Established | 1974 |
---|---|
Founder | Alan M. Gottlieb |
Type |
Nonprofit corporation (IRS exemption status): 501(c)(3) |
Purpose | Gun rights advocacy |
Headquarters | Bellevue, Washington |
Location |
|
Region
|
United States |
Membership (2015)
|
650,000+ |
President
|
Joseph P. Tartaro |
Vice president
|
Alan M. Gottlieb |
Director of Operations
|
Julianne Versnel |
7 | |
Affiliations | Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) |
Budget (2014)
|
$4.8 million |
Staff (2011)
|
16 |
Website | www |
Coordinates: 47°37′07″N 122°10′26″W / 47.61861°N 122.17389°W
The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) is a United States nonprofit organization that supports gun rights. Founded in 1974 by Alan Gottlieb and headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, SAF publishes gun rights magazines and public education materials, funds conferences, provides media contacts, and has assumed a central role in sponsoring lawsuits.
The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) is the lobbying affiliate of the SAF. As of January 2015, both groups reported having over 650,000 members.
Identified as a "legal arm of the gun rights lobby" the Second Amendment Foundation has been victorious, and is currently engaged in multiple lawsuits defending Second Amendment rights.
In 2005, the Second Amendment Foundation and the National Rifle Association successfully sued New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin and others to stop gun seizures in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. On February 12, 2007, Ray Nagin and others were held in contempt of court for violating the consent order. The case is "National Rifle Association of America, Inc., et al. v. C. Ray Nagin et al.".
In 2005, SAF and others sued to stop the San Francisco gun ban. On June 13, 2006, San Francisco Superior Court Judge James Warren struck down the ban, saying local governments have no such authority under California law. The City appealed Judge Warren's ruling, but lost in a unanimous opinion from the three judge panel in the Court of Appeal issued on January 9, 2008. The City then appealed to the California Supreme Court, which reached a unanimous decision on April 9, 2008, that rejected the city's appeal and upheld the lower courts' decision.