DIVIDE OR CONQUER
that harm their cause. “The typical strategy for any savvy advocacy group would be to say, ‘What
are the most appealing cases that
we have the best chance of winning, and where do we have the
best chances of winning them?’”
said Carl Bogus, a constitutional
law expert and professor of law at
Roger Williams University.
In the wake of the Heller decision, the NRA pursued a strategy
of expanding gun rights gradually.
“This makes sense, because many
courts are reluctant to offer broad
constitutional rulings with regard
to individual rights,” said Richard Broughton, a professor of law
at the University of Detroit and a
former Justice Department prosecutor. “The NRA takes on specific
issues, and they’re not going for
broad Second Amendment rulings.
Instead, they’re asking the courts
to narrowly interpret gun regulations and working to win smaller
victories they can build on.”
Ken Klukowski, a constitutional law professor at Liberty
University and former NRA staffer, agrees. “The NRA takes the
long view. They are extraordinary minds for the long ball and
the big picture,” he said.
HUFFINGTON
04.07.13
‘STRIKE WHILE THE IRON IS HOT’
The NRA offered a textbook display
of its methods in February, when
it announced it was considering a
lawsuit against the Illinois State
Police over a backlog in the processing of gun permit applications.
Reached for comment, a spokesman said that the NRA’s litigation
strategy “is designed to defend the
fundamental constitutional right
of our over 4.5 million members
and tens of millions of supporters.”
By contrast, the SAF’s strategy has been offensive, swinging
“THE SAF’S BLUEPRINT
FOR LITIGATION IS ‘OVERLY
AGGRESSIVE AND
POTENTIALLY RECKLESS.’”
for the fences and often making
very broad constitutional arguments. “Our feeling is strike
while the iron is hot and build as
much case law as you can,” Gottlieb said in an interview with The
Huffington Post. “Then weave
[the case law] into a spider web
that’s strong enough so our opponents can’t get through it.”
Gottlieb makes no secret of his
desire to push more gun rights