A spokesman for the group explained why Gabriel Cowan Metcalf had every right to carry a firearm within his neighborhood.
While federal gun-free school zones are put in place for protection, they can also serve as a burden in some places with private gun owners.
Take, for instance, the case surrounding Gabriel Cowan Metcalf, who lives in Billings, Montana. This was brought up against him when local police were notified he was carrying a firearm while walking in his yard and neighborhood. Metcalf was actually protecting himself and his mother from a stalker, whom she currently has a protection order against.
With this, the Second Amendment Foundation has filed an amicus brief with the case, in favor of Metcalf, alongside other groups such as the California Rifle & Pistol Association, Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, and others.
“The Metcalf case is a textbook example of what is wrong with the ‘gun-free school zones’ act,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “The law was written as a solution to school shootings, but in the process, it effectively disarms and legally jeopardizes law-abiding citizens who live within a picked-out-of-the-hat 1,000-foot perimeter, or those who simply travel through such areas in the course of their daily business. Pick any rural community in the country and you will find schools within close proximity of business districts, supermarkets and gas stations; places visited daily by legally-armed, peaceable citizens.”
“As we explain in our brief, all overbearing ‘sensitive place’ restrictions are an affront to the Second Amendment,” added SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut, “and buffer zone laws are in their own special category because they can lead to accidental violations. Overlapping school zones can make it literally impossible for people to legally carry firearms, and this is exactly the situation in Billings, and similar communities all over the country. People living in, or moving through these communities can be charged and prosecuted, permanently costing them their Second Amendment rights. Such restrictions clearly make the law unconstitutional.”
A spokesman for the group joins us now to discuss the situation further.
Q&A:
- Would you say that federal gun-free school zones can go a bit too far in terms of telling people who can carry a firearm and where?
- Did Metcalf violate any rules in regards to defending his mother from a stalker?
- Does this seem like an attempt by Montana to violate the rights by Metcalf to carry a firearm?
- What are your hopes in the filing of this amicus brief?
- Where do you see the discussion surrounding gun rights going in 2025, especially as Donald Trump re-enters Presidential office?
- Where can we learn more about the Second Amendment Foundation?
a. You can visit our official website at http://www.saf.org.
Second Amendment Foundation spokespersons available to be your guest:
ABOUT CHRIS CHENG (In Pacific Time)
Chris Cheng serves on the advisory council to the Second Amendment Foundation’s Board of Trustees. He is the History Channel’s Top Shot Season 4 Champion and author of the book “Shoot to Win.” Cheng is an Asian D&I advocate in the gun community; a former Google employee who went from self-taught amateur to pro shooter.
ABOUT CAM EDWARDS (In Eastern Time)
Cam Edwards is the editor at Bearing Arms-dot-com and hosts the popular podcast Cam & Company that focuses on Second Amendment news and information. Cam is originally from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and has worked in radio, television, and online media for over two decades. He currently lives on a small farm with his family near Farmville, Virginia, and is a member of the board of Citizens Committee to Keep and Bear Arms.
ABOUT MARK WALTERS (in Eastern Time):
Mark Walters is a member of the board of directors for the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. As a nationally syndicated host of two talk radio programs, Armed American Radio and Armed American Radio’s Daily Defense, Mark is heard on hundreds of stations weekly across the country. Mark is the co-founder of Armed American News and the recipient of the 2015 “Gun Rights Defender of the Year award.” In addition, Mark Walters is co-author of three books, including Lessons from Armed America, Lessons from Unarmed America, and Grilling While Armed.
ABOUT LEE WILLIAMS (In Eastern Time)
Lee Williams is also known as The Gun Writer and has been writing about the Second Amendment, firearms, the firearms industry, and the gun culture for more than ten years. He is the Chief Editor of the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Reporting Project and is a frequent contributor to Ammoland News and Armed American Radio. In addition, Lee serves as a board member of Florida Carry, Inc. He was also an editor for a daily newspaper in Florida. Before becoming a newspaper editor, Lee was an investigative reporter in three states and a U.S. Territory. Before becoming a journalist, he worked as a police officer. Before becoming a cop, Lee served in the Army. Lee has earned more than a dozen national journalism awards as a reporter and three medals of valor as a police officer.
ABOUT DAVE WORKMAN (In Pacific Time):
Dave Workman is an award-winning career journalist and senior editor of TheGunMag.com. He writes for Liberty Park Press, Conservative Firing Line, and is communications director for the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. He has authored Op-Ed pieces in several major newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune, Seattle Times, and Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and co-authored seven books with Second Amendment Foundation Alan Gottlieb. Workman’s beat is firearms, from politics to the outdoors. He is widely considered an authority on firearms, concealed carry, and gun politics.
The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing, and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 700,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control.
CONTACT: Todd Baumann at 512-966-0983 or by email Jerry McGlothlin at bookings@specialguests.com.
