. I particularly want to thank Crossbreed Holsters owner and founder Mark Craighead for his generosity in time and dollars.” said Gottlieb.

“The Second Amendment Foundation currently has over twenty active lawsuits in support of firearms rights with every expectation that the number will surge to thirty by years end. The generous support of Crossbreed Holsters and our other sponsors combine with the donations of hundreds of thousands of individual members and supporters to make it possible for us to do this vital work, and as one of the first members of the new SAF Corporate Sponsor program, Crossbreed helps us take a major step forward.” Gottlieb added.

“When the Second Amendment Foundation defeats unconstitutional and unreasonable restrictions on firearms rights, we lay the foundation to pry loose the next layer of fossilized fear, misinformation, bigotry and corruption that – distilled – form the toxic brew that make up our nation’s gun-grabbing laws.” said Gottlieb.

Second Amendment Foundation

Gottlieb urged SAF supporters and all persons concerned about individual firearms freedoms to support Crossbreed Holsters and other organizations that support their Second Amendment rights.”There exist vital junctures that sooner or later demand every group, cause, and person to take a stand – not merely proclaiming their view, but taking concrete action to support it. We are pleased and grateful to note that Mark Craighead and Crossbreed Holsters are among those with the courage and fortitude to do so with their pioneering support of the Second Amendment Foundation Corporate Sponsorship Program.” stated Gottlieb.

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. In addition to the landmark McDonald v. Chicago Supreme Court Case, SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; New Orleans; Chicago and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and numerous amicus briefs holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.

Second Amendment Foundation

BELLEVUE, WA --(Ammoland.com)- The Second Amendment Foundation today announced that North American Arms joined the SAF’s new corporate sponsorship program at the Bronze level.

North American Arms, a longtime supporter of both the Second Amendment Foundation and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms with this new offer of support again shows their solid support of the Second Amendment Foundation and SAF’s on-going efforts in defense of firearms civil rights.

North American Arms

SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb announced the sponsorship today, noting the many years of support from North American Arms of the SAF and its important past and ongoing accomplishments.

“I am deeply grateful for the generous support and encouragement that SAF has historically received from North American Arms for our efforts to recognize and restore fundamental individual firearms rights, and want to recognize both North American Arms President Sandy Chisholm and all the members of the North American Arms team past and present that have made the support of North American Arms at this level possible.” said Gottlieb.

“North American Arms enhanced support arrives at a vital moment.” Gottlieb added. “Most SAF members and supporters make contributions in the $10 to $25 range, and North American Arms substantial additional support as a sponsor makes a major difference in our efforts to win back our firearms freedoms one lawsuit at a time.”

“Even as SAF triumphs over one unconstitutional and unreasonable restriction on firearms rights after another, our very triumphs expose yet further depredations on individual liberty that make up a century old legacy of illegitimate gun control laws layered one upon another and motivated by fear, irrationality, bigotry and corruption.” Gottlieb continued.

Gottlieb urged SAF supporters and all persons concerned about individual firearms freedoms to support North American Arms and other organizations that support their Second Amendment rights.

“For every movement, cause and person there are critical times when one MUST stand up and be counted,” Gottlieb said, restating a common theme. “North American Arms has repeatedly stood side by side with the Second Amendment Foundation in the fight for individual firearms rights, and we are forever indebted for their support and their unwavering dedication to the Second Amendment.”

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. In addition to the landmark McDonald v. Chicago Supreme Court Case, SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; New Orleans; Chicago and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and numerous amicus briefs holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.

Second Amendment Foundation

BELLEVUE, WA --(Ammoland.com)- When Meredith Graves of Tennessee traveled to New York for a job interview last month and was ensnared by New York’s restrictive gun laws, it wasn’t enough that she may face criminal charges for being honest, Mayor Michael Bloomberg had to sully her reputation by alleging she possessed cocaine.

The Second Amendment Foundation, upon reviewing a video of the mayor’s remarks, called Bloomberg’s comment “despicable.”

“What is the difference between a New York street thug stealing a lady’s purse,” asked SAF Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb, “and Bloomberg, who publicly stole Ms. Graves’ reputation?”

Licensed to carry in her home state, Graves was with her husband when they visited the Ground Zero memorial. She had a small pistol in her purse, when she asked where to check the firearm, she was arrested. At a subsequent press conference, Bloomberg sarcastically told a reporter, “Let’s assume that she didn’t get arrested for carrying a gun. She probably would have gotten arrested for the cocaine that was in her pocket.”

But the substance was not cocaine, Gottlieb noted. It was powdered aspirin, a common remedy for headaches. During a subsequent press conference, Bloomberg even admitted authorities were not sure what the powder was, stating “We just couldn’t identify it.”

“I am sick and tired of Bloomberg demonizing gun owners,” Gottlieb stated. “Any politician that would get up in front of a microphone and outright lie to the media about an innocent victim of his Draconian firearms policies is unworthy of holding public office.”

“Every mayor who belongs to Bloomberg’s anti-gun-rights Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition should be embarrassed by his remarks and seriously reconsider their membership in his organization,” he continued. “The only thing worse than Bloomberg’s New York gun laws is Bloomberg himself. If Bloomberg ever had any credibility at all it no longer exists. His deliberate slander of Meredith Graves is reprehensible, and he should be ashamed.”

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. In addition to the landmark McDonald v. Chicago Supreme Court Case, SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; New Orleans; Chicago and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and numerous amicus briefs holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.

SAF & ANJRPC Will Appeal New Jersey Right-To-Carry Ruling

Second Amendment Foundation

BELLEVUE, WA --(Ammoland.com)- The Second Amendment Foundation and Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs will appeal a federal judge’s ruling Friday that “the Second Amendment does not include a general right to carry handguns outside the home.”

Federal Judge William H. Walls, a Clinton appointee, dismissed a case filed by both organizations challenging New Jersey’s handgun carry laws, which have all but eliminated the right to self-defense with a firearm outside the home.

“The Second Amendment Foundation and ANJRPC are prepared to take this case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where SAF has already won a landmark case defending the rights of gun owners,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb.

In upholding the New Jersey law, which effectively denies the right to carry a firearm for self-defense outside the home, Judge Walls wrote “the protection of citizens from potentially lethal force is compelling.”

“The judge has it backwards,” said ANJRPC President Scott Bach. “If he really cared about protecting citizens from lethal force, he wouldn’t be interfering with their constitutional right to defend themselves against violent criminals. Ironically, the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly held that the police owe no duty to protect individual citizens, so you’re on your own when you step outside your home. This decision wrongly demonizes those who want to take responsibility for their own safety and turns all but a privileged few into helpless victims.”

Particularly disturbing to Gottlieb was Judge Walls’ comment, “The Supreme Court has found limitations on the scope of a constitutional right outside the home in the First Amendment context, recognizing a right to privately possess obscene materials in the home but allowing the states broad power to regulate obscenity outside the home.”

“He appears to suggest the right to keep and bear arms is an obscenity,” Gottlieb said. “I wonder how that view might square with Thomas Jefferson or James Madison.”

Judge Walls’ decision sets the stage for appeals which could bring this case to the U.S. Supreme Court as early as next year. The case was filed in late 2010 by ANJRPC, SAF and six individual plaintiffs, challenging New Jersey’s “justifiable need” standard for issuance of handgun carry permits, which is nearly an impossible standard to meet.

Plaintiffs believe that requiring a showing of “need” to exercise a fundamental right is unconstitutional.

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. In addition to the landmark McDonald v. Chicago Supreme Court Case, SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; New Orleans; Chicago and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and numerous amicus briefs holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.

Second Amendment Foundation

BELLEVUE, WA --(Ammoland.com)- The Second Amendment Foundation has joined the Calguns Foundation and three California citizens in a federal lawsuit against the California Department of Justice and Attorney General Kamala Harris, challenging the state’s requirement that gun owners wait at least ten days before taking possession of an additional firearm.

The case is known as Jeff Silvester et.al. v Kamala Harris, et.al.

“We’ve joined in this lawsuit because it makes no sense for California to require a gun owner who already possesses a firearm from buying another one within a few days,” said SAF Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb. “We recall what Dr. Martin Luther King said, that A right delayed is a right denied’.”

“Laws that infringe on the right to purchase arms have to be more than just merely rational and must directly serve important governmental interests,” added Gene Hoffman, chairman of the Calguns Foundation. “Here, the law is not just irrational but actually contradictory. We filed this case right before Christmas in the hopes that, by next Christmas, gun owners will not suffer this continuing infringement on their right to acquire firearms.”

“The State has absolutely no reason to infringe the rights of California gun owners who already possess firearms when they buy another one,” said attorney Jason Davis who is representing the plaintiffs.

California currently requires the registration of handguns in California. And, beginning January 2014, it will also require the registration of all newly-purchased rifles and shotguns. Notably, California keeps a current database of all residents who are prohibited by state or federal law from owning or possessing firearms. Individual plaintiffs Jeff Silvester, Michael Poeschl, and Brandon Combs each have firearms registered with the State of California. Mr. Combs and Mr. Silvester also have firearms licenses from the State that constitute ongoing background checks.

“In just about every other state in the U.S., I as a law-abiding gun owner could walk in and, after passing an instant national background check, walk out with a firearm to defend myself in my home,” Poeschl said. “What’s really frustrating is that California is one of the very few states that forces gun owners to register all handguns that they buy. If the State’s database saying that I already lawfully own a gun isn’t proof that I don’t need a cooling-off’ period, then what is?”

