WHO WE ARE
The Second Amendment Foundation has been fighting for nearly 50 years to defend, secure and expand Second Amendment rights. Since its inception, SAF has been involved in over 250 legal cases across the nation. SAF has litigated cases at the highest levels of the American judicial system, battling to win lasting and meaningful court decisions that protect liberty and freedom.
In the battleground of the courtroom, our fight for the Second Amendment has achieved great success in ending government overreach, as well as repealing unconstitutional gun bans and restrictive permitting laws that limit your right to self-protection.
In the battleground of the courtroom, our fight for the Second Amendment has achieved great success in ending government overreach, as well as repealing unconstitutional gun bans and restrictive permitting laws that limit your right to self-protection.
The Second Amendment Foundation is actively litigating over 50 cases with the bulk of our work in the federal courts.
KEY AREAS OF LITIGATION
- Challenges to so-called “sensitive places” including places of worship
- Fighting age-based bans
- Overturning “assault weapons” bans
- Large capacity magazine bans
- California’s 3-1 handgun rule
- Electronic Arms (Taser) bans
- Sales locations and fee shifting challenges
- Protecting the continued sale of specific products and classes
- Challenges to ATF’s regulatory overreach
NOTABLE VICTORIES
- McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010) (Supreme Court holding that Second Amendment protections were incorporated against the states through the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment.)
- Moore v. Madigan (7th Cir. 2012) (Striking down Illinois flat ban on carrying firearms outside of the home)
- Ezell v. City of Chicago (7th Cir. 2011) (Striking down Chicago’s total ban on ranges)
- Ezell v. City of Chicago II (7th Cir. 2017) (Striking down Chicago’s zoning requirement for placement of ranges in manufacturing districts, the City’s ban on minors from accompanying adults to the range, and finding that the Second Amendment right includes the ability to learn how to handle and use firearms)
- Bateman v. Perdue (E.D.N.C. 2012) (Striking down North Carolina emergency powers provisions which eviscerated the right to keep and bear arms)
- Columbia Housing & Redevelopment Corp. v. Kinsley Braden (Tenn. Ct. App. 2022) (Striking down a gun ban by a public housing authority in the community of Columbia on the grounds it violates the Second Amendment)
- Wrenn, et al. v. District of Columbia, et al. (D.C. Cir. 2017) (Holding that“individual right to carry common firearms beyond the home for self defense—even in densely populated areas, even for those lacking special self-defense needs—falls within the core of the Second Amendment’s protections.”)
- Binderup v. AG of the United States (3rd Cir. 2016) (Finding federal “felon” ban relating to nonviolent state misdemeanors unconstitutional as-applied)
- Miller v. Bonta (S.D.C.A. 2021) (Challenge to California’s Assault Weapons Ban resulting in a victory at trial, currently remanded to the trial court post Bruen).
- Koons, et al. v. Platkin, et al. (D.N.J. 2023) (Temporary restraining order granted against challenged provisions of NJ’s “sensitive places” law.)
WHY SUPPORT SAF
As a stalwart defender of the Second Amendment since 1974, SAF has the necessary experience in the legal system to ensure that your Second Amendment rights are secured for generations to come. In addition to our legal work, SAF seeks to engage and educate the public on the right to keep and bear arms.
Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) Fund Raising Program
Mission Statement
The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) is dedicated to promoting a better understanding about our Constitutional heritage to privately own and possess firearms. To that end, we carry on many educational and legal action programs designed to better inform the public about the gun control debate.
Key People
Massad Ayoob is an American firearms and self-defense instructor. He has taught police techniques and civilian self-defense to both law enforcement officers and private citizens since 1974. He was the director of the Lethal Force Institute in Concord, New Hampshire, from 1981 to 2009, and now operates his own company. Ayoob has appeared as an expert witness in several trials. He served as a part-time police officer in New Hampshire since 1972 and retired in 2017 with the rank of Captain from the Grantham, New Hampshire, police department. Ayoob has authored several books and more than 1,000 articles on firearms, combat techniques, self-defense, and legal issues. Since 1995, he has written self-defense and firearms related articles for Backwoods Home Magazine. He also has a featured segment on the television show Personal Defense TV, which is broadcast on the Sportsman Channel in the US. Ayoob is a former Vice Chairman of the Forensic Evidence Committee of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL.).
