You probably saw the news coverage of this — the gun grabbers in San Jose want to make gun owners pay a gun ownership tax.
In other words, they want to tax law-abiding gun owners simply for exercising their Second Amendment rights.
This is just as unthinkable as imposing a “free speech tax” or a “church attendance tax.”
But San Jose’s city council voted UNANIMOUSLY last summer to draft an ordinance that does just that.
They initially backed off and tabled the ordinance after our legal arm – the National Foundation for Gun Rights — sent a cease-and-desist letter threatening to sue them if they passed it.
But on January 25th, 2022, the San Jose city council voted to impose the “gun ownership tax.”
Immediately after the vote, we filed a lawsuit against them to stop this unconstitutional ordinance in its tracks (click here to read it).
This isn’t just about San Jose – or even California.
There is a whole coalition of Bloomberg “Mayors Against Illegal Guns” in cities all across America just waiting to implement this blatantly unconstitutional attack on gun rights if it works in San Jose.
If gun grabbers get away with taxing the right to own a gun, every left-leaning local government across the country will quickly follow.
This will be an expensive, drawn-out legal battle.
Hiring the best lawyers to put the kibosh on this progressive anti-gun nonsense means we’ll be racking up the legal bills quickly.
But we can’t afford not to. To stop it, we have to stop it now.
We recently had the privilege of speaking with Kyle Rittenhouse on the phone. He wanted to express his gratitude for all the assistance and support the National Foundation for Gun Rights has given him, and he asked us to pass a message on to our members who made it all possible:
“Thank you [to National Foundation for Gun Rights supporters] for all the support you have given from day one, and the generous donations to help not just me but my entire team and family. Without your generous support, we could not have gotten so far or beaten the charges against me.”
– Kyle Rittenhouse
The National Foundation for Gun Rights was the only Second Amendment organization to provide support and assistance to Kyle, standing by him from day one – even when the woke mob made it highly unpopular and even risky to do so.
Immediately after Kyle’s arrest, NFGR raised and sent him a $51,000 check to help support his family during their crisis.
And during the course of the trial – before the verdict was announced – NFGR raised another $25,000 to further assist Kyle regardless of the outcome of the trial.
NFGR Executive Director signs a $25,000 check for Kyle Rittenhouse
This is due entirely to our members — pro-gun patriots who don’t care what kind of propaganda-narrative the anti-gun media is spinning.
We were all thrilled to hear the jury’s “not guilty” verdict on all charges, resulting in Kyle’s complete acquittal!
It was the right to self-defense itself that was on trial in Kenosha, WI, and the jury declared what we all know to be true: When you’re under attack from a mob bent on destroying you, you have EVERY right to defend yourself!
The right to defend yourself from attack is one of the bedrock principles of the American Republic – and that’s why the Left is so determined to obliterate it.
The National Foundation for Gun Rights exists to bring a no-compromise defense of the Second Amendment in the courts, and to stand behind law-abiding Americans unjustly targeted for exercising that right.
Back in March, a three-judge panel on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that bump stocks were not machine guns and that executive agencies couldn’t create law:
“Federal criminal laws are not administrative edicts handed down upon the masses as if the administrators were God delivering the Ten Commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai…
It is not the role of the executive — particularly the unelected administrative state — to dictate to the public what is right and what is wrong.”
Unfortunately, the full court vacated this ruling and agreed to rehear the case en banc (by all the Sixth Circuit’s active judges).
NFGR’s amicus brief focuses on an overlooked aspect of the case – that forcing gun owners to discard their bump stocks (or lose them in a “tragic” boating accident) is an unconstitutional form of theft, and violates the “Takings” clause of the 5th Amendment (“nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”).
There’s a very good reason the ATF conveniently “didn’t think about” compensating bump stock owners: it would have added a hefty $312.1 million price tag to the regulation! As our brief notes, that may well have made the government think twice about unconstitutionally banning this harmless gun accessory.
The impact of this case goes far beyond bump stocks. At stake is whether a federal agency (such as the ATF) – controlled by bureaucrats who are not accountable to the people – can unilaterally make laws, especially laws that violate the Constitution.
President Biden’s ATF is currently in the process of rolling out even more unconstitutional gun regulations targeting home-built firearms and stabilizing braces for commonly owned pistols.
These regulatory attacks will keep coming unless the federal courts stop the ATF from overstepping its constitutional role and attacking the Second Amendment, and GOA v. Garland will almost certainly end up at the U.S. Supreme Court.
For most of the gun control crowd — living in gated communities far away from the harsh realities of violence commonplace in major urban centers — the idea of owning a firearm for self-defense seems like a bizarre concept.
But for everyday people who can’t afford private security, having the ability to bear arms is a necessity.
