The Second Amendment Foundation, founded in 1974, is a tax-exempt Washington-state non-profit corporation organized under Section 501(c)(3) of the IRS code. It has been a pioneer in innovative defense of the right to keep and bear arms, through its publications, public education programs and legal action. Donations to the Second Amendment Foundation are tax-deductible.

The Foundation is governed by a nine-member Board of Trustees. A copy of the Foundation’s IRS 990 Annual Report and past year’s independent audit are located in the Financial Information section.

The Foundation publishes TheGunMag.Com which is recognized as the source publication for the firearms community and gun industry. The Foundation also published the monthly newsletter, The Gottlieb-Tartaro Report, and the quarterly member/supporter newsletter SAF Reporter.

In addition to the scholars conferences, the Foundation hosts or co-sponsors with other groups a number of free grassroots seminars and meetings. These include the annual pro-gun unity Gun Rights Policy Conferences (GRPC) which started in 1986. At GRPC, legislative and judicial actions of the previous year are reviewed and strategies discussed for the coming year by leaders of national, state and local pro-gun organizations. Each year, the Foundation also sponsors—in cooperation with the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and other organizations—state and regional Leadership Training Conferences (LTC) for grassroots activists.

The Foundation regularly distributes position papers, research reports and commentaries to the general media, and SAF staff participates annually in almost 1000 radio and television appearances and newspaper and magazine interviews on behalf of the Second Amendment’s right to keep and bear arms. Mr. Gottlieb alone appears on over 500 radio and television shows each year, including national network programs, and his opinion articles have appeared frequently in USA Today, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Fort Worth Star Telegram and many other publications. The Foundation also makes investments in media properties as an extension of a resolution adopted at the 1989 Gun Rights Policy Conference.

The Foundation has a noteworthy track record in bringing and supporting legal actions and amicus briefs, in cases affecting the right to keep and bear arms. Successful court actions have been brought in the U.S. Supreme Court, most notably in D.C. v. Heller and McDonald v. Chicago. The Foundation has as many as two dozens active court cases at any one time. Successful cases have been brought against the carry ban in Illinois (Moore v. Madigan), emergency powers acts (Bateman v. Purdue), self-defense outside of the home (Ezell v. Chicago), handgun prohibitions in public housing, denial of permits or sales to resident aliens, and other issues. Please see current and past litigation listings.

The Foundation has been active in Second Amendment litigation for almost 50 years. It was involved in many cases—from overturning the San Francisco handgun ban to blocking a ban on the sale of handguns in New Haven, CT. The Foundation also has sponsored challenges to unfair concealed carry license practices in several states, including Ohio’s prohibition on concealed carry. One Foundation suit helped end 19 years of Los Angeles police denial of California CCWs, paving the way for issuance to average citizens. The Foundation has helped fund lawsuits against the 1994 federal gun ban, the California ban, and countersued cities that sued the gun industry.

The Second Amendment Foundation along with the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms own the popular news links site, KeepAndBearArms.Com.