Back in mid June I had the opportunity to listen to Adam Kraut give a speech at the San Diego County Gun Owners “gun prom”. Kraut talked about California and, forgive me if I mince words here, how important California is in the 2A fight. I did not get a chance to meet him that evening, there was a lot going on. Between kissing hands, shaking babies, and stealing abandoned bottles of wine from other tables (some may have regretted and regurgitated that decision), the time got away from me and my companions. But, just a few weeks ago at the 23rd annual Second Amendment Foundation Gun Rights Policy Conference in Dallas, I did get to finally meet Mr. Kraut, shake his hand, and give him a chat. While we’re talking about the Second Amendment Foundation, they had a little news to deliver recently themselves, as Kraut was just named Executive Director of the organization.

The Second Amendment Foundation (“SAF”), a pioneer and national leader in defense of the right to keep and bear arms, today announced that attorney and experienced Second Amendment litigator Adam Kraut has been named as its Executive Director.

Kraut brings almost a decade of experience in the Second Amendment realm as a litigator and educator. Throughout his career, Kraut has represented individuals, companies, and institutional plaintiffs in state and federal litigation and regulatory matters.

In addition to his legal background, Kraut draws management experience from his time in the non-profit world, where he was responsible for overseeing the programmatic functions of a liberty-based non-profit, which concentrated on Second Amendment issues. He also managed a federal firearms licensee. Kraut comes with a variety of media experience, having written for publications such as Recoil magazine, Recoil Web, and other online publications, writing and hosting a YouTube series, hosting and appearing as guest on multiple podcasts, and appearing on television.

Anyone that’s followed Kraut’s career knows this is an individual that lives and breathes the Second Amendment. This is also an individual that has a high level of integrity, and from all accounts will do the right thing. From his experience at Firearms Policy Coalition, to former runs at sitting on the NRA Board, Kraut has been a strong fixture in the gun rights movement for nearly a decade.

SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb expressed his joy over bringing Kraut onboard, “We’re delighted to have Adam coming aboard at a time when our legal activities are greatly expanding.” Gottlieb continued by complimenting the level of experience and expertise that Kraut has attained in his time during this fight, and how well applied it’s going to be, “He brings a wealth of experience to the position, at a critical time when we are challenging an array of restrictive gun control laws that clearly have restrained peaceable, law-abiding citizens while accomplishing nothing in the effort to reduce violent crime.”

In his commentary Gottlieb noted that Kraut has been a Life Member of the Second Amendment Foundation since 2013, and noted “He has a keen understanding of our mission, our history and our effort to win firearms freedom, one lawsuit at a time. We are proud to bring him aboard to fill an important role as we ramp up our fight to restore and expand the Second Amendment as the cornerstone of our Constitution.”

In response to being named Executive Director, Kraut expressed his excitement to join the ranks over at the Second Amendment Foundation:

I’m eager to continue SAF’s legacy of innovation and excellence in the legal, educational, and public arenas. For the better part of half a century Alan has built SAF into an organization which took a unique vision and made it reality. I look forward to working closely with him to shepherd the organization forward. We will continue to create the foundation for the next series of cases we hope to take to the Supreme Court to ensure the right to keep and bear arms is restored to its original meaning. At the same time, we will work to guarantee SAF’s longevity by bringing the next generation of gun owners into the fold.

In the wake of this monumental news, I reached out to Allen Gottlieb to commend him on the Foundation’s decision. Gottlieb noted the move has come with nothing but positive commentary, “So far the reaction to having Adam Kraut joining SAF as our new Executive Director has been tremendous. Both industry leaders and gun rights activists are congratulating us on this key addition to our organization.”

I’d personally like to, and on behalf of the Bearing Arms family, congratulate Kraut on this wonderful announcement. While Kraut has stepped up and taken this role, I’m positive that the next time we cross paths he’ll still have time to have a chat. Given Kraut’s past of being humble and exercising humility, we can all trust this powerful ally and advocate will remain down to Earth. And really, the guy’s an Eagle Scout, need I say more?