Just ask Theresa Bragg, a 30-year-old African American mother of four children. Bragg lives in River Rouge, a rough suburb of Detroit, Michigan. Known for its daily cacophony of gun fire, it’s rife with all sorts of criminal activity.
Michigan mother of four Theresa Bragg
Bragg picked up on her town’s rough environment rather quickly and legally purchased an AR pistol for home defense purposes.
The mother of four had the previous misfortune of getting tangled up in an abusive relationship with John Leverette when she was 18.
Bragg’s ex-boyfriend was a nasty character. A member of the Crips street gang, Leverette had a lengthy rap sheet. Unfortunately, Leverette brought his violent behavior to the home — as evidenced by the multiple beatings he subjected Bragg to, resulting in severe injuries and emergency room visits.
Theresa Bragg’s violent ex-boyfriend, John Leverette, making a gang sign. (Source: Facebook)
Leverette even threatened to put a hit out on Bragg if she told law enforcement about his domestic violence incidents. Bragg eventually broke up with him, but the specter of Leverette loomed large on her horizon.
It eventually reared its ugly head on May 2, 2021, when Leverette illegally entered Bragg’s house unannounced, completely strung out on heroin. The Crip member demanded to know where the former couple’s children were located, information Bragg was not legally obligated to tell him.
At the time, the children were at a birthday party, but Bragg kept that information to herself, and her refusal to reveal this information angered Leverette to the point that he threatened to kill her after she didn’t tell him where the children were located.
Fearing for her life, Bragg went to her room and grabbed her legally owned AR-Pistol – and when she confronted Leverette, demanding he leave her house, he became aggressive and charged at her. Knowing that she was in grave danger from yet another violent attack from Leverette, Bragg fired at Leverette until the threat was stopped.
As a result of defending herself against her assailant, John Leverette died inside Bragg’s home.
Bragg immediately called 911 to report the situation and notify authorities.
The incident was a distressing moment for Bragg, but the entire situation could have gone in reverse — with Bragg losing her life — had she been unarmed as the notoriously violent Leverette attacked her yet again.
However, Kym Worthy, the Wayne County Prosecutor, is charging Bragg with first-degree murder with pre-meditation – simply because this young mother of four exercised her right to self-defense against a certified gangster who was about to kill her.
Bragg’s encounter with her violent ex was a life-or-death decision, and one that many abused women eventually face. There is strong evidence linking domestic violence to homicide, and the Second Amendment exists to empower vulnerable women to protect themselves and their children.
For people like Bragg, who live in troubled areas like River Rouge, the right to bear arms is a literal life saver.
Police departments in high-crime hot spots are often corrupt, underfunded, and cannot be relied on to act decisively in dangerous encounters with criminals. In the latter case, we are reminded of the popular pro-Second Amendment adage, when seconds count, the police are minutes away.
This incident is one of the many cases of defensive gun use that millions of lawful Americans engage in. According to the research that criminologists Dr. Gary Kleck and Dr. Marc Gertz conducted throughout the 1990s, they discovered that there were roughly 2.2 to 2.5 million instances of firearms used in self-defense in any given year. Of these cases studied, there were 1.5 to 1.5 million cases of handguns used in self-defense against criminal assailants.
Bragg’s self-defense incident comes against the backdrop of a political environment where the radical Left is not only calling for the defunding of police but is also using progressive prosecutors to destroy lawful individuals’ right to self-defense in the courts.
Today, Democrat-run cities have essentially turned into criminal safe spaces. The current social upheaval American metro areas are experiencing is what the late conservative journalist Sam Francis described as anarcho-tyranny — where governments refuse to control real criminals while punishing the innocent with draconian laws such as gun control.
Bragg armed herself amid this chaos to protect herself and her children, yet Kym Worthy doesn’t understand this and is targeting Bragg for simply exercising her God-given right to self-defense.
According to her legal defense team, Bragg’s case is winnable, but they will need substantial resources to make sure Bragg is acquitted. The National Foundation for Gun Rights has stepped up to the plate to assist Bragg by writing her defense team a check of $10,000, and hopes to do more.
The case challenges New York’s permit laws, which prohibit concealed carry without a permit – but deny permits unless the applicant can demonstrate a “special” need to carry a gun (which does not include a general desire for self-defense, according to state courts). As a result, ordinary citizens are functionally prohibited from exercising their Second Amendment right to bear arms.
NFGR’s amicus brief argues that the Second Amendment is NOT a second-class right — as state legislatures, lower federal courts, and even the Supreme Court itself have treated it — and that the right to public carry is protected by the Second Amendment as understood by the Founders.
National Foundation for Gun Rights Backs Michigan Mom’s Legal Defense
Loveland, CO – The National Foundation for Gun Rights announced today they will be backing the legal defense team of 32-year-old Theresa Bragg, a single, African-American mother of four children who is being prosecuted for defending herself with a firearm.