“I have a license to carry a loaded firearm across the State,” Silvester noted. “It is ridiculous that I have to wait another 10 days to pick up a new firearm when I’m standing there in the gun store lawfully carrying one the whole time.”

“As a collector, I submitted to a Live Scan background check and obtained a Certificate of Eligibility to Possess Firearms from the State of California at my own expense,” added Combs. “In the Internet era, where every California gun dealer has a computer connected directly to the State’s databases, there is no logical reason to force me to wait 10 days and make another trip simply because California doesn’t want to acknowledge the Certificate that it issued to me. I have registered guns, and I have the State telling me that I can possess guns, but for some reason I can’t exercise my constitutionally protected rights for another ten days? That’s insane.”

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. In addition to the landmark McDonald v. Chicago Supreme Court Case, SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; New Orleans; Chicago and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and numerous amicus briefs holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.

Second Amendment Foundation

BELLEVUE, WA --(Ammoland.com)- A federal judge has granted a preliminary injunction against enforcement by the City of Omaha, NE of an ordinance that prohibits legal non-citizens from registering handguns in the city, in a case brought by the Second Amendment Foundation, the Nebraska Firearms Owners Association and Armando Pliego Gonzalez.

The order was granted by U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon while the court considers whether the registration ban for legal immigrants is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment.

“We’re delighted with the judge’s order,” said SAF Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb. “Mr. Pliego has been a legal permanent resident since 2008, and he jumped through all of the legal hoops to legally purchase a handgun to protect his family after his home was invaded and robbed in 2010.”

As it turns out, he noted, the city is currently reviewing its ordinance with an eye on amending it to allow legal immigrants to register handguns. According to the Omaha World Herald, the proposed changes have the support of Omaha Police Chief Alex Hayes, who was named as a defendant in the lawsuit, along with Mayor Jim Suttle and the city.

“We are encouraged at these developments,” Gottlieb stated. “We had a similar experience with a state law in Washington that was changed following a SAF legal action. We will oppose such discriminatory laws and regulations wherever we find them.

“Pliego Gonzalez and his wife are both legal permanent residents, and good members of the community,” he noted. “The couple has four children. It is simply wrong when a local regulation stands in the way of someone’s exercise of a constitutionally-protected, fundamental civil right, especially when the safety of his family is at stake.”

Plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Bernie Glaser of Lincoln, and David Sigale of Glen Ellyn, IL.

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. In addition to the landmark McDonald v. Chicago Supreme Court Case, SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; New Orleans; Chicago and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and numerous amicus briefs holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.

Second Amendment Foundation

BELLEVUE, WA --(Ammoland.com)- The Second Amendment Foundation has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of California’s ban on so-called “assault weapons,” claiming that the statute is “vague and ambiguous” in its definition of assault weapons, leading to the arrest of a California man on two different occasions.

SAF is joined in the lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, by the CalGuns Foundation and Brendan John Richards, an honorably-discharged Marine and Iraq war veteran, who was arrested and jailed in May 2010 and August 2011. On both occasions, charges against Richards were dismissed when it was determined that he had not violated the law because firearms in his possession on both occasions were not “assault weapons” as defined by California law. They are represented by attorneys Donald Kilmer of San Jose and Jason A. Davis of Mission Viejo.

Named as defendants in the lawsuit are California Attorney General Kamala Harris, the California Department of Justice, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office and Deputy Greg Myers.

“It’s an insult to be arrested once for violating a law that is so vague and ambiguous that law enforcement officers cannot tell the difference between what is and what is not a legal firearm under this statute,” said SAF Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb, “but to be arrested and jailed twice for the same offense is an outrage. Brendan Richards’ dilemma is a textbook example of why the California statute should be nullified.

“On both occasions,” he continued, “Mr. Richards was jailed and had to post non-refundable bail fees. He lost work due to his incarcerations. In both cases, the same Senior Criminalist John Yount issued reports that the firearms in Richards’ possession were not assault weapons’ under California law. Mr. Richards now has a reasonable fear that his exercise of his fundamental Second Amendment rights will result in more wrongful arrests. We’re delighted to step in, with the CalGuns Foundation, on his behalf.

“This nonsense has to stop,” Gottlieb stated, “and the only way to insure that is to show California’s assault weapon statutes and regulations are unconstitutionally vague and ambiguous. Brendan Richards is not the only citizen faced with this kind of harassment under color of law.”

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. In addition to the landmark McDonald v. Chicago Supreme Court Case, SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; New Orleans; Chicago and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and numerous amicus briefs holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.

Second Amendment Foundation

BELLEVUE, WA --(Ammoland.com)- The Washington State Court of Appeals for Division 1 today unanimously upheld a 2010 King County Superior Court ruling against the City of Seattle’s ban on firearms in city parks in a lawsuit originally brought by the Second Amendment Foundation, other gun rights groups and five individual plaintiffs.

SAF Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb said he had always been confident that the Appeals Court would rule “in favor of the law and against the attempt by Seattle to dance around it.”

“We told former Mayor Greg Nickels he was wrong,” Gottlieb said, “and we have reminded the city under Mayor Mike McGinn that it was wrong, and now the Appeals Court has confirmed our position.”

SAF was joined in the lawsuit by the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, the National Rifle Association and Washington Arms Collectors.

Writing for the Court, Presiding Chief Judge Ann Schindler noted, “We hold that under the plain language of RCW 9.41.290 and RCW 9.41.300, the city’s attempt to regulate the possession of firearms at designated park areas and park facilities open to the public by adopting the Firearms Rule is preempted by state law.”

“This is not only a victory for the citizens of Washington State,” he said, “but also for the State Legislature, which had the wisdom in 1983 and 1985 to pass and strengthen our preemption statute. This law has become the model for other state statutes across the country.

“The ruling is also an affirmation of Judge Catherine Shaffer’s original trial court ruling last year,” he continued. “She had the foresight to include observations about our state constitutional right to bear arms but also the Second Amendment.

“Now that the Second Amendment has been incorporated to the states through our victory in McDonald v. City of Chicago,” Gottlieb concluded, “it is going to be impossible for anti-gun politicians in the Evergreen State to defy our preemption statute and our constitutional rights. Such local rules and ordinances are illegal, and now they know it for sure.”

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. In addition to the landmark McDonald v. Chicago Supreme Court Case, SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; New Orleans; Chicago and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and numerous amicus briefs holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.

Second Amendment Foundation

BELLEVUE, WA --(Ammoland.com)- Today’s revelation by Gallup that a record low number of Americans support a legal ban on handgun possession by private citizens demonstrates a positive change in the public attitude about personal protection and the Second Amendment, the Second Amendment Foundation said.

According to Gallup, only 26 percent of Americans favor a handgun ban. The annual Gallup Crime poll was conducted Oct. 6-9.

“American citizens have become increasingly aware that they are the true first responders’ when a crime happens in their presence,” noted SAF Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb.

“The public’s attitude about gun ownership has changed dramatically in the last decade, and especially since the Supreme Court’s Heller ruling in 2008 and our victory in the 2010 McDonald ruling, affirming the Second Amendment protects an individual civil right.

“The public has also realized that all the doom and gloom rhetoric from gun prohibitionists about more crime and violence associated with increased gun ownership has been wrong,” he continued.

“More Americans today own firearms than they did a generation ago, yet violent crime rates are at their lowest levels in many years.”

According to Gallup, there is also greater opposition to a ban on semiautomatic sport-utility rifles, often wrongly identified as “assault weapons.” Only 43 percent of those polled think these guns should be banned, down ten percent from the 2001 poll.

Support for stricter gun laws has also declined, with 44 percent believing laws should be left as they are, and 11 percent favoring less strict laws.

“The pendulum has definitely been swinging in favor of expanded gun rights,” Gottlieb observed. “For too long, people were fooled by hysteria and misinformation from gun prohibitionists and their cheerleaders in the press. But their alarmist rhetoric has failed the test of time, and now Americans by greater percentages than we’ve seen in generations are realizing that gun rights are important, to our security as a nation and to public safety in our own neighborhoods.”

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. In addition to the landmark McDonald v. Chicago Supreme Court Case, SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; New Orleans; Chicago and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and numerous amicus briefs holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.

Second Amendment Foundation

BELLEVUE, WA --(Ammoland.com)- The International Association for the Protection of Civilian Arms Rights (IAPCAR) has added the Taiwan Defensive Firearms Association (TDFA) as a member of international gun rights association working to protect and expand the right to keep and bear arms around the globe.

TDFA joins 16 other groups from nine countries on five different continents that represent millions of firearm owners and citizens concerned about civilian arms rights.

“The IAPCAR coalition defending gun rights worldwide continues to grow and we are proud to have Taiwan join with us,” said IAPCAR executive director, Philip Watson.

“The Taiwan Defensive Firearms Association is an important addition in our battle to protect the human right of self-defense,” Watson observed.

“It is a great honor to become one of IAPCAR’s members.” said, Boris Yang, TDFA Chairman.

As Taiwan’s highest profile self-defense advocacy association, TDFA also runs the popular website, (http://www.tdfa.tw).

Julianne Versnel, director of operations for the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and Alan Gottlieb, Chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) established IAPCAR to serve as a vehicle to unify arms rights groups against international threats to the human right of self-defense and the legitimate use of guns.