Alan M. Gottlieb is Founder of the Second Amendment Foundation. He is also the author or co-author of numerous books including Dancing In Blood: Exposing the Gun Lobby to Destroy Your Rights, Politically Correct Guns, The Gun Rights Fact Book, The Gun Grabbers, Things You Can Do to Defend Your Gun Rights, Gun Rights Affirmed and Black and Blue. He is also co-author (with Dave Workman) of Shooting Blanks: The Democrats War Against Guns, America Fights Back: Armed Self-Defense in a Violent Age, These Dogs Don’t Hunt: The Democrats’ War On Guns, Assault on Weapons: The Campaign to Eliminate Your Guns and Shooting Blanks: Facts Don’t Matter to the Gun Control Crowd. Alan has published articles in the San Francisco Examiner, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune and USA Today. Mr. Gottlieb has appeared on over 6,000 TV and radio talk shows, including Lou Dobbs, ABC’s 20/20, The O’Reilly Show, MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews, CNN’s Crossfire, CBS Morning News, Laura Ingraham Show, BBC, NBC’s Today Show, Good Morning America and China TV.
Adam Kraut is the Second Amendment Foundation’s Executive Director. He brings almost a decade of experience in the Second Amendment realm as a litigator and educator. Throughout his career, Kraut has represented individuals, companies, and institutional plaintiffs in state and federal litigation and regulatory matters. In addition to his legal background, Kraut draws management experience from his time in the non-profit world, where he was responsible for overseeing the programmatic functions of a liberty-based non-profit, which concentrated on Second Amendment issues. He also managed a federal firearms licensee. Kraut comes with a variety of media experience, having written for publications such as Recoil magazine, Recoil Web, and other online publications, writing and hosting a YouTube series, hosting and appearing as guest on multiple podcasts, and appearing on television.
Lauren Hill is the Vice President of Development at Second Amendment Foundation. She is responsible for leading SAF’s fundraising and support efforts by identifying and creating revenue streams and maximizing strategic partnerships. She brings over 15 years of experience in the non-profit world having worked at Firearms Policy Coalition, Safari Club International, Better Business Bureau, International Sports Council, Super Bowl, Major League Baseball, and the National Football League. Her fundraising expertise includes corporate sponsorships, donor development, special event execution, and management of sales, marketing, and communications teams. As an outdoor enthusiast, she pursued her personal passion for hunting, fishing, shooting, and diving by founding women’s outdoor group in 2015 called ReelCamo Girl. She is a resident of southern California and holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from John Carroll University, where she played on the collegiate varsity basketball team. She also earned a master’s degree in business administration, with an emphasis in marketing, from the University of Phoenix. Contact Lauren.
J. Pierce Shields, Esq. is the National Director of Advancement for the Second Amendment Foundation. He will be responsible for overseeing SAF’s fundraising efforts across Strategic Giving, Planned Giving, and Foundations. Shields comes to SAF with a strong background that includes four years overseeing a major bank’s trust and private wealth department and almost a decade of work as the Assistant Director of Planned Giving at the National Rifle Association. More recently, he served for two years as the National Director of Advancement at Firearms Policy Coalition. Shields brings over two decades of experience in planned giving. A resident of Pennsylvania, Shields has been involved in the Second Amendment space from a very early age, as an avid hunter and finding enjoyment in various shooting disciplines. He holds a Juris Doctorate from Widener University Law School, a Master of Laws in taxation from Villanova University School of Law, and a bachelor’s degree in Law from Rowan University. Contact Pierce.
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Donation History
| Month | Customer Donations | Our Match | Total |
| LIFETIME TOTAL | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| March 2023 |