president’s
column
Support The NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund
When considering the constant threat to our constitutionally
guaranteed, God-given Right to Keep and Bear Arms, most of us think
in terms of political threats rather than threats coming from judges
and lawyers in courtrooms and judicial decisions. Likewise, when
we focus on political threats, we tend to think of supporting ILA
and the NRA Political Victory Fund—as we should.
However, by the time you read this, the U.S. Supreme Court will have
rendered its decision in District of Columbia v. Heller—the Washington,
D.C., gun ban case. At this writing, however, the Supreme Court has
not yet spoken. Win, lose or draw, the Heller case will be merely
the opening salvo in a renewed and ongoing war. Regardless of how
the Court rules, you may rest assured that lawyers and judges will
have their say about our rights for generations to come—and we must
be prepared.
It is for that reason that I urge you, in the strongest possible
terms, to momentarily shift your focus to the NRA Civil Rights Defense
Fund and to join me in providing the financial ammunition it needs
to continue fighting for our Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
The NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization
that provides legal and financial assistance to individuals and groups
striving to defend your human, civil and constitutional Right to
Keep and Bear Arms.
1. The NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund fights,
and wins, decisive legal battles to establish important case law
and legal precedent that can stand for generations.
For example, in addition to assisting in the Washington, D.C., gun-ban
case, the fund supported the precedent-setting case of United States
v. Emerson, in which the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals wrote that
the Second Amendment guarantees an individual Right to Keep and Bear
Arms. The fund also supported gun owners’ rights in Printz v. United
States, where the U.S. Supreme Court struck down unconstitutional
portions of the Brady Law.
2. The NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund assists
with scores of cases every year … but the need is much greater.
The fund has supported hundreds of cases over the past 30 years,
averaging approximately 60 active cases at a time. From 2006 to 2008,
the fund considered approximately 300 applications for help, with
monetary requests totaling nearly $6.4 million. But it could only
approve less than half of the applications and award grants totaling
approximately $1.3 million—a mere fraction of the total needed. From
1994 to 2005, the fund reviewed more than 1,000 requests for assistance,
but could only assist in just over half of those cases, awarding
approximately $5.6 million in grants. Much more was needed, and the
demand is growing!
3. The NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund actively
wages legal action in defense of your Second Amendment rights.
For example, the fund combats the unlawful seizure of firearms by
officials who violate the Constitution—such as we saw in New Orleans
after Hurricane Katrina.
The fund also supports cases to protect the right of self-defense,
defends the freedom to hunt and brings civil action against officials
who violate the rights of the very citizens they have sworn to protect.
4. The NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund underwrites
constitutional research and scholarly work that changes the entire
debate.
In addition to legal and financial assistance, the fund also sponsors
important constitutional research and legal education through grants,
scholarships, law student writing contests, distribution of books
to libraries and more.
These efforts have brought increased academic attention to the Right
to Keep and Bear Arms and our Second Amendment, including analysis
and discussion in important legal journals, college curricula and
popular culture, plus an increased constitutional awareness among
today’s students as they become tomorrow’s legal and political leaders.
In fact, if not for the groundbreaking research that the NRA Civil
Rights Defense Fund made possible, the “individual-rights view” of
the Second Amendment would never have emerged as the “standard model”
that scholars and Supreme Court Justices speak of today.
That’s the kind of historic sea change that you and I can help to
bring about—through maximum support for the NRA Civil Rights Defense
Fund.
With mayors like Bloomberg, Daley, Fenty, Nutter and Nagin; and governors
like Rendell, Blagojevich, Patrick and
Corzine, you know the lawsuits are coming and the NRA Civil Rights
Defense Fund will be busy. Now is the time to act!
There are many ways you can support the NRA Civil Rights Defense
Fund, and many ways you can benefit by doing so. So call the NRA
Office of General Counsel today at (703) 267-1250, or logon to
www.nradefensefund.org, to learn how you can help change history
for the better through the NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund.
