Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

Need a Good Lawyer? Don’t Use Anti-Gun Groups as a Resource

Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Need a Good Lawyer? Don’t Use Anti-Gun Groups as a Resource

The anti-gun extremists at Giffords and March for Our Lives are running a joint operation to try to convince students in law school to sign a pledge to never represent anyone within “the gun industry or gun lobby.” And while some have accurately pointed out this campaign is little more than an effort to try to limit available “legal talent” to an entire lawful industry—an industry that makes products specifically protected by the Second Amendment—there may be another way to look at this campaign.

One could wish it success.

You see, if young, future lawyers are incapable of understanding the Constitution and, especially, the Second Amendment, cannot put their personal feelings aside to defend a client that has not violated the law, and are willing to decide which clients are “acceptable” based on how a small but vocal segment of society views them, then perhaps it is good to identify them before they become entrenched in a reputable law firm.

The Giffords/March campaign is simply an extension of their shared extremist agenda of vilifying lawful gun manufacturers and law-abiding gun owners for the actions of violent, often mentally deranged individuals. And they want to identify future attorneys who share this twisted world view.

Again, maybe this is a good thing.

The campaign professes:

“Law students have the power to determine their own futures when choosing an employer and should feel empowered to seek one that reflects their core values. Firms make decisions about clients based on a number of factors, including potential consequences that could result from the firm accepting a matter. Law students have a unique power to help firms realize that work on behalf of gun industry clients can impact a firm’s ability to recruit the next generation of lawyers.”

Nothing in that statement is particularly groundbreaking, as law students have always had “the power to determine their own future when choosing an employer.” That’s always been the case. But the notion that lawyers sympathetic to the anti-gun cause, fresh out of law school, “have a unique power to…impact a firm’s ability to recruit the next generation of lawyers” seems a bit silly.

Some, however, might be concerned about the availability of quality candidates, and the Giffords/March list may help to quickly eliminate demonstrably unqualified candidates. After all, unless a law firm is dedicated to promoting anti-gun policies, why would it want attorneys that would leverage their future on their ability to ignore any part of the Constitution with which they disagree, or ignore any client they do not entirely agree with?

In fact, one of the justifications of this anti-gun crusade for young lawyers is that attorneys “must act with commitment and dedication to the interest of [their] client and with zeal in advocacy upon the client’s behalf,” as quoted from the American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct. The obvious implication is that, if young attorneys simply don’t like lawful gun manufacturers, then