The largest public interest legal organization dedicated to restoring gun rights announced Sept. 4 that it will merge into its operation Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, which will continue to run as an independent voice.

“We’re both delighted and proud to announce this merger,” said Alan M. Gottlieb, the founder and executive vice president of the Belleview, Washington-based Second Amendment Foundation. The foundation has successfully sued on behalf of gun owners around the country.

“JPFO was founded 25 years ago by the late Aaron Zelman, and it has become a strong voice in defense of the Second Amendment. I’m personally confident that bringing JPFO into the SAF extended family will benefit firearms owners at many levels.”

Zelman passed away in 2010, and for the past four years, the JPFO has worked hard to maintain its position in the gun rights community, he said.

“We see this as a tremendous opportunity,” said Gottlieb. “With SAF’s resources, we expect JPFO to continue its important work and grow to meet new challenges, educating people about the pitfalls of gun control, and the benefits of gun ownership and personal protection.”

Gottlieb said JPFO offices, currently in Wisconsin, will move to SAF’s Belleview headquarters, and its staffers are expected to stay on.

JPFO will be operated independently as a project of SAF and current members and contributors to the organization will continue to receive all benefits promised, he said. JPFO’s website will stay online and carry on at a stand-alone entity, but will have links to SAF sites, such as TheGunMag.com, KeepandBearArms.com, as well as SAF.org.

The successful experience of merging with a physicians’ gun rights group is the model for how SAF will handle the merger with JPFO, he said. A few years ago, Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership also merged into the SAF family and it has proven to be a great benefit to the gun rights community.”

By joining with the foundation, JPFO will also become a member organization of the International Association for the Protection of Civilian Arms Rights and expand its reach internationally.

Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control.