On May 2, 2021, Bragg’s home in River Rouge, MI, was invaded by her abusive ex-boyfriend, John Leverette – a gang member with a long criminal history, whose violence had sent her to the hospital multiple times, and who had fentanyl in his system at the time.
Leverette barged into Bragg’s home without knocking or permission and threatened to kill her. Terrified for her life, Bragg retrieved her lawfully owned firearm and fired 17 rounds in self-defense, killing him on site and ending the threat against her life.
Bragg is currently being held without bail and is facing charges of first-degree murder with premeditation.
The National Foundation for Gun Rights is contributing $10,000 to help fund Bragg’s legal team, and hopes to do more.
“This is exactly who the Second Amendment is for – a single mom in a crime-ridden city with an abusive ex breathing down her neck,” said Dudley Brown, Executive Director of the National Foundation for Gun Rights. “The Second Amendment exists so that when that gangbanger ex bursts through her door and threatens her life, she has options – she doesn’t have to die.”
Brown continued, “Thanks to Theresa’s foresight in arming herself so she could protect her family from all threats of violence, Theresa is alive today. The National Foundation for Gun Rights is proud to stand with her and help fund her legal defense. We are asking our members to step up and help Theresa as well.”
The National Foundation for Gun Rights is a 503(c)(3) organization that exists to expand pro-gun precedents and defend gun owners in the courts.
Father Peter Raleigh is the priest of Holy Innocents Catholic Church in southern Colorado, and is a staunch Second Amendment advocate and concealed handgun permit holder.
Fr. Raleigh reached out to us after being targeted by a local gun-grabbing District Attorney — for simply holding a gun!
It all started when a group of woke leftist snowflakes got “triggered” by Fr. Raleigh’s peacefully exercising his Second Amendment right to bear arms while visiting a local restaurant.
Next thing you know, Fr. Raleigh’s in handcuffs — and he was slapped with a disorderly conduct charge of displaying a gun “in a manner calculated to alarm,” despite zero evidence to support the charge.
This is exactly what NFGR’s Gun Owners’ Defense Fund exists to do — assist law-abiding gun owners who find themselves in the Left’s crosshairs.
Thanks to the support he received from RMGO and NFGR, Fr. Raleigh was able to successfully fight these bogus charges until they were dropped!
Here’s what Fr. Raleigh had to say:
“I would like to publicly acknowledge and give a Thank You to the following organizations that helped defend myself against a vicious and vile attack against myself and my Second Amendment rights:
NFGR & RMGO gave financial assistance towards my defense against a bogus charge of a firearms violation that had no merit. The case was dismissed on April 28th of this year. It was due to the generous donation of time and financial aid that I was able to overcome these false allegations. This experience has only confirmed that our Second Amendment rights are under siege. Had NFGR & RMGO not intervened, the outcome could have been different. I fully support and recommend that NFGR & RMGO be given the full support and backing by all those who love America and her freedoms.
In closing, I would like to end with a passage from Psalm 42. I pray this psalm daily at Holy Mass.
“Do me justice, O God, and fight my fight against a faithless people; Rescue me from the wicked and deceitful man.
One of the Left’s favorite ways to attack the Second Amendment is by going after the First Amendment.
Especially the First Amendment rights (and privacy rights) of citizen lobbying organizations.
The First Amendment is what protects our ability to effectively fight for our Second Amendment rights without exposing gun owners and citizen-lobbyists to harassment from “cancel culture” bullies, anti-gun employers, neighbors, activist politicians, and bureaucrats.
This is why the National Foundation for Gun Rights recently joined a coalition of freedom-loving organizations in filing an amicus “friend of the court” brief in a landmark free speech case currently before the U.S. Supreme Court.
This case, AFPF v. Becerra, began when Vice President Kamala Harris – then Attorney General of California – began demanding the names and addresses of top donors from nonprofits who were fundraising in California, including sister organization the National Association for Gun Rights.
Why?
The California Attorney General’s office claims they need confidential donor information to help them “police charitable fraud” – which is bureaucrat-speak for “just because.”
“This case involves a real threat by the California government to coerce the disclosure of the identity of large donors, putting them at risk of retaliation from either the public or partisan office holders. Both mob and ruler are dangerous to dissenters, and the principle of anonymity protects Americans from both.”
Coalition amicus brief in AFPF v. Becerra
As previously noted, this is a common tactic used by Leftist government officials to crack down on Second Amendment activism and lobbying. Disclosing gun owners’ personal information and donor history would open them up to public backlash, crackdowns, and harassment from government regulators.
AFPF v. Becerra seeks to overturn the California Attorney General’s regulatory demands for confidential donor information. When the case was first appealed to the Supreme Court in 2019, NFGR joined NAGR and a number of freedom-minded allies in an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to take the case.
The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case on January 8, 2021.
