This is the fifth and final part of a five-part series celebrating 50 years of the Second Amendment Foundation. SAF has been a pivotal force in and played a much-needed role in the preservation of civil liberties in the United States.

In part one, we explored the formation and early years of SAF. In part two, we took a closer look at Alan Merrill Gottlieb, the founder of the organization and current executive vice president. In part three, the current state of affairs at SAF were discussed. And, in part four, we talked about Adam Kraut, the organization's executive director.

In this final part, we’re discussing the future of the Second Amendment Foundation, as well as some parting reflections from some of the key players.

This series kicked off hearing from Alan Gottlieb, and we’ll start wrapping it up with his words. “There's a whole lot of work left to be done [with litigation], seeds have been planted, but the trees need to grow,” Gottlieb told me. “I think the foundation can expand out into a lot more areas with a lot of new people.” Gottlieb further observed and said, “Our staff is very talented and I'm very glad that I know, when I retire, so to speak, it's going to be sooner rather than later at this point…that the foundation is going to be in very good hands.”

“I am very, very, very proud of what Alan accomplished, and I'm very proud of how he brought his dream to life,” is what Julianne Hoy Versnel, the vice president of international outreach and special assistant to the executive vice president of the foundation, told me when I asked her about SAF’s accomplishments. She expanded on her primary acute goal going forward with the organization.

I'm very interested in this upcoming election, because it has ramifications...we need to get an ATF director. And if we get the president who's interested in listening to us, that's my primary goal. My primary goal…we came very close, but we went into it too late the last time. But you know, I've already been talking to people about this, and we're gonna get it done. We're gonna get a good ATF director. Yeah, that's, that's where I see my role.

“I think the most important thing that we can do now is keep our foot on the gas,” Bill Sack, the director of legal operations said. “We saw a pretty significant shift in the winds with the Bruen decision and we went from losing a whole lot of cases, and getting a whole lot of very frustrating and wrong decisions from a lot of district and circuit courts, to starting to get the right outcomes from these courts.”

“And we're starting to win. And we're starting to win regularly and repeatedly.” – Bill Sack on keeping up with litigation efforts

Lauren Hill, SAF’s senior vice president, talked about the mission of SAF and continuing to carry that banner in the years to come.

One of the pieces of our mission is to promote a better understanding of our Constitutional heritage and the reason why we can privately own firearms. If we can educate our members and then go reeducate, not the anti gunners, but just maybe the non-gunners, people who are a little bit agnostic in that area, I think that that would be something that we're working to… And if they can then turn around and educate others, I think that that would be the best case scenario for us and [our] growth.

When I chatted with Dave Workman, long time SAF employee and current editor-in-chief of TheGunMag.com, he had a very hopeful view of the future of the foundation. One of the things he said was he’s hoping “we have a lot of tomorrows.” He expanded on how meaningful bringing on new staff members has been.

We've got a dynamic new team coming in here. Adam Kraut is the executive director. I think he's already shown that he hit the ground running. We've got Lauren Hill and Matt Coffey, who's taking over some of the communication stuff, and eventually he's gonna take it all over. Sorry, Matt. That'll keep you awake at night.

But I think that where we will be going…we'll eventually see more Supreme Court rulings coming down on the side of the Second Amendment as protective of a fundamental individual right. 

For years, as many people in the gun community knew, the Second Amendment was regarded as something of a black sheep in the family, you know, we didn't want them around. Yeah, we seem 'em at holidays, but “go away, stay outta here” for the rest of the time. But it really is a right and it's just as equal a right of what is protected by the First, the Fourth, the Fifth, you know, all the other tenants of the Bill of Rights.

So I, I'm hopeful, and I'm confident really that as we strive ahead, we're going to see more victories that will further cement the Second Amendment as a full, fundamental right. And, you know, we'll get away from these efforts, not ever entirely, but we'll get away from some of the efforts by people who, like Gavin Newsom, or Joe Biden…they've spent their careers really trying to erase the Second Amendment. And ultimately, I think the courts are going to tell them “No, I'm sorry, you tried, you failed. You can't do this. We have a Constitution, and we're going to live by it.” And that drives the other side nuts, it really does.

Executive Director Kraut talked to me about the good fortunes we've had in the courts. But, he points out the fragile nature of the High Court. While SCOTUS has been friendly and just towards Second Amendment supporters as of late, he noted “I would say that that's potentially one election away from being destroyed.” That’s not to say that SAF would abandon litigation as a means of securing our rights, but overall, Kraut does see the necessity in continuing the educational elements in the stated purpose of the foundation.

From a programmatic standpoint, I would like us to be stronger in the education realm. And that's something we're actively working on. Now, I think education, generally speaking, coming from organizations in this space is lacking. I don't think that organizations currently do a great job of connecting with people and explaining the “why” behind it.

