Denver, Colorado — October 13, 2020 — Mountain States Legal Foundation today announced the beginning of a Challenge Grant aimed at launching an exciting new “center of excellence” focused exclusively on fighting for Americans’ besieged Second Amendment protected rights.
Denver-based MSLF is no stranger to such work; it has a history of taking major gun rights cases, in keeping with its longstanding mission in support of constitutionally protected rights and individual freedoms. But creation of the Center to Keep and Bear Arms, or CKBA, which will be led by MSLF attorney Cody J. Wisniewski, signals the embrace of a more laser-like focus than was typical in the past.
“This will be the only in-house, litigation-only Second Amendment operation in the United States,” explained Wisniewski, building on current cases like Caldara v. Boulder and past MSLF successes, including in Nesbitt v. Army Corp of Engineers. “And as the name makes explicit, the center will focus on challenging unconstitutional gun laws on behalf of Americans on three fronts: your right to keep firearms, your right to bear them on your person, and your right to choose which arms you need in order to defend yourself.”
MSLF President and CEO Cristen Wohlgemuth describes the move not as a break with the past, since MSLF has a history of landmark gun cases, but as recognition that gun rights today face unprecedented threats requiring a stronger, more focused response.
“The threat to the Second Amendment has never been more existential and palpable than it is today,” said Wohlgemuth. “Attacks that used to be incremental and implicit now have become brazenly explicit, making it clear that gun confiscation and not just ‘gun control’ is part of the progressive-left’s agenda. That makes this the right time to create a specialty shop, under the traditional MSLF umbrella, in response to donor enthusiasm and the in-house expertise we have on this issue.”
Creation of the Center to Keep and Bear Arms is being kicked off with a $75,000 Challenge Grant from a generous Californian, who knows full well what happens when the government infringes on constitutionally protected rights. The donor will match every dollar separately donated, all the way up to $75,000.
“We’ll officially launch the Center to Keep and Bear Arms when we reach our goal of $150,000,” said Wisniewski. “Litigation is expensive, and most people simply can’t afford to fight the leviathan that is the government, which is why all of our legal services are offered pro bono—meaning, our clients never pay a dime in attorney fees. We don’t think people should be denied their natural, unalienable rights simply because they don’t have pockets as deep as the government does.”
Please visit mslegal.org/2a to learn more about how you can become a founding supporter of this important new initiative. And tune-in at 12:00 PM (Mountain Time) Thursday to a live Zoom launch event hosted by Cody J. Wisniewski and MSLF President and CEO Cristen Wohlgemuth. This free webinar is open to the press and public but please register in advance.
