Second Amendment Foundation Vows to Defend Trump’s Gun Rights

“Remember that the bell tolls also for you.”

By now, everyone in America knows that Donald Trump was recently convicted of 34 felony charges in New York. Everyone in America also knows that convicted felons lose their Second Amendment rights until such time as a court restores them (which is a big “if”). Four years ago, we had a lively discussion about whether that practice is Constitutional, especially if the felony in question wasn’t violent. Two years ago, the Supreme Court chimed in with its Bruen decision, which sent the interpretation of the Second Amendment back to its original form. Meaning, specifically, that gun rights can’t be abrogated unless the citizen has committed a crime that would have had their gun rights removed back in 1787.

The list of crimes that would have sufficed in 1787 is short, and largely included crimes that would also have sufficed for the death penalty: treason, murder, and rape. Basically, in 18th-century America, if you lost your gun rights, you probably lost your life shortly thereafter. It would have been unthinkable to vacate someone’s 2A rights for what we now think of as “white-collar felonies” like embezzlement or lying on your taxes.

Are you uncomfortable with convicted felon Martha Stewart owning a firearm? I’m not (although I would love to see what her AR build would look like). Nor am I uncomfortable with Hunter Biden doing the same. Part of the reason why is that you and I will probably unwittingly commit three felonies today.

There’s another reason why I support what the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) is doing on behalf of Donald Trump, and it has nothing to do with the fact that he used to be President. It has to do with the fact that any time there is a law in place, we should all imagine it being enforced to the very letter by our very worst enemies, because someday it will.

Ask not for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee, and for me.

For the rest of the details, we’re turning it over to SAF!

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The Second Amendment Foundation has announced it will defend former President Donald Trump’s gun rights in the wake of his conviction in a New York courtroom, which could result in the confiscation of his firearms.

“If Donald Trump is further prosecuted for owning firearms,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb, “we will offer to defend him and challenge the law.”

The veteran gun rights advocate noted it has always been SAF’s position that “Someone should not lose his or her gun rights due to a conviction of a non-violent crime.”

“Donald Trump has no history of violent crime,” Gottlieb explained. “Under the Supreme Court’s 2022 Bruen ruling, which requires gun laws to have some analogous connection to historical regulation at the time the Founders wrote the Constitution and Bill of Rights, Mr. Trump should not lose his Second Amendment rights. There is no historical nexus to deny someone, including Trump, of their gun rights over such a conviction.”

“SAF has litigated challenges in the past to restore gun rights for people convicted of non-violent crimes,” SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut recalled, “and we will do so again. In fact, we are currently litigating a challenge to the denial of carry permits for some former plaintiffs whose rights were restored due to prior SAF lawsuits.”

“The attack on Trump’s gun rights emphasizes the need to revisit existing gun control laws and change them to protect an individual’s gun rights,” Gottlieb observed. “Until that happens, we will be more than happy to meet New York State or the federal government in court.”

Gottlieb and Kraut noted SAF’s growing legal footprint in the gun rights legal arena. The foundation has nearly 60 cases currently in progress, and has won decisions all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Our motto is ‘Winning Gun Rights One Lawsuit at a Time,” Gottlieb stated. “That will include protecting and winning Donald Trump’s gun rights.”