With all eyes focused on tasks at hand and looking into tomorrow, it’s important to remember again that the success of this organization has been built on 50 years of hard work and dedication from so many people. Like we do with many of the great visionaries and founders of iconic institutions in the U.S., it’s important to remember their legacy and how their vision not only affected individuals, but in cases like this of Alan Gottlieb, affected the world.

Below, some of the people who have worked closest with Alan over his fifty-year career and newcomers alike, sound off about the bowtie gun guy.

Julianne Hoy Versnel:

Alan, we've had a good run. You know, it's amazing. I can't believe from where we started to where we've come. And it seems like 48 years and sometimes it seems like 10.

Lauren Hill:

I think Alan deserves a huge “thank you.” I would…I adore him. And he has been great in educating me and teaching me in these last 16 months that I've been here.

But thank you for having the foresight and the vision and the, you know, the guts to move this forward. It's an extremely important organization to have in this industry to fight for our Second Amendment rights. And without him having all those things in the last 50 years growing this organization, we wouldn't be where we are today. So “thank you” is what I would say to Alan.

Dave Workman:

You have done just marvelous work. And, yeah, we're getting into a period I think of change. And although I know you just thrive on this stuff, Alan, it may be time for you to sit down and relax and have a soda pop or something and barbeque a hot dog or roast a marshmallow and just kind of watch and see what goes on for the next 50 years.

If I had to bet on it, I'd say Alan is gonna be around for quite a long time, making the other side crazy. But I think one thing, you and I Allen have become a formidable team out there. And I really appreciated the time that we've spent together, we've kicked a lot of butt. And I said, kick, not kiss. And it's been just a fun time really working with you. 

Bill Sack:

I think the message is certainly one of gratitude and appreciation. You know Alan laid the groundwork for all of us here, he's been doing this for longer than I've been alive. And without him, we wouldn't be anywhere where we are in this space, obviously.

Thank you to Alan and to Julianne, and to Dave and the rest of the team that have built this legacy that, we are, you know as the newbies, [who have] come in, and have taken over…we're thrilled to be able to kind of stand on the shoulders of the giants here, take the baton, and continue to run with it.

But, you know, certainly we'd be nothing…nothing, nowhere close to where we are now without the work that they've been putting in for for the last 50 years.

Adam Kraut:

I've had the opportunity and I guess privilege to know Alan for a couple years at this point. And it's, I'll give you a little bit of an anecdotal story here.

I was in law school and I joined both SAF and the NRA as a life member, back in 2013, I want to say. I saw value in both groups. And I always kind of looked at it as NRA were the guys up on Capitol Hill lobbying, and SAF were the guys in the courtroom doing all the legal work.

And I can remember seeing interviews with Alan and just being kind of in awe that somebody like that existed. Then I met him as I went to SHOT show and through a couple other things. Then [with] my former employer, I worked rather closely with him coordinating organizational strategies and legal campaigns.

It was just, it was so surreal to me to go from somebody who saw this man on TV and being in awe of him to talking to him on a regular basis. And he's just a regular guy like everybody else, in the sense of he's a person. Alan's incredibly bright. His vision and just how much he cares about the issue is second to none. He lives and breathes this stuff. And I would expect until his last breath, this will be his life's work and greatest achievement.

I think what I would say is, “you really have built an incredible organization with a vision and a lot of hard work.” And certainly you didn't do it alone, Julianne was a big part in getting SAF to where it was, and all the other people throughout the years who were part of the team. 

I think his vision for what it could be and how it could be effective, I only hope if I can get halfway there, I would be thrilled. I guess my message would be that “your vision for this is an inspiration.”

Having the opportunity to celebrate their 50th anniversary with SAF has been rewarding personally. My interviews and research could only go so far. There are far more than six people who hold key positions in the foundation worthy of talking to. There are countless partners, board members, and officers the like, which have not weighed in on this small vignette showing some of the inner workings of SAF.

My message to Alan is “thank you,” as well. SAF represents so much to so many, but to me it has positively affected my life in regaining fundamental freedoms, and professionally, SAF has been so deeply rewarding to be affiliated with. Trying to cover SAF litigation is like trying to drink from a firehose! I’m grateful to have the relationships I’ve forged with the group and look forward to the next 50 years of awesomeness from the foundation.

The Second Amendment Foundation is celebrating their 50th anniversary all year. But, they’re really showcasing and coming together at their annual Gun Rights Policy Conference. This year’s GRPC is being held in San Diego, Calif. September 27th through the 29th. For more information about the upcoming GRPC, head over to saf.org/grpc/, I hope to see you there!

If you’d like to tune into part three of the three-part video series on the Second Amendment Foundation produced for this article series, you can check out that video HERE or in the embed below.