“IAPCAR strongly opposes any U.N. Arms Trade Treaty that infringes on national sovereignty and the individual right to keep arms,” said SAF’s Versnel.

CCRKBA’s Gottlieb added, “Organizations around the globe feel the urgent need to protect the individual right to defend oneself and one’s family against grave threats, including crime, civil unrest and terrorism. IAPCAR is dedicated to preserving this human right.”

Gun Talk Radio

MANDEVILLE, LA --(Ammoland.com)- Tom Gresham’s Gun Talk (R) Radio will broadcast live this Sunday from the 26th Annual Gun Rights Policy Conference (GRPC) in Chicago, IL.

Host Tom Gresham also will serve as master of ceremonies at the awards luncheon this Saturday, where achievements in the field of gun rights are recognized by the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and the Citizen’s Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCKRBA).

Guests for this week’s Gun Talk broadcast include SAF Founder Alan Gottlieb, author and publisher, Alan Korwin, and Instructor Massad Ayoob. Guest speakers at this year’s conference include Chris Knox, Jim Irvine, David Codrea, Dave Workman, Gene Hoffman, Timothy Wheeler, Kathy Jackson and more!

More info on the conference this weekend is available at www.saf.org.

“GRPC gets better each year,” said Gresham. “It’s a gathering of the Who’s Who in gun rights, including the NRA, Gun Owners of America, the Second Amendment Foundation, Citizen’s Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, the National Firearms Association of Canada, Knife Rights, and dozens of state gun rights groups. It’s where you go to get the latest info on the challenges we face. And, it’s free!”

Gresham serves on the board of CCKRBA and Knife Rights, and also will appear on a panel titled Knife Rights: The Second Front in the Right To Bear Arms.

About:
In its 17th year of national syndication, Tom Gresham’s Gun Talk Radio airs live on Sundays from 2PM-5PM Eastern, and runs on more than 120 stations, plus on XM (Ch. 165) Satellite Radio. All Gun Talk shows can be downloaded as podcasts at http://www.guntalk.libsyn.com and Apple iTunes, or through one of the available Apps: the Gun Talk iPhone App, the Blackberry Podcast App, the Android App and the Gun Talk App for Android on Amazon. More information is available at www.guntalk.com.

Second Amendment Foundation

BELLEVUE, WA --(Ammoland.com)- The Second Amendment Foundation today thanked the National Rifle Association and California Rifle and Pistol Foundation for filing amicus briefs in SAF’s challenge of Yolo County, California’s policies that exploit the state’s regulations on the issuance of concealed firearms carry permits.

Joining SAF in that lawsuit is the CalGuns Foundation.

National Rifle Association

The case is known as Richards v. Prieto. It targets Yolo County’s arbitrary policy that requires CCW applicants to provide good cause for obtaining a permit, and subjects each applicant to a “moral character”standard.

“The policies practices in Yolo County are clearly unconstitutional and should be overturned,” said SAF Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb.

“We filed the lawsuit because citizens should not be subjected to such policies simply in an effort to exercise their rights to bear arms for personal protection.

“We are delighted that our good friends at both the NRA and CRPA have filed briefs in support of this cause,” he continued. “Authorities in Yolo County who are trying to perpetuate this egregious policy despite the Supreme Court’s clear determination that self-defense is a cornerstone tenet of the right to keep and bear arms.”

Gottlieb noted that the overwhelming majority of the states have adopted shall-issue statutes for concealed carry licenses or permits, and that they have worked remarkably well by removing the authority from local officials who may want to abuse complicated regulations such as those that exist in the Golden State.

California Rifle and Pistol Association

“State and local governments should be scrambling to review, and where necessary, adjust firearms laws and regulations in the wake of two Supreme Court rulings on the Second Amendment,” Gottlieb said. “When local governments continue to resist, rather than comply with, the principles and spirit of high court rulings and the Constitution, we’ll continue to meet them in court. As NRA and CRPAF have demonstrated with their briefs in this case, when we take people to court, we’re going to have company.”

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. In addition to the landmark McDonald v. Chicago Supreme Court Case, SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; New Orleans; Chicago and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and numerous amicus briefs holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.

Second Amendment Foundation

BELLEVUE, WA -(Ammoland.com)-  The Second Amendment Foundation today announced that Glock, Inc. has donated and pledged significant financial support to SAF’s on-going litigation efforts in defense of firearms civil rights.

SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb made the announcement, noting that Glock has now become the largest corporate contributor to the foundation, in recognition of the important legal efforts SAF has mounted and will continue to pursue.

“I want to publicly and personally thank the management and ownership at Glock,” Gottlieb said, “and all Glock employees who have made this possible. Specifically, I want to thank Glock Vice President Josh Dorsey and General Counsel Carlos Guevara for their involvement and for making this happen.

“SAF’s victory in McDonald v. Chicago has made all of this litigation against onerous state laws and municipal ordinances possible,” he continued, “and it is imperative that we continue and expand our legal challenges with the greatest possible speed.

“Glock’s generous support comes at a critical time,” Gottlieb added. “Most of our members and supporters make contributions in the $10 to $25 range, and Glock will be providing significant additional support in our efforts to win back firearms freedoms one lawsuit at a time.”

Glock Pistols

Gottlieb urged SAF supporters and all Americans who are concerned about their firearms freedoms to support Glock and other companies that support their Second Amendment rights.

“There are times in the history of any movement, and in the lives of every person, when it is important to stand up and be counted,” Gottlieb said. “Glock has stepped up to the plate when it really does count, and we will be eternally grateful for their generosity and their unwavering dedication to the Second Amendment.”

About:
The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. In addition to the landmark McDonald v. Chicago Supreme Court Case, SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; New Orleans; Chicago and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and numerous amicus briefs holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.

Second Amendment Foundation

BELLEVUE, WA --(Ammoland.com)- The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), in cooperation with Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC), is hosting a forum “Supporting Concealed Carry on Campus” on Monday, August 8th at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Noon to 5 p.m.

The forum is free and open to the public.

This event will feature a Gun Free Zones debate between Colin Goddard of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, and John Lott, author of More Guns, Less Crime.

An academic panel that includes Prof. Nelson Lund (George Mason University), Prof. Bob Cottrol (George Washington University) and Prof. Joyce Lee Malcolm (George Mason University) is also on the program.

Another panel will discuss legislation supporting campus concealed carry. This panel includes Texas State Sen. Jeff Wentworth, Wisconsin Rep. Evan Wynn and Idaho Rep. Erik Simpson.

Also appearing is Attorney Alan Gura, who successfully argued the cases of District of Columbia v. Heller and McDonald v. Chicago resulting in U.S. Supreme Court rulings that struck down the handgun ban in Washington, D.C. as a violation of the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms and the handgun ban in Chicago by incorporating the Second Amendment to all fifty states through the Fourteenth Amendment.

Student panels will discuss the campus concealed carry efforts as well as personal experiences of self-defense and crime on college campuses.

Other speakers include SAF Founder Alan Gottlieb and Students for Concealed Carry on Campus President Dan Crocker.

Second Amendment Foundation

BELLEVUE, WA --(Ammoland.com)- As a Second Amendment Foundation supporter, I would like to tell you about a great opportunity.

The Second Amendment Foundation and Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC) will be having their second National Self-Defense Conference on Monday, August 8th from Noon to 5 PM at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. funded by the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF).

This conference is a great opportunity for those who care about their 2nd Amendment Rights to come together and learn from each other.

Students for Concealed Carry on campus is a non-partisan, grassroots organization comprised of over 43,000 college students, faculty members, parents, and concerned citizens who support the right of concealed handgun license holders to carry concealed handguns on college campuses. Key conference speakers include: In addition to myself, John Lott, author of More Guns, Less Crime, Professors Joyce Lee Malcolm, Bob Cottrol and Nelson Lund, Attorney Alan Gura who won two Second Amendment Supreme Court cases and key legislators from Texas, Idaho and Wisconsin.

For students that want to attend the conference but are a little strapped for cash, SCCC and SAF can help. Any student traveling over 750 miles to D.C. is eligible for a travel scholarship up to $300. You will receive reimbursement if you bring your student I.D. and travel receipts to the conference. SCCC and SAF will also provide one night free student lodging in a hotel if you so desire. SCCC and SAF cannot guarantee that you will get your own room. Funds are limited and you may have to room with another student or member of SCCC if you come alone.

For more information visit: http://concealedcampus.org .

Once your transportation and lodging needs are settled, forward your information to reservations@concealedcampus.org to reserve your spot at the conference.

As a Second Amendment Foundation supporter, student or not, we hope you will consider this great opportunity for talking, learning, and networking with young activists and gun rights leaders from across the country. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me at informationrequest@saf.org .

Sincerely yours,

Alan M. Gottlieb
Founder, Second Amendment Foundation

Second Amendment Foundation

BELLEVUE, WA --(Ammoland.com)- The Second Amendment Foundation, represented by Alan Gottlieb and Julianne Versnel, is in attendance at the Third Preparatory Committee Meeting for the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) in New York this week.

These meetings lay the ground work for the final negotiation sessions of the ATT in 2012. SAF’s position is firm- an ATT which in any way affects the constitutional rights of American gun owners is totally unacceptable. Civilian firearms and ammunition must not be within the scope of the United Nation’s Arms Trade Treaty. There is no compromise on this crucial point.

