Second Amendment Foundation
A United States nonprofit organization that advocates for an individual right to keep and bear arms through litigation, publishing, education, and public-policy activity.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) is a United States nonprofit advocacy organization focused on protecting and expanding interpretations of the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. Alan Gottlieb founded the organization in 1974, and it is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. Its work combines constitutional litigation, public education, publishing, media engagement, conferences, and support for related research and advocacy projects. SAF is best known for sponsoring or joining lawsuits challenging firearm restrictions. Its litigation program has addressed firearm possession during declared emergencies, municipal handgun bans, licensing rules affecting legal resident aliens, library Internet-filtering policies, and the online distribution of files associated with three-dimensional-printed firearms. The organization has frequently worked with other gun-rights groups, individual plaintiffs, and attorneys with experience before the Supreme Court of the United States. Its most consequential litigation included McDonald v. Chicago, in which the Supreme Court held in 2010 that the Second Amendment applies to state and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment. SAF also participated in litigation after Hurricane Katrina that challenged firearm seizures in New Orleans, and it supported litigation that resulted in the restoration of Washington state's Alien Firearms License application and renewal process. The foundation's advocacy ecosystem includes the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA), an affiliated organization founded by Gottlieb in 1971. CCRKBA was created by firearm-rights advocates who believed that the National Rifle Association was not taking a sufficiently strong position on gun-control issues. SAF and CCRKBA have operated as closely related organizations and reported more than 650,000 members collectively as of January 2015, although that figure should not be treated as a current membership count. SAF also supports communications and educational activity through magazines, newsletters, reference publications, conferences, media contacts, and radio operations in the Pacific Northwest. Its publications have included The Gun Mag, formerly associated with New Gun Week; Women & Guns; The Gottlieb-Tartaro Report; SAF Reporter; and the Journal of Firearms and Public Policy. The foundation has additionally been associated with Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership, a network of physicians and health professionals presenting arguments about firearms, safety, medicine, and public policy from a gun-rights perspective. Following the Supreme Court's 2008 decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, SAF partnered with Smith & Wesson on a commemorative revolver honoring the ruling and presented examples to the case's six plaintiffs. The organization has also taken positions on legislative proposals. In 2013, Alan Gottlieb expressed support for the Manchin-Toomey background-check amendment in his role with CCRKBA, demonstrating that the organizations' advocacy has not necessarily opposed every form of firearms regulation. SAF remains an active U.S. gun-rights organization whose public identity is centered on constitutional litigation and education rather than the sale of consumer goods. Its historical importance is particularly connected to the post-Heller litigation campaign seeking to define how the individual right recognized by the Supreme Court applies to states, municipalities, licensing systems, emergencies, and emerging technologies.
History
The Second Amendment Foundation was established in 1974 by Alan Gottlieb in the United States. From its beginning, the organization developed as a nonprofit advocacy group supporting an individual-rights interpretation of the Second Amendment. Rather than operating primarily as a firearms manufacturer or retailer, SAF built its identity around public education, publications, conferences, media engagement, and legal action. A closely related organization is the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, founded by Gottlieb in 1971. CCRKBA emerged from dissatisfaction among some firearm-rights supporters who viewed the National Rifle Association as insufficiently forceful on gun-control questions. The two organizations have often operated within the same broader advocacy network and reported a combined membership exceeding 650,000 in January 2015. That historical figure does not establish their present membership. SAF's litigation activity became increasingly prominent in the 2000s. In 2005, it joined the NRA and other parties in challenging firearm seizures carried out in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. A consent order followed, but New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and other defendants were later held in contempt for violating it. SAF also participated in litigation against San Francisco's handgun ban. A California trial court struck down the ban in 2006, the state Court of Appeal affirmed in 2008, and the California Supreme Court rejected the city's further appeal that same year. The foundation was involved in a separate dispute concerning the North Central Regional Library District in Washington state. Plaintiffs argued that the library's refusal to disable Internet filters at an adult patron's request restricted access to constitutionally protected material, including SAF's Women & Guns magazine website. Washington's Supreme Court concluded that a public library could filter Internet access for all patrons under the state constitution. In 2012, the federal district court consequently determined that the policy was reasonable and not unconstitutionally overbroad. In 2008, SAF and the NRA successfully challenged Washington's failure to issue or renew Alien Firearms Licenses for eligible legal resident aliens. The same period marked SAF's most important constitutional litigation campaign. After the Supreme Court's decision in District of Columbia v. Heller recognized an individual right to possess a firearm for lawful private purposes, SAF filed McDonald v. Chicago against the city's handgun ban. The Supreme Court ruled in 2010 that the Second Amendment applies to state and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment. The case established a major constitutional foundation for subsequent challenges to state and municipal firearm restrictions. SAF continued this post-Heller strategy in Bateman v. Perdue, filed in North Carolina shortly after McDonald. The case challenged the ability of local officials to suspend firearm rights during declared states of emergency. Alan Gura, who had argued Heller and McDonald before the Supreme Court, served as lead counsel in the matter. SAF also pursued emerging free-speech and firearms-technology issues. In 2015 it joined Defense Distributed in a suit against the U.S. Department of State over the attempted removal of three-dimensional-printed gun files from the Internet. After appeals and remand to a federal district court in Texas, the State Department offered to settle the case. Alongside litigation, SAF maintained a publishing and educational program. Its associated publications have included The Gun Mag, Women & Guns, The Gottlieb-Tartaro Report, SAF Reporter, and the Journal of Firearms and Public Policy. The organization and CCRKBA have also been associated with radio stations in the Pacific Northwest. Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership, a physician and health-professional network, was described as a SAF project by 2016 and contributed medical and scientific perspectives to firearms-policy debates. The foundation has also used partnerships and symbolic products to promote its legal successes. After Heller, it worked with Smith & Wesson on a commemorative revolver featuring references to the case and its 2008 decision date; examples were presented to the case's six plaintiffs. Across these activities, SAF's historical role has been to combine litigation, communications, and policy advocacy in support of broad firearm-rights protections.
