The Second Amendment Foundation, an organization responsible for many, if not the most, gun rights litigation ongoing in the U.S. today, is celebrating its 50th anniversary today, Aug. 26, at its headquarters in Bellevue, Wash.
In a brief announcement, the foundation notes, “SAF has scored numerous successes in the past half century, including the all-too-important McDonald v. City of Chicago decision handed down by the Supreme Court in 2010. SAF’s win in McDonald has been critical to the fight against modern gun control, as it paved the way for legal action against states and municipalities for violations of the Second Amendment.
The McDonald ruling saw not only the decades-old handgun ban in Chicago nullified, it also enabled the high court to incorporate the Second Amendment to the states via the 14th Amendment. As a result, every state—even those without a specific right to bear arms provision in its state constitution—is now covered by the Second Amendment.
“The goal when I created SAF was to get a case all the way to the Supreme Court,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “We did that in 2010, and that momentum hasn’t stopped. SAF has been part of more than 260 lawsuits since our founding and we currently have more than 55 active cases across the nation. This includes one case – Garland v. Vanderstok – that will be argued before the Supreme Court in October.”
Although SAF has won numerous critical pro-Second Amendment cases since 1974, the organization has shown no signs of slowing down. In fact, in 2022 SAF brought on board a new Executive Director – practicing attorney Adam Kraut – to lead the organization into the next half-century.
“When Alan started SAF 50 years ago, he laid out a comprehensive vision to fight for our right to keep and bear arms,” Kraut said. “Over time, he and those who joined him built a solid organizational foundation that was effective in winning where it matters. I think we continued to build on that foundation and have a tremendous team to lead the organization into the next 50 years. I’m looking forward to the challenge of continuing to build on the work Alan started.”
Over the past 50 years, SAF has been at the forefront of numerous legal battles, challenging unconstitutional firearms regulations such as “assault weapon” bans, magazine capacity bans, young adult carry laws, “sensitive places” restrictions, red flag laws, prohibited person and many, many more. Through aggressive, strategic litigation, SAF has successfully challenged restrictive gun laws across the nation, dismantling barriers that impede the right to keep and bear arms for all Americans.
For more information about SAF and to see a full list of current legal action visit saf.org.