The Second Amendment Foundation has been active for years at the United Nations both its headquarters in New York and Vienna, Austria and elsewhere internationally in response to anti-gun rights initiatives that would restrict our sovereignty. In addition to attending the first two preparatory meetings, SAF was represented at the May meeting of Governmental Experts where marking, tracing and record keeping policies were discussed.

SAF is a Member of the Executive Committee of the World Forum on the Future of Sport Shooting Activities, a recognized Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) at the United Nations. This status allows us to closely monitor the internal UN debate over firearm issues and report back to our members and supporters.

This NGO status has also allowed SAF to take an active role in speaking at the UN, most recently at the Programme of Action to Prevent and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects in 2010.

In addition to its UN and World Forum on the Future of Sport Shooting Activities, SAF is a founding member of The International Association for the Protection of Civilian Arms Rights (IAPCAR) which includes scores of national and international organizations, representing tens of millions of firearm and knife owners worldwide.

In March, Alan and Julianne received a commemorative muzzleloading rifle in recognition for their international work protecting the rights of gun owners presented by FISAT (the Italian shooters association), and Chiappa Firearms during the EXA exhibition in Brescia, Italy.

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. In addition to the landmark McDonald v. Chicago Supreme Court Case, SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; New Orleans; Chicago and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and numerous amicus briefs holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.

Second Amendment Foundation

BELLEVUE, WA --(Ammoland.com)- The Second Amendment Foundation has filed a motion for summary judgment in its lawsuit challenging a statute in Massachusetts that denies legal resident aliens the licenses required to possess a handgun in the home for self-defense, or purchase any kind of firearm.

The case is known as Fletcher v. Haas. It was filed in April in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Joining SAF in this lawsuit are Commonwealth Second Amendment, a Massachusetts grassroots organization, and two British citizens, Christopher M. Fletcher of Cambridge and Eoin M. Pryal of Northboro. They are represented by attorney Joseph M. Hickson III of Springfield.

The lawsuit alleges that they have been specifically denied the ability to obtain a Firearms Identification Card or a License to Carry of any kind. Before moving to Massachusetts, Fletcher lived in California, where he had a Basic Firearms Safety certificate and Handgun Safety certificate, which allowed him to purchase and own firearms including handguns. Pryal, who is married to a U.S. citizen, had a shotgun certificate and international dealer’s license while living in the United Kingdom.

“Lawful immigrants are entitled to the protection of our laws, including the protection of their right to self-defense,” noted Miko Tempski, SAF Legal Affairs director. “Hopefully, this motion brings us one step closer to ending Massachusetts’ hypocritical and discriminatory ban on handgun ownership for lawful immigrant residents.”

The SAF motion was in response to a defendant’s motion to dismiss the case.

“People in this country have rights,” said SAF Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb. “Among those rights is the right of self-defense, especially in one’s own home. Legal resident aliens like Fletcher and Pryal are productive members of the community, yet they are being denied a basic right by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This prohibition simply cannot go unchallenged.”

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. In addition to the landmark McDonald v. Chicago Supreme Court Case, SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; New Orleans; Chicago and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and numerous amicus briefs holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.

Second Amendment Foundation

BELLEVUE, WA --(Ammoland.com)- Capitalizing on its federal appeals court victory Wednesday in Ezell v. City of Chicago, the Second Amendment Foundation today moved for a preliminary injunction against the State of Illinois to prevent further enforcement of that state’s prohibitions on firearms carry in public by law-abiding citizens.

The motion was filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois in Springfield. Joining SAF in this motion are Illinois Carry and four private citizens, Michael Moore, Charles Hooks, Peggy Fechter and Jon Maier. The underlying case is known as Moore v. Madigan.

Illinois is the only state in the nation with such prohibitions. The state neither allows open carry or concealed carry, which runs afoul of recent U.S. Supreme Court Second Amendment rulings, including last year’s landmark ruling in McDonald v. City of Chicago, another SAF case. SAF was represented in McDonald and Ezell by attorney Alan Gura, who noted after yesterday’s appeals court win – forcing a temporary injunction against the city’s ban on gun ranges that the city immediately changed after the decision was announced – that “Even Chicago politicians must respect the people’s fundamental civil rights. Gun rights are coming to Chicago. The only question is how much the city’s intransigence will cost taxpayers along the way.”

“Now that the Seventh Circuit has recognized that the deprivation of the right of armed self-defense is an inherently irreparable injury, it is clear that Illinois’ law-abiding gun owners are entitled to a protective injunction,” said attorney David Jensen of New York, who, along with Glen Ellyn, IL attorney David Sigale, is representing SAF and the other plaintiffs.

“Yesterday’s win was a wake-up call to Chicago,” said SAF Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb. “Today’s motion is a signal to the Illinois Legislature that the state’s total ban on carrying of firearms for personal protection is counter to both Supreme Court rulings on the Second Amendment, and yesterday’s ruling by the Seventh Circuit appeals panel that shredded Chicago’s gun ordinance. Our victory Wednesday and today’s motion are key components of SAF’s overall mission to win back firearms freedoms one lawsuit at a time.”

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. In addition to the landmark McDonald v. Chicago Supreme Court Case, SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; New Orleans; Chicago and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and numerous amicus briefs holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.

Second Amendment Foundation

BELLEVUE, WA --(Ammoland.com)- ATF acting Director Kenneth Melson has been conspiring with king corruptocrat Eric Holder to walk thousands of high caliber rifles across the border.

These firearms were then handed off to drug cartels, while the two buddies sat in their offices in Washington DC. Unfortunately, their political scheme had some pretty big collateral damage.

Besides the collection of guns that ended up in the possession of violent Mexican gangs, the ATF ran into bigger problems. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry ended up dead – shot down by the very guns the ATF was sneaking across the border!

“Project Gunrunner” is the perfect storm for Obama. First, he’ll get to act like the good guy when he kicks Melson to the curb. Then, while everyone is cheering that Melson is gone, he will sneak Andrew Traver in as Director of the ATF. They’ll at least have two things in common - Chicago-style politics and Chicago-style radicalism.

There is no excuse for Obama to use an unthinkable tragedy/bizarre scandal to push yet another one of his far-left nominations. He is DELIBERATELY nominating Andrew Traver – a man who has demonstrated over and over again that he is anti-gun, anti-self-defense and anti-freedom. Obama even fired project Gunrunner whistleblower Vince Cefalu! When does it end?

So who exactly is Andrew Traver? He is currently special agent in charge of Chicago’s ATF field division, where he has a long history of working with gun prohibitionists. He served as an advisor to the International Association for Chiefs of Police on that group’s 2007 “Gun Violence Reduction Project,” in cooperation with the anti-gun rights Joyce Foundation.

This project involved several high profile anti-gun-rights advocates (including Chicago Mayor Richard Daley.) Interestingly enough, there was not a single representative from the firearms community on the advisory panel.

The nomination of Andrew Traver is more proof that Barack Obama has complete disregard for the Second Amendment and the rights of firearms owners. We have serious concerns that the agency, under his leadership, will maintain any semblance of cooperation with the firearms industry, over which ATF exercises considerable control.

Chicago Anti-Gun Nut To Head ATF

Traver To Ban Your Hunting Rifle?
Traver’s history shows that if he’s successfully nominated, there’s no chance that he will work with the firearms industry. Traver helped develop the IACP/Joyce Foundation report, which recommended banning an array of modern sport-utility rifles and .50-caliber rifles used in long-range competition. The report also encouraged Congress to repeal the Tiahrt Amendment that protects sensitive trace data used by law enforcement in criminal investigations from being misused in frivolous municipal lawsuits that have consistently lost in court, and urged the adoption of restrictive gun show regulations that would effectively force them to close.

Mr. Traver appears to be joined at the hip to various gun control and gun ban efforts. The Citizens Committee, its members and supporters across the country oppose this nomination because Traver’s history clear shows that he is not the right man for such an important job.

Putting Andrew Traver in charge of an organization that decides whether we can buy, sell or transport guns is the first of many steps Obama and his anti-gun zealots are taking to crush our Second Amendment Rights. As we saw with his Supreme Court nominations, Obama’s m.o. is to stuff as many anti-Second Amendment extremists into our most powerful offices of government. Enough is Enough.

We must stop Obama from abusing his power to snatch away our gun rights. If we don’t act now, our rights will be gone forever. We need the help of patriots like you to ensure our right to bear arms and protect ourselves and our families is not destroyed.

WE CANNOT LET OBAMA CRUSH THE SECOND AMENDMENT!

IF OBAMA’S NOMINATION OF ANTI-GUNNER ANDREW TRAVER IS SUCCESSFUL WE COULD LOSE OUR RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS! THIS IS NOT A FIGHT WE CAN AFFORD TO LOSE

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.SAF.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control.

For our projects to be successful, we must count on the voluntary financial support from individuals like you who care.

We need your financial support today to ensure we have the resources to beat back anti-gunners who will stop at nothing to take away our right and ability to defend ourselves and our families.

Please give your most generous contribution today. Help me defend your individual right to bear arms in this important Supreme Court case, today!

Remember, protecting our freedom is not inexpensive. But then, it’s impossible to put a price tag on freedom.

Together, we can preserve the Constitutional rights our Founding Fathers intended our people to have forever.
Thank you. I know I can count on you.