- 2015
Defense Distributed lawsuit joined
[1]SAF joined litigation over federal restrictions on publishing three-dimensional-printed firearm files.
- 2010
Supreme Court decides McDonald v. Chicago
[1]The Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment applies to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.
- 2008
McDonald litigation begins
[1]Following Heller, SAF filed the lawsuit that became McDonald v. Chicago, challenging Chicago's handgun ban.
- 2005
Hurricane Katrina seizure lawsuit filed
[1]SAF and the NRA challenged firearm seizures in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
- 1974
Second Amendment Foundation established
[1]Alan Gottlieb established SAF as a U.S. nonprofit organization supporting gun rights.
- 1971
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms founded
[1]Alan Gottlieb founded CCRKBA, the advocacy organization that later became closely affiliated with SAF.
Products and positioning
A litigation-led constitutional advocacy organization representing an expansive individual-rights interpretation of the Second Amendment.
Magazine
The Gun Mag
A gun-rights and firearms publication associated with SAF. It continues the publication lineage of New Gun Week, which ran for approximately 45 years before taking the newer title.
Magazine
Women & Guns
A bimonthly publication associated with SAF that covers firearms ownership, use, and policy from a perspective directed toward women firearm owners and readers.
Newsletter
SAF Reporter
A quarterly newsletter used to communicate the foundation's legal, organizational, and public-policy activities.
Reference publication
Journal of Firearms and Public Policy
An annual reference publication focused on firearms law, public policy, and related constitutional and political issues.
Marketing campaigns
- 2008Heller commemorative revolver
United States
SAF partnered with Smith & Wesson after District of Columbia v. Heller to produce a commemorative revolver referencing the case and the Supreme Court's June 26, 2008 ruling.
Outcome. The revolvers were presented to the six plaintiffs in Heller.
Brand decisions
2015
Challenge restrictions on publishing 3D-printed firearm filesOtherBackground
The U.S. Department of State had sought to restrict the Internet distribution of files associated with three-dimensional-printed firearms.
Action taken
SAF joined Defense Distributed in litigation against the department.
Aftermath
After appeals and remand to a Texas federal district court, the State Department offered to settle.
2008
Expand post-Heller litigation to state and local restrictionsStrategyBackground
The Supreme Court's Heller decision recognized an individual Second Amendment right to possess a firearm for lawful private use.
Action taken
SAF filed McDonald v. Chicago to challenge Chicago's handgun ban and pursued related litigation involving state and local restrictions.
Aftermath
The Supreme Court's 2010 McDonald decision held that the Second Amendment applies to state and local governments.
Recent events
- 2015
SAF joins Defense Distributed lawsuit over firearm files[1]
Lawsuit
SAF joined Defense Distributed in litigation against the U.S. Department of State concerning restrictions on publishing files related to three-dimensional-printed firearms.
- 2013
Alan Gottlieb supports the Manchin-Toomey background-check amendment[1]
Regulation
In a National Public Radio interview, Alan Gottlieb expressed support for a bipartisan amendment that would have expanded background checks to certain gun-show and Internet sales.
- 2012
Court rules on North Central Regional Library Internet filtering[1]
Lawsuit
Litigation involving SAF publications and library Internet filters ended with rulings that the library's filtering policy was constitutionally permissible.
- 2006
San Francisco handgun-ban litigation advances[1]
Lawsuit
SAF and allied plaintiffs challenged San Francisco's handgun ban. Lower-court rulings against the ban were ultimately upheld after appeals through the California courts.
- 2005
SAF and NRA challenge post-Hurricane Katrina firearm seizures[1]
Lawsuit
The Second Amendment Foundation and the National Rifle Association sued New Orleans officials over firearm seizures conducted after Hurricane Katrina.
Sources2 sources
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