BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation has honored Washington State firearms retailer and gun rights activist Dan Mitchell, proprietor at Vancouver’s Sporting Systems, with its annual “Distinguished Service” award.
Mitchell, who was recently elected to a position on the SAF Board of Directors, is a plaintiff in three SAF lawsuits challenging Washington State gun control laws. His experience as not only a well-known activist in the Evergreen State, but also as a key litigant, gives him a unique perspective about the problems gun owners face in his home state, and he puts that to good use. His most recent foray into the legal arena involves him as a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit challenging Washington State’s newly-enacted ban on so-called “assault weapons.”
“Dan is a powerhouse when it comes to activism and getting things done,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “He’s been a fund raiser, a grassroots organizer, and a leader in the firearms community for many years. He has traveled to Olympia to testify on gun control legislation, and when that wasn’t possible, he has testified remotely, but he is always a presence when the rights of law-abiding gun owners are under attack, and he certainly has earned this recognition.”
Mitchell once described himself as an “inconvenient activist” during a short speech on the Washington State Capitol steps in Olympia, when he announced to the crowd that he had personally chartered a bus to bring more than 50 people to a gun rights rally. About that, he said simply, “There are times in your life when the right thing is presented, and you just do it.”
Mitchell operates Sporting Systems with his wife, Heidi, and he is known to travel several times a year to the state capitol during the legislative sessions to testify and talk with legislators.