Sincerely yours,

P.S. Remember, the anti-gunners are raising tens of thousands of dollars to steal this victory from us — we need your support now to help stop them dead in their tracks!

Donate Now – Help SAF Continue To Defend Your Gun Rights!

Paid for by Second Amendment Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Contributions are tax deductible. Copyright © 2010 Second Amendment Foundation, All Rights Reserved.

Second Amendment Foundation

BELLEVUE, WA --(Ammoland.com)- In a 3-0 ruling issued this morning, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has reversed a lower court ruling and ordered that court to issue a preliminary injunction against the City of Chicago on behalf of the Second Amendment Foundation that prevents the city from banning gun ranges inside city limits.

Joining SAF in the original lawsuit were Action Target, Inc., the Illinois State Rifle Association and three Chicago residents, Rhonda Ezell, William Hespen and Joseph Brown. Their attempts to obtain a temporary restraining order against the gun range ban were twice rejected by the district court. The Appeals Court ruling is severely critical of the lower court’s ruling.

“This is a significant victory that could have strong implications well beyond the Chicago city limits,” said SAF Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “The court is making it clear that cities cannot adopt firearms ordinances that are so deliberately restrictive that they make it impossible for citizens to exercise their rights under the Second Amendment.”

Immediately after last year’s landmark SAF victory in McDonald v. City of Chicago, the city adopted a handgun ordinance that required special permits and mandated range training, but banned gun ranges inside city limits. The city argued that citizens could fulfill their training requirement by visiting a suburban range.

In today’s ruling, written by Judge Diane S. Sykes, the Appeals Court observed, “It’s hard to imagine anyone suggesting that Chicago may prohibit the exercise of a free-speech or religious-liberty right within its borders on the rationale that those rights may be freely enjoyed in the suburbs. That sort of argument should be no less unimaginable in the Second Amendment context.”

In a concurring opinion, Judge Ilana Diamond Rovner noted, “the city may not condition gun ownership for self-defense in the home on a prerequisite that the City renders impossible to fulfill within the city limits.”

“What the city tried to do, as the court ruling noted, was thumb its municipal nose at the Supreme Court’,” Gottlieb stated. “City governments, no matter how much they abhor the fundamental right of citizens to keep and bear arms, cannot use clever legal devices to prevent the exercise of that right. As Judge Rovner noted, the city must come to terms with that reality’.”

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and an amicus brief and fund for the Emerson case holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.

Don't Tread On Me

USA --(Ammoland.com)- When we celebrate the Fourth of July, let’s keep in mind that the first Americans won their independence from England with the force of arms.

It was, in fact, a British effort in 1775 to confiscate military arms they believed were stored in Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts that sparked the war.

The Founding Fathers were so aware of the need for an armed citizenry that, after ensuring freedom of religion, speech, press and the right to peacefully assemble in the First Amendment, the Second guaranteed their right to bear arms.

Wherever authoritarian regimes were established in the last century, they took away this right and then proceeded to kill those deemed enemies of the state.

At this point in American history, the Obama administration constitutes a threat to the Constitution in general and the Second Amendment in particular.

More than 80,000,000 Americans are gun owners.
Two of the organizations that have been fighting to protect these rights are the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA), both led by Alan M. Gottlieb. Three quarters of the SAF budget is devoted to defending rights pertaining to the ownership of guns and to carry them for self-defense.

In March, the liberal Huffington Post had an article titled “Obama Looking for Ways Around Congress on Gun Policy” by Sam Stein.

“Faced with a Congress hostile to even slight restrictions of Second Amendment rights, the Obama administration is exploring potential changes to gun laws that can be secured strictly through executive action, administration officials, say.”

Since then we have learned of a U.S. Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms program, Fast and Furious, that actually facilitated the sale and transfer of guns to Mexico. How demented is that?

In May in my home state of New Jersey the SAF won a decision against officials for the deprivation of civil rights under the color of law when they had ruled that an applicant for a concealed carry permit had not demonstrated a “justifiable need” for it. In point of fact, the applicant, Philip Muller, had been kidnapped by members of a motorcycle gang who threatened to kill him. They had, however, grabbed the wrong man.

Despite support by local and state police, action on his application was delayed for six months. Morris County Superior Court Judge David Ironson issued a directive that a permit should be granted. The case is still on-going with other plaintiffs that include a part-time sheriff’s deputy, an applicant who carries large amounts of cash in his private business, and a civilian employee of the FBI with legitimate concerns of an attack from a radical Islamic group.

Currently nearly thirty such cases have either been brought or joined by SAF to stop abuses of this most fundamental right of American citizens ranging from bans on interstate handgun sales, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s imposition of a $340 fee for a permit to keep a handgun in one’s home, and a Chicago ban on gun ranges open to the public. These cases cost between $60,000 and $80,000 each!

The greatest single threat to gun ownership right now is a United Nations “Small Arms Treaty” falsely identified as an “international arms control treaty” allegedly to fight terrorism.”

“In reality,” says Gottlieb, it is “a massive, global gun control scheme. It’s a sham. It’s a fraud.” If the U.S., under the Obama administration and with the consent of the Senate, were to sign on to this treaty, it would nullify the Second Amendment.

Suffice to say that the Obama administration wants to have the power to increase federal fees on guns and ammunition, to ban guns that are imported, to extend the waiting periods for permits, to ban the use of guns on all government property, and even to make it illegal if you own a gun and smoke!

Americans do not have to “justify” gun ownership. It is guaranteed by the Second Amendment. The reality is that enemies of this fundamental rights continue to wage an assault on it.

For information about SAF visit www.saf.org and CCRKBA at www.ccrkba.org.

© Alan Caruba, 2011

About:
Alan Caruba’s commentaries are posted daily at “Warning Signs” his popular blog and thereafter on dozens of other websites and blogs. If you love to read, visit his monthly report on new books at Bookviews.

Second Amendment Foundation

BELLEVUE, WA --(Ammoland.com)- The Second Amendment Foundation has been joined by 17 other firearms rights groups in an amicus brief filed in a case now before the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, challenging laws that prohibit the carrying of firearms by law-abiding non-resident U.S. citizens in Denver, Colorado.

The case, Peterson v. Garcia, was filed by Washington state resident Gray Peterson, who cannot exercise his right to bear arms because Colorado statute prohibits the issuance of a concealed carry permit to non-residents, and does not recognize Peterson’s Washington license or his Florida carry permit because he is not a Florida resident. Denver bans the open carry of firearms, leaving Peterson - who visits Colorado frequently - without any legal means of carrying a firearm for his personal protection.

“This is a case that affects citizens in at least 20 states and the District of Columbia,” noted Miko Tempski, SAF legal affairs director. “We’ve been joined by organizations from 16 of those states in this brief, because they all have members who may travel to Colorado and face the same problem if they enter the City of Denver.”

Joining SAF are the Buckeye Firearms Foundation (Ohio), Citizens’ Rights Action League (Rhode Island), Commonwealth Second Amendment (Massachusetts), Connecticut Citizens Defense League, Calguns Foundation, Inc. (California), Gun Owners Civil Rights Alliance (Minnesota), Hawaii Defense Foundation, Illinois Carry, Illinois State Rifle Association, Maine Open Carry Association, Maryland Shall Issue, Oregon Firearms Educational Foundation, Wisconsin Carry, Inc., SCOPE, Inc. (New York), Stillwater Firearms Association (Nevada), Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc. and West Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc. All are state-focused non-profit organizations dedicated to preserving, defending and promoting firearms rights.

“The Second Amendment doesn’t only say you have a right to keep arms,” Tempski continued, “it also stipulates that citizens have the right to bear arms. Because of our successful lawsuit in the McDonald case last year, leading to the Supreme Court’s ruling that the Second Amendment applies to state and local governments, the right to bear arms is very much at issue with Mr. Peterson’s challenge. Any law or ordinance that touches on this right must be held to the strictest of scrutiny.”

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and an amicus brief and fund for the Emerson case holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.

2011 Gun Rights Policy Conference Invitation

Second Amendment Foundation

BELLEVUE, WA --(Ammoland.com)- Dear Fellow Gun Rights Activist,

I would like to personally invite you to our 26th annual Gun Rights Policy Conference (GRPC), which will be taking place September 23, 24, and 25, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois at the Hyatt Regency Chicago O’Hare Airport hotel.

With the new battles over individual rights in the age of terrorism, attacks on our gun rights from the UN as well as a number of Second Amendment cases in the courts. The theme of It’s About Freedom is most important as we set the pro-gun rights agenda for the year to come.

This year GRPC will be action-packed. With over 50 speakers hand-picked from the leadership of the Gun Rights Movement, the topics to be presented promise to have an impact that will help direct the path of our cause for years to come.

Invited speakers this year include: myself, Joe Tartaro, Alan Gura, Otis McDonald, John Lott, Massad Ayoob, David Kopel, John Snyder, as well as staff from the Second Amendment Foundation, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, National Rifle Association, National Shooting Sports Foundation, KeepAndBearArms.com, and Gun Owners of America.

A number of elected political leaders have been invited as well.

As in the past, the Second Amendment Foundation will not only pick up the tab for lunch and snacks, but will also provide more than $125 worth of vital pro-gun rights materials to each attendee.

In addition to the luncheon and free materials, you will have the opportunity to chat with the speakers at the two evening National Shooting Sports Foundation and Illinois State Rifle Association planned receptions.

