There’s good news to report in the coming merger next week of the Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership with the strong and vibrant Second Amendment Foundation.
The Second Amendment Foundation, led by Alan Gottlieb, is most famous for bringing a long string of lawsuits in federal courts to force the recognition of the right to keep and bear arms. We all owe SAF a great debt of gratitude for their work in the successful Heller and McDonald decisions – which have led to subsequent court decisions striking down anti-gun laws.
As an Illinois resident, I am grateful for SAF’s “take it to the courts” strategy which forced Illinois to adopt right-to-carry over some very angry anti-gun legislators and a cry-baby, gun-hatin’ governor.
JPFO has long been an iconic civil rights organization, fighting for the rights of Jews to keep and bear arms to help ensure there’s never again another Holocaust. The organization’s founder, Aaron Zelman was a passionate and notable advocate for basic civil rights for most of his adult life and he formed JPFO in 1989. He tirelessly worked to educate people on what happens to disarmed Jews (and Gentiles, as well).
Most didn’t realize that JPFO has been in desperate straights for some time now, especially so since the 2010 death of its founder.
The group claimed a membership of over six thousand, however more than a few of those folks were life members and their membership money was long ago spent on the organization’s operational expenses during lean times. Most of the other names on the “membership list” were at some point annual members but haven’t paid for a renewal for some time, leaving the organization further in the hole. Unlike the gun control lobby, JPFO didn’t have the deep pockets of any George Soros or Michael Bloomberg billionaires to underwrite the group because, well, JPFO worked to promote freedom, not recreate past tyranny.
As if all that wasn’t bad enough, their spring fundraising mailing to members (and past due members) grossed $120.
Ouch.
In recent weeks, papers were drawn up to dissolve JPFO. JPFO’s board was within hours of signing them. A couple of phone calls were made and the folks at Second Amendment Foundation expressed an interest in a merger of sorts.
Details will be revealed later this coming week, but the framework calls for JPFO’s name to live on. It’s mission will change from an education-only organization to an education and advocacy group, getting into the trenches with the NRA, SAF, GOA and other gun rights organizations at the national level and probably with smaller organizations at the state level where appropriate.
Look for the merger to be touted at the upcoming Gun Rights Policy Conference. It will be held in Chicago on September 26-28. It is the fantastic annual event where civil rights advocates meet to share effective strategies to promote and expand good guys’ gun rights.
This merger between SAF and JPFO is great news for gun owners and really bad news for Michael Bloomberg.
Sorry Mike. You’re still a pint-sized man and all the money in the world won’t change that. Neither will all your money change the fact that Americans love their God, guns, baseball, and apple pie.
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