2025: How the 2nd Amendment Foundation Took the Fight to the States—and Won ~ VIDEO

Adam Kraut, Executive Director of the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), lays out something that often gets lost in headlines: real progress on Second Amendment rights doesn’t come from speeches—it comes from lawsuits, court orders, and relentless follow-through.

Here’s the big picture, in plain terms, for anyone who cares about the right to keep and bear arms and wants to understand what actually moved the needle in 2025.

Lawfare, Not Lip Service

In 2025 alone, SAF filed 13 new lawsuits. These weren’t symbolic cases. They targeted real-world abuses that affect everyday gun owners:

• Excessive and punitive carry permit fees
• Laws that treat 18–20-year-old adults as second-class citizens
• Blanket bans, including New Jersey’s total silencer prohibition
• Government overreach tied to so-called “prohibited persons”

One case should concern anyone who values due process: SAF sued after a school district ordered an unlawful vehicle search of a student—solely because the student legally exercised Second Amendment rights off campus. That’s not “school safety.” That’s punishment for exercising a constitutional right.

Another case hit even closer to home. A New Jersey man had his firearms confiscated because his wife—who had no access to his guns—was involuntarily committed. No crime. No violation. Just guilt by association. SAF took the case, and after months of stonewalling, his guns were finally returned.

That’s what enforcement of constitutional limits looks like.

Major Wins That Actually Matter

Some victories deserve special attention because they set precedent:

• In Reese v. ATF, SAF’s challenge to the federal handgun purchase ban for 18–20-year-olds was vindicated.
• Minnesota’s ban on carry for young adults was struck down.
• In Illinois, a court ruled the FOID card unconstitutional when applied to keeping a firearm at home for self-defense.

And then there was California.

In 2025, SAF delivered three major losses to one of the most aggressive anti-gun states in the country:

1. California was forced to issue non-resident carry permits
2. The state’s one-gun-per-month rationing law was struck down
3. A speech-chilling law banning firearm advertising “attractive to minors” was thrown out

That’s not incremental. That’s structural damage to gun-control architecture.

Holding the Line on Federal Overreach

SAF also secured an injunction against the USPS carry ban, pushed back on so-called “sensitive places” schemes in New Jersey, and supported reopening federal firearms relief determinations—something gun owners have been denied for decades.

Behind the scenes, SAF filed 16 amicus briefs, coordinated with groups like the American Suppressor Association and the National Rifle Association, and worked to advance the first meaningful positive reform to the National Firearms Act since it was enacted.

That matters. Because bad law doesn’t die on its own—it has to be dismantled piece by piece.

Why This Should Matter to You

Right now, SAF is involved in over 55 active lawsuits nationwide. That’s not theory. That’s pressure—on legislatures, agencies, prosecutors, and courts.

If you’re a well-informed gun owner, you already know the strategy on the other side: pass the law now, let citizens spend years and millions fighting it later. SAF flips that script by meeting bad laws head-on and forcing governments to justify every inch of overreach.

That’s why the work highlighted in this video isn’t a recap—it’s a reminder.

Rights don’t enforce themselves. Someone has to show up in court.

Looking Ahead to 2026

SAF isn’t slowing down. New educational efforts, investigative journalism, and additional litigation are already in the pipeline for next year.

If you want to see more bad laws struck down, more confiscated firearms returned, and more courts forced to respect the Constitution, the path forward is clear: keep supporting the organizations willing to do the hard, unglamorous work.

Watch the video. Share it. And understand that 2025 proved something important:

The Second Amendment still has teeth—when it’s defended.