This event is so important to our cause, that the SAF Board of Trustees has elected to help underwrite the entire cost of the event. Your cost to attend this event is absolutely free!

Because of the number of people who travel every year to attend this event, I have negotiated a special discount room rate for GRPC attendees. Reservations for the special discounted room rate of $112 per night can be made by calling 1-800-233-1234, and telling them you are planning on attending the Gun Rights Policy Conference (GRPC) sponsored by the Second Amendment Foundation.

If you have any questions, please call the SAF office at (425) 454-7012 to register. You can also register online at our GRPC Registration & Information Page, or send an e-mail to grpc2011@saf.org, or fax us at 425-451-3959.

2011 Gun Rights Policy Conference Flyer

Second Amendment Foundation

BELLEVUE, WA --(Ammoland.com)- The Second Amendment Foundation has filed an amicus brief in a California case that challenges the constitutionality of discretionary gun permit rules adopted by officials in San Diego County, California.

The brief, submitted by attorney Alan Gura, is also on behalf of the Calguns Foundation and two Yolo County residents, Adam Richards and Brett Stewart, who are parties to a separate, but fundamentally related lawsuit. The case at hand, Peruta v. San Diego County, is now on appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

At issue in both cases is the broad discretionary authority exercised by California authorities under existing statute in the issuance of carry permits. Edward Peruta’s lawsuit against San Diego County challenges the constitutionality of “good cause” criteria used as a basis for issuing or, more typically, denying a permit to carry. SAF has filed an appeal in its own case, Richards v. Prieto, in the Ninth Circuit.

“To be sure,” Gura writes in his amicus brief, “(officials) are able to license the carrying of handguns in the interest of public safety. But they must not be in the business of judging people’s character, or forcing individuals to prove a sufficiently good reason for wanting to exercise something that is their right.”

The SAF brief also notes that the court “should recognize that (California Penal Codes) good cause’ and good moral character’ requirements are classic specimens of unconstitutional prior restraints.”

Such conditions, Gura writes in his brief for SAF, “plainly condition the exercise of a fundamental right upon the unbridled discretion of a licensing official. Accordingly, they must be struck down as such.”

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and an amicus brief and fund for the Emerson case holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.

Second Amendment Foundation

BELLEVUE, WA --(Ammoland.com)- A New Jersey judge today announced he will issue a gun permit to one of the plaintiffs in a Second Amendment Foundation lawsuit against several New Jersey officials for deprivation of civil rights under color of law, because applicants cannot show a “justifiable need” for a permit.

SAF Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb said today this “clearly indicates that our lawsuit is proper, and we are encouraged to press our case to its conclusion.”

Morris County Superior Court Judge David Ironson announced after a hearing in his courtroom this morning that a permit will be issued to lead plaintiff Jeffrey Muller. His application had languished for six months before Judge Philip Maenza, a defendant in the federal lawsuit, denied the permit without a hearing on the grounds that Muller did not have a “justifiable need.”

Muller had been kidnapped by members of a motorcycle gang who threatened to kill him, in a case of mistaken identity. Several suspects have been arrested in that case, and Muller’s application for a permit had gained support from local and state police.

“Finally,” Gottlieb said, “one judge has done the right thing, but it took a federal lawsuit to make it happen. Our other plaintiffs are pushing ahead with the lawsuit so we can put an end to this practice once and for all.”

SAF is joined in the lawsuit by the Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs, Inc. and several private citizens whose applications for permits to carry have been denied generally on the grounds that they have not shown a “justifiable need.”

One of the remaining plaintiffs is a part-time sheriff’s deputy, a second carries large amounts of cash in his private business and another is a civilian employee of the FBI in New Jersey who is fearful of attack from a radical Islamic fundamentalist group. They are represented by attorney David D. Jensen.

“We’re moving forward with this case,” Gottlieb stated, “because there are far too many people just like Jeff Muller whose civil rights have been cavalierly denied on the whims of a judge.”

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and an amicus brief and fund for the Emerson case holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.

Second Amendment Foundation

BELLEVUE, WA --(Ammoland.com)- The Second Amendment Foundation and Calguns Foundation have filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in California, seeking to have the state’s definition of so-called “assault weapons” declared unconstitutionally vague.

Joining SAF and Calguns in the lawsuit is Brendan John Richards, an Iraq combat veteran who served as a U.S. Marine, and whose arrest and six-day incarceration in the Sonoma County jail - and subsequent dismissal of all charges - was the catalyst for this legal action. Named as defendants are California Attorney General Kamala Harris, the California Department of Justice, the City of Rohnert Park and police officer Dean Becker.

Richards was jailed in May 2010 after Officer Becker, investigating a disturbance at a motel where Richards was staying, learned that Richards had two pistols and a rifle, all unloaded, in the trunk of his car. Becker, arrested Richards for unlawful possession of an assault weapon. However, in September of last year, the charges were dismissed by the Sonoma County District Attorney’s office, based on a report from the state Department of Justice that showed none of the guns met the state’s definition of an assault weapon.

“California’s law allows possession of a variety of firearms that do not meet the state’s assault weapons definition, which we believe is unconstitutionally vague,” noted SAF Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb. “Mr. Richards was jailed for almost a week, when he had broken no law because a police officer had a conflicting view and the District Attorney’s office believed him.”

“California attempts to make a distinction among firearms where no natural one exists,” noted Calguns Executive Director Gene Hoffman. “The generic definition of so-called assault weapons’ was simply an attempt to prohibit possession of guns that look scary.”

Plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Don Kilmer of San Jose and Jason A. Davis of Mission Viejo. Kilmer said the case is indicative of the way things have become in California.

“Now that the right to keep arms has correctly been recognized as fundamental and applicable to California,” Kilmer said, “gun owners can’t be faced with the practice of arrest them first and let the courts sort it out’ for exercising constitutional rights. That is just how things are done in our country.”

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and an amicus brief and fund for the Emerson case holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.

Second Amendment Foundation

BELLEVUE, WA --(Ammoland.com)- The Second Amendment Foundation announced that it has filed an amended complaint in federal district court in Illinois, challenging the state’s statutory prohibitions on the carrying of handguns for personal protection.

Joining SAF in this amended complaint are Illinois Carry, a volunteer organization founded to educate the public about Illinois gun laws, and two more private citizens, Peggy Fechter of Carmi, and Jon Maier, a resident of Bloomington. Michael Moore of Champaign and Charles Hooks of Percy remain active plaintiffs.

Defendants in the lawsuit are Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and State Police Superintendent Hiram Grau. SAF is represented by attorneys David Jensen of New York and David Sigale of Glen Ellyn. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois in Springfield.

The lawsuit alleges that Illinois statutes that completely ban the carrying of handguns for self-defense deprive the plaintiffs of civil rights under color of law, making them “inconsistent with the Second Amendment.”

SAF Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb welcomed the additional plaintiffs, noting, “After the lawsuit was filed on Tuesday, we were overwhelmed by requests to participate. We want to assure everyone who contacted us that they do not need to be actual plaintiffs in order to benefit from a victory.

“SAF truly appreciates the wave of enthusiasm and support from gun owners all over Illinois,” he continued. “But right now we need to move forward and if people would like to support our lawsuit with a tax-exempt contribution to SAF, we would welcome that. We simply cannot take on more plaintiffs at this point and further delay the process.”

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and an amicus brief and fund for the Emerson case holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.

Second Amendment Foundation

BELLEVUE, WA --(Ammoland.com)- The Second Amendment Foundation today publicly thanked the National Rifle Association and California Rifle & Pistol Association for sponsoring two new legal actions that seek enforcement of a case SAF won in 1994 against the City of Los Angeles regarding concealed carry permits.

The case, Lake v City of Los Angeles, resulted in a judgment against the city, which had to issue a check to SAF on April 11, 1995 for the amount of $50,000. And, in the case of Assenza v City of Los Angeles the Second Amendment Foundation was given the right to nominate future appointments to the created advisory review panel for contested concealed carry license applications.

“We still have an enlarged photocopy of that check on our wall at the SAF office,” said SAF Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb. “The city has continually failed to live up to the court order that requires the Los Angeles Police Department to issue applications for concealed weapons permits.

“Frankly,” he continued, “it is disappointing, though not surprising, that the LAPD has fallen back on its old habits, as CRPA noted this morning when it announced the two legal actions. I am actually delighted that our friends at CRPA and NRA have jumped into this. It’s been our pleasure to work with both organizations in the past, and since we won the original case 16 years ago, this ought to be a legal slam-dunk.”

“The fact that new actions had to be initiated at all,” Gottlieb observed, “demonstrates the necessity for continued vigilance against anti-gun bureaucracies. How many times does a court have to issue an order before a government entity gets the message?

“Today’s announcement also makes it clear that even after SAF’s Supreme Court victory last year in the McDonald case against Chicago, the firearms community still has enormous challenges,” Gottlieb stated. “We’ve been so focused on filing federal cases in New Jersey, North Carolina, New York, Maryland, Washington, D.C. and elsewhere, and just this last week in Virginia and Illinois - where the NRA has also filed a subsequent lawsuit - that realizing someone we beat in 1995 had to be reminded of their obligations at this late date is not only surprising, it’s kind of annoying.

“SAF is determined to win back firearms rights one lawsuit at a time, if necessary,” he concluded. “Evidently, it is sometimes necessary to do it over and over again.”

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and an amicus brief and fund for the Emerson case holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.

Second Amendment Foundation

BELLEVUE, WA --(Ammoland.com)- The Second Amendment Foundation has filed suit in federal court in Illinois, challenging the state’s complete prohibition on the carrying of firearms in public for the purpose of self-defense.

The lawsuit alleges that Illinois statutes that completely ban the carrying of handguns for self-defense are “inconsistent with the Second Amendment.” Joining SAF are two private citizens, Michael Moore of Champaign and Charles Hooks of Percy.

Named as defendants are Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and State Police Superintendent Patrick Keen. SAF is represented by attorneys David Jensen and David Sigale. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois.

“Illinois is currently the only state in the country that imposes a complete prohibition on the carrying of firearms for personal protection by its citizens,” said SAF Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb.

“The state legislature recently stopped, by a thin margin, a concealed carry measure. After the 2008 Heller ruling and last year’s McDonald ruling against the City of Chicago that incorporated the Second Amendment to the states, one would think that Illinois lawmakers would act quickly to comply with court decisions and the constitution.”

“Illinois is the only state in the country that completely prohibits its citizens from carrying guns for self-defense,” Jensen added. “It is incredible that this situation has persisted even in light of the Supreme Court’s rulings in Heller and McDonald, and we look forward to vindicating the rights of the people of Illinois.”

The lawsuit insists this case is not an attempt to force Illinois into some regulatory scheme, but only to clarify that the state’s current regulatory ban on firearms carry is impermissible under the Second Amendment.

“Every other state has some kind of regulatory scenario,” Gottlieb noted. “Even in Wisconsin, where there is no concealed carry statute, the state attorney general has recognized that open carry is legal. Only Illinois makes it statutorily impossible for average private citizens to carry firearms for self-defense.

“Whether Illinois lawmakers like it or not,” he added, “the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms is the law of the land. A complete prohibition simply does not pass constitutional muster. The state cannot stick it’s head in the sand and pretend this problem does not exist..”

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and an amicus brief and fund for the Emerson case holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.

Second Amendment Foundation

BELLEVUE, WA --(Ammoland.com)- The Second Amendment Foundation today filed suit in U.S. District Court in Virginia challenging the constitutionality of federal and Virginia provisions barring handgun sales to non-residents.

SAF is joined in the lawsuit by Michelle Lane, a District of Columbia resident who cannot legally purchase handguns because there are no retail firearms dealers inside the District.

The Supreme Court’s 2008 Heller ruling struck down the District’s handgun ban, confirming that individuals have a constitutional right to possess handguns.

SAF and Lane are represented by attorney Alan Gura of Gura & Possessky, PLLC, who won both the Heller ruling and last year’s Supreme Court victory in McDonald v. City of Chicago. Named as defendants are Attorney General Eric Holder and W. Steven Flaherty, superintendent of the Virginia State Police.

“This is an important issue in the era of the national instant background check,” said SAF Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “The NICS check should allow law-abiding citizens like Miss Lane to exercise their Second Amendment rights regardless their place of residence.”

“Americans don’t check their constitutional rights at the state line,” said Gura. “And since Michelle Lane is legally entitled to possess firearms, forcing her to seek a non-existing D.C. dealer to buy a handgun is pointless when perfectly legitimate options exist minutes across the Potomac River.”

“The Supreme Court has ruled that District residents have an individual right, protected by the Constitution, to have a handgun in their home,” Gottlieb noted. “The high court has also ruled that the Second Amendment applies to the states. Existing state and federal statutes violate both the spirit and letter of recent court rulings and the Constitution, and our lawsuit seeks to remedy that situation.”

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and an amicus brief and fund for the Emerson case holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.

Thunder Mountain Trap and Skeet

New Jersey Coalition for Self Defense

Ringwood, NJ --(Ammoland.com)- In our continuing effort to move the issue of gun rights forward, we are pleased to announce that we will be holding a fundraising event to benefit the Second Amendment Foundation in part to assist with funding the landmark second amendment case against NJ.

• June 5th (Sunday)
• 10AM – 3PM
• Ringwood State Park / Thunder Mountain
• Shotgun competition
• Raffles, auctions and other fun stuff to do
• BBQ (burgers, dogs, chicken, etc. by Westwood Prime Meats)
• Price: $100 all included – food, ammo, the whole thing.*
• Ringwood state park charges $10 per car for parking.

Please book by going to our main site and clicking on the event, or by this link: CLICKY

At this time we must limit the attendance to approximately 50 people due to limitations of the grill and capacity for RSOs at Thunder Mountain. Families are welcome and we can accommodate additional meals at a nominal additional expense if your spouse and/or children wish to attend, but not participate in the shooting event.

If the event is booked, please add your name to the waiting list and we will look into holding another and give those who didn’t make it the first time priority for the second event.

The NJCSD is a volunteer citizen’s group founded in 2003 to protect our rights to defend ourselves. For information on the NJCSD, call 877-890-5460 or visit www.njcsd.org to learn more.

Second Amendment Foundation

BELLEVUE, WA --(Ammoland.com)- The Second Amendment Foundation’s challenge to a federal law that prevents American citizens who reside outside the United States from purchasing firearms while they are in this country will be allowed to move forward, under a ruling today by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

The case involves Stephen Dearth, a natural-born U.S. citizen now living in Canada, who is prevented from buying a firearm in this country because he does not currently reside here.

The case was filed in March 2009. SAF and Mr. Dearth challenged the law’s constitutionality because it prevents Dearth from exercising his Second Amendment rights. SAF is represented by Virginia attorney Alan Gura.

“This is a significant ruling in our favor,” said SAF Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb. “Many American citizens face the same dilemma as Mr. Dearth. They are good citizens, they’ve committed no crimes, and they would certainly be allowed to exercise their Second Amendment rights, except for the fact that they live in another country.”

The district court dismissed the case, contending that plaintiffs have no standing. This morning’s ruling reverses that court, and remands the case back for further action.

In its ruling, the Appeals Court agreed with Dearth’s argument that he suffers an “ongoing injury” because the government continues to deny him the right to purchase a firearm. The court said “we conclude his injury is sufficiently real and immediate to support his standing to challenge those laws.”

The issue arises with a question on the Federal Form 4473 which asks firearm buyers their state of residence. Since Dearth does not have a state of residence, he cannot legally complete a firearms transaction. SAF filed the case against Attorney General Eric Holder, seeking to enjoin him from enforcing the law. The lawsuit also contends that the gun law violates Dearth’s Fifth Amendment right of equal protection.

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and an amicus brief and fund for the Emerson case holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.

Second Amendment Foundation

BELLEVUE, WA --(Ammoland.com)- The Second Amendment Foundation today filed a federal lawsuit challenging a law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that denies legal resident aliens the licenses required to possess a handgun in the home for self-defense, or purchase any kind of firearm.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Joining SAF in this lawsuit are Commonwealth Second Amendment, a Massachusetts grassroots organization, and two British citizens who reside in the commonwealth. They are represented by attorney Joseph M. Hickson III of Springfield. Defendants are Cambridge Police Commissioner Robert C. Haas, Northboro Police Chief Mark k. Leahy and Jason A. Guida, director of the Firearms Records Bureau in Chelsea.

The lawsuit alleges that Christopher M. Fletcher of Cambridge and Eoin M. Pryal of Northboro – both legal resident aliens – have been specifically denied the ability to obtain a Firearms Identification Card or a License to Carry of any kind. Before moving to Massachusetts, Fletcher lived in California, where he had a Basic Firearms Safety certificate and Handgun Safety certificate, which allowed him to purchase and own firearms including handguns. Pryal, who is married to a citizen of this country, and had a shotgun certificate and international dealer’s license while living in the United Kingdom.

“One of the fundamental principles in this country is that people have rights,” said SAF Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb. “Among those rights is the right of self-defense, especially in one’s own home. Christopher Fletcher and Eoin Pryal live here legally, they have been firearms owners, they are productive members of the community, yet they are being denied a basic right by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This is wrong and our court challenge aims to correct that.”

“This lawsuit truly illustrates the contradictory and irrational nature of the Commonwealths’ firearms laws,” Comm2A President Brent Carlton added. “Governor Deval Patrick’s administration has broadly supported the immigrant community and noted our dependence on them for our continued prosperity while Massachusetts law treats those same individuals as inherently dangerous enough to justify their exclusion from certain fundamental rights protected by the Constitution of the United States. This blanket prohibition runs contrary to the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and today’s challenge is supported overwhelmingly by well-established legal precedent.”

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and an amicus brief and fund for the Emerson case holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.

Second Amendment Foundation

BELLEVUE, WA --(Ammoland.com)- Considering that there are an estimated 80 million gun owners in the United States, it should be no surprise that local organizations devoted to protecting and promoting gun rights - especially in the wake of the 2008 Heller ruling and the 2010 McDonald decision by the U.S. Supreme Court - have been springing up, growing in numbers and gaining political clout.

As founder of the Second Amendment Foundation, which brought the landmark case of McDonald v. City of Chicago to the high court with the cooperation of the Illinois State Rifle Association, I have witnessed this surge in gun rights interests with delight.

Today, SAF is proudly involved in legal actions with several grassroots organizations, challenging onerous state and local gun laws.

For example, SAF is cooperating with Grass Roots North Carolina, a pro-gun-rights organization, in a challenge of North Carolina’s emergency powers statute that allows the governor or local officials to suspend Second Amendment rights outside of the home during a declared emergency.

