In a bold announcement following considerable media chortling over Donald Trump’s conviction in a New York courtroom on falsifying business records and the loss of his gun rights, the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) came out swinging with the announcement the organization will offer to defend the former president’s rights.

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

He noted that SAF has, in the past, gone to bat for others whose gun rights have been denied. In a prepared statement, he said the foundation has always maintained that persons convicted of non-violent crimes should not lose their Second Amendment rights.

“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.”

CNN reported that Trump had already surrendered two handguns to the New York Police Department on March 31, 2023, following his indictment. A third gun reportedly was moved to his residence in Florida, and that gun may have to be surrendered as well because of a federal law prohibiting convicted felons of possessing firearms.

The Huffington Post recalled Trump’s statement to a French publication some years ago that he carried a firearm. He was licensed by New York to carry, but the license was suspended upon his indictment in 2023. The HuffPo acknowledged Trump may not have lost his gun rights forever. They could be restored if an appeals court overturns his conviction.

The former president has promised to appeal.

Trump’s legal dilemma allowed the establishment media to make much of the fact that he has developed strong ties to the Second Amendment community. MSN, for example, reported, “Trump has long enjoyed strong support from the largely conservative gun rights movement, repeatedly addressing gatherings of the National Rifle Association and recently vowing to roll back firearm restrictions that the Biden administration had pushed through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.”

TIME magazine went into further detail, identifying countries where Trump might be barred from visiting, which would make it tough for a national leader to actually lead.

 “Thirty-seven nations,” TIME stated, “including Canada and Mexico—bar individuals with criminal records from entering their borders. Here is a map of all of the countries Trump may be unable to visit.”

Of course, TIME also discussed how the conviction strips Trump of his gun rights.

Newsweek’s headline took the opportunity to demonize Trump supporters for being upset at the gun rights loss: “Donald Trump Gun License Potentially Being Revoked Sparks MAGA Outrage.”

The Newsweek report asserted that “Trump loyalists and supporters of the MAGA agenda” have criticized journalists over reports his carry license would be revoked.

Defending gun rights is nothing new at SAF, even for people who have had trouble with the law. SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut noted in the SAF announcement, “SAF has litigated challenges in the past to restore gun rights for people convicted of non-violent crimes, and we will do so again.”

He said the foundation is currently litigating a case involving the denial of carry permits for people whose rights had been restored as the result of prior SAF lawsuits.

Gottlieb, who has met Trump in the past, said SAF’s tradition of “winning gun rights one lawsuit at a time” includes going to bat for a former president. The foundation has gained considerable notoriety for being on the cutting edge of Second Amendment litigation, including its 2010 Supreme Court victory in McDonald v. City of Chicago, which incorporated the Second Amendment to the states via the 14^th Amendment. That ruling has opened the floodgates for considerable legal challenges of state and local gun control laws, and in the aftermath of the 2022 high court ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which changed the way gun control laws must be judged.

About Dave Workman