NFGR’s joint amicus brief was filed on March 1, arguing that privacy and anonymity are key elements of our First Amendment freedoms of speech and association.
Below are some key excerpts:
“This case involves a real threat by the California government to coerce the disclosure of the identity of large donors, putting them at risk of retaliation from either the public or partisan office holders. Both mob and ruler are dangerous to dissenters, and the principle of anonymity protects Americans from both.”
“The California Attorney General would prefer this Court to operate based on some form of judicial presumption that governmental powers are never abused, that Attorneys General engage in nothing but evenhanded administration of the law, that politicians elected or appointed to high office cease to act as politicians, and that state office holders would never use their position to advance their own political agendas, reward their friends, or punish their enemies. Yet, adopting such an assumption would require this Court to disregard both history and current reality.”
“The Framers enumerated these five First Amendment rights to protect Americans in the exercise of certain rights that the signers of the Declaration of Independence declared to be unalienable because they were bestowed upon man by the Creator.”
“The American principle of anonymity, restricting what government officials can force us to reveal about our activities to them or to others, is constitutionally grounded in First amendment freedoms of press and association.”
“[The] principles of anonymity are not second-order concerns that can be disregarded or suppressed, but instead are standards indispensable to both the protection of individual liberty and the preservation of our republic.”
The Supreme Court has not yet set a date for oral argument, but our legal team will provide updates as the case moves.
Earlier this year, James Bennetts contacted the National Foundation for Gun Rights for help with a blocked gun purchase.
On August 10, 2020, Jim Bennetts attempted to purchase a gun in Florida, his state of residence, only to have the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FLDE) hold up his background check.
Jim contacted FLDE, only to be informed they were waiting for arrest records from a previous misdemeanor – one that should not disqualify him from purchasing a gun.
Adding insult to injury is the fact that Florida law enforcement should only have been looking at how the case was actually decided. The police records aren’t a conviction and shouldn’t impact whether he’s allowed to purchase a gun.
NFGR hired a lawyer to send a letter to FLDE demanding they release his background check.
In a matter of days, Jim received word from FLDE and his gun dealer that he was cleared to purchase his gun!
James Bennetts with his new Taurus G2C!
Here’s what Jim had to say:
“Thank you so very much. I’m so glad that there are organizations like NFGR who are willing to help defend the rights of people like me. It gave me peace of mind to know someone was on my side to help fight the nameless faceless bureaucracy.”
We were able to hire representation for Jim thanks to the generous contributions of gun owners all over the country to our Gun Owners’ Defense Fund.
Click here to make a tax-deductible contribution to our Gun Owners Defense Fund so we can help more gun owners like Jim!
NFGR Executive Director Dudley Brown signs a check for Kyle Rittenhouse’s family.
The National Foundation for Gun Rights raised over $50,000 to help Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old who was targeted by an angry leftist mob in Kenosha, WI on August 25, 2020.
Kyle was employed as a lifeguard in Kenosha, and stayed in town after work to help clean up graffiti and debris left from two straight nights of rioting and unrest. When a local business owner requested help defending his property (which had already suffered pretty heavily during the two previous nights of rioting), Kyle borrowed a gun from a local friend, grabbed a medical kit, and spent the evening standing guard and helping injured protesters.
When the mob set their sights on Kyle, he attempted to retreat. Multiple videos show angry protesters chasing Kyle, threatening him, hitting and kicking him – and one rioter fired a shot while Kyle was running. Kyle responded as any ordinary citizen would – by defending himself with the means he had available and then retreating to safety.
Kyle’s story resonated with gun owners around the country, who have watched the months of unchecked rioting and vandalism, while the police and local authorities often simply stand by. Kyle may have successfully defended himself from the mob, but he now faces a barrage of leftist prosecutors bent on making him pay – for simply exercising his right to self-defense. In addition, leftists have also targeted Kyle’s family, necessitating their removal to a safe place and preventing them from returning to work.
The National Foundation for Gun Rights refused to let Kyle and his family face all this alone, and put out a call to our members, who responded overwhelmingly – donating over $50,000 to help Kyle and his family. When Kyle’s mother was told that NFGR was sending her family a check for over $50,000, she was overwhelmed and replied, “No words can describe what we’re going through. Thank you SO much — and I know Kyle and the rest of the family would say thank you too.”
Kyle’s mother, Wendy Rittenhouse, and attorney, John Pierce, holding the check from NFGR.
Kyle is currently being held in a juvenile detention facility in IL, his state of residence, while his legal team battles it out with Kenosha prosecutors over his extradition. He is facing five felonies and a misdemeanor.
NFGR started the Gun Owners’ Defense Fund to help people like Kyle – individuals who are targeted for conduct protected by the Second Amendment and whose stories don’t always make national news. Click here to make a tax-deductible contribution to help future gun owners.