In California, SAF has partnered with the CalGuns Foundation on several lawsuits to protect the rights of gun owners.

Our lawsuit against a discretionary - and essentially discriminatory - gun permit law in Maryland has gotten financial support from Maryland Shall Issue. Likewise, a SAF lawsuit against a similar law in New York’s Westchester County is being supported by Long Island Firearms and the Shooters Committee On Political Education (SCOPE).

Our newest legal challenges to anti-gun rights laws against the state of New Jersey and New York City were filed with local plaintiffs, the New Jersey Association of Rifle and Pistol Clubs and the New York Rifle and Pistol Association.

This emergence of pro-gun grassroots organizations evidently surprises the mainstream press, which has long believed that the National Rifle Association, and only the NRA, speaks for gun owners and lobbies on their behalf. While it is certainly true that the NRA effectively lobbies for gun owners on Capitol Hill and in state legislatures, it is also true that alternate gun rights groups including state-level concealed and open carry organizations, and groups fashioning themselves after the Virginia Citizens’ Defense League, Gun Owners’ Action League of Massachusetts, Ohioans for Concealed Carry and Buckeye Firearms Association, Arizona Citizens Defense League, the Montana Sport Shooting Association and Oregon Firearms Federation, have risen to handle their own affairs rather than depend entirely on a national association to do their bidding.

This presents no small dilemma for the media, and for gun prohibitionist groups that have long tried to demonize the so-called “gun lobby” as a monolithic organization with the initials “NRA.” Instead of a lobby, the emergence of various strong local gun groups is a movement with a broad and diverse membership representing all walks of life, all races, professions and genders. It is very difficult to demonize a movement that represents a cross-section of Americana, which may be exemplified by the NRA, but not necessarily as the only group on the map.

Alas, the NRA may have fallen into that trap, itself, by recent actions that have included a publicly embarrassing attempt to secure for itself - and no other gun rights groups - an exemption from the DISCLOSE Act. While that was bad enough, the association went one step farther by suggesting in its own magazines that the McDonald case was the NRA’s, when it was not.

As an NRA member, I have been proud when SAF and our sister organization, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, have fought side-by-side with the NRA on such major issues as the lawsuit against New Orleans to stop gun confiscations after Hurricane Katrina. We invariably shared credit for that effort, and our joint lawsuits against attempted gun bans in the cities of San Francisco and Seattle. We look forward to more such actions, because we have yet to lose one of these cooperative cases in court.

We are equally pleased to work with local grassroots organizations, though. We operate, and cooperate, under no illusions. Fighting to protect existing gun rights and regain those we have lost is a job that will require grassroots activism as well as a strong unified national voice.

Today’s gun rights movement perhaps best typifies the “big tent” inside of which there may sometimes be discord and lively debate, but ultimately we all want the same thing: The free exercise of our constitutionally-protected fundamental civil right to keep and bear arms.

The mainstream media and gun-hating editorialists can no longer take the lazy approach by simply heaping scorn on the NRA as some sort of evil lock-step enterprise. These gun prohibitionists are now facing a much larger and formidable front, perhaps with NRA at its center, but with other strong and vocal national and local groups on the flanks. Gun owners realize we are all in this together, and that’s the only way we will restore those rights that have been eroded: together.

Alan Gottlieb is founder and executive vice president of the Second Amendment Foundation, and chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

Second Amendment Foundation

BELLEVUE, WA --(Ammoland.com)- The Second Amendment Foundation announced this morning that it has filed an amended complaint in federal district court against New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the City of New York over exorbitant gun licensing fees, adding two additional plaintiffs who came forward asking to be part of the legal action.

SAF Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb said with these additional plaintiffs, there are now seven private citizens who have joined SAF and the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association in the lawsuit.

“We are being overwhelmed with calls following yesterday’s announcement about the lawsuit,” Gottlieb acknowledged.

“We want to assure everyone that they do not need to be part of the lawsuit in order to benefit from a victory.

“SAF truly appreciates the wave of enthusiasm and support from New York gun owners,” he continued. “We need to move forward right now, and if people would like to support our lawsuit with a tax-exempt contribution to SAF, we would welcome that.”

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York. Plaintiffs are represented by attorney David Jensen.

“Almost immediately after the lawsuit was filed,” Gottlieb said, “our phones started ringing as people wanted to join the lawsuit. We simply cannot take on more plaintiffs at this point and further delay the process.

“We do not want New York’s outrageous $340 license fee to continue one more day than it has to,” he explained. “Imagine if this was a poll tax. How many New Yorkers would be storming city hall right now, demanding their voting rights? The city’s excessive gun licensing fee amounts to the same egregious assault on every citizen’s right to self-protection in their own home.”

About:
The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and an amicus brief and fund for the Emerson case holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.

New York State Rifle and Pistol Association

TROY, NY --(Ammoland.com)- The New York State Rifle & Pistol Association (NYSRPA) in conjunction with the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) have filed suit against the City of New York over the fees charged by the New York City Police Department for the costs associated with the processing of pistol license applications.

NYSRPA believes that both the City and State of New York violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment by requiring the payment of fees as a prerequisite for the lawful exercise of the specifically enumerated individual civil right to keep and bear arms as guaranteed by the 2nd Amendment.

“The U.S. Supreme Court has recently made it clear that individuals have a right to own guns. Government cannot place arbitrary financial constraints upon those wishing to exercise this right any more than it can for those wishing to exercise their right to vote, ” said Tom King, President of NYSRPA.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg himself publicly acknowledged the indefensible nature of the fee structure last October when he urged the City Council to lower the costs specifically to avoid a lawsuit:

“We want to be in compliance with the law … so that we don’t want to lose the ability to have reasonable controls. If we have controls that the courts have ruled too onerous or too unfair, we could lose the whole thing.”

The City Council ignored the Mayor and flatly refused to take up this issue. NYSRPA has no choice but to take the issue to court.

Second Amendment Foundation

BELLEVUE, WA --(Ammoland.com)- The Second Amendment Foundation filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg that alleges New York City’s $340 fee for a permit to keep a handgun in the home is “excessive and impermissibly burdens the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.”

SAF is joined in the lawsuit by the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association and five individual New York City residents. Also named as a defendant in the lawsuit is New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

“Under state law,” said SAF Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb, “the maximum fee for issuing a New York State handgun license is $10, but the law exempts citizens living in New York City. That exemption allows the city to charge an exorbitant fee for the license, which discourages city residents from exercising their civil rights while violating the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

“For decades the City has charged its residents exorbitant license fees that far exceed the fees charged by other states and cities that impose them,” said attorney David Jensen, who is representing the plaintiffs. “The effect of this is to force a punitive tax on New York City citizens who choose to own firearms in compliance with the law. But people have a constitutional right to keep and bear arms, and the City cannot simply impose fees for the sake of burdening law-abiding gun owners.”

“The New York State Rifle & Pistol Association was founded 141 years ago in New York City and we are proud to participate in an action to help restore the Second Amendment rights of all New York City residents,” said NYSRPA President Tom King.

In its lawsuit, SAF notes that the $340 fee is not used to defray administrative costs, so there appears to be no purpose for it other than to discourage people from applying for a permit. The excessive fee, according to Gottlieb, puts the exercise of a constitutional right solely within the financial reach of the wealthy class, essentially turning a civil right into a privilege for the rich and well-connected.

“New York is one of only two states that require a permit just to keep a handgun in one’s own home,” Gottlieb said. “Citizens in the other 48 states would consider that an outrage. The city’s residence premises’ handgun license amounts to a charge of more than $100 annually to keep a handgun in one’s home, which is ridiculous. Mayor Bloomberg is essentially taxing the fundamental right to defend one’s self in his or her own home. We cannot think of anything more egregious than perpetuating a fee structure that puts a financial obstacle in the way of citizens who want to protect their homes and families.

“We believe the only recourse is to take this issue to the federal court,” he concluded. “Billionaires like Mayor Bloomberg can be cavalier about a citizen’s rights, but we can’t, and we won’t.”

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and an amicus brief and fund for the Emerson case holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.

Guns Save Lives Truck - Volunteers Needed

Arizona Citizens Defense League

Catalina, AZ --(Ammoland.com)- To counter Mayor Bloomberg’s Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG) roving billboard that spews out anti-rights propaganda, the Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org/) has a “GUNS SAVE LIVES” truck touring the country to reveal the truth – that guns save lives.

The Guns Save Lives truck will be in Phoenix on March 24, and they are asking for volunteers to help them spread the word.

They intend on securing space in front of The Arizona Republic.

To volunteer, contact Thomas McKiddie Thomas.McKiddie@liberty.seanet.com .

Or call SAF at 425-454-7012.

AzCDL – Protecting Your Freedom
http://www.azcdl.org/html/accomplishments.html .

Guns Save Lives Truck Brochure

About:
AzCDL believes that the emphasis of gun laws should be on criminal misuse and that law-abiding citizens should be able to own and carry firearms unaffected by unnecessary laws or regulations. AzCDL was founded by a group of local activists who recognized that a sustained, coordinated, statewide effort was critical to protecting and expanding the rights of law-abiding gun owners. As a like-minded coalition of activists, the AzCDL founders were instrumental in the successful passage of the first major improvement to Arizona’s CCW (concealed carry) laws since they were instituted in 1994. Visit: www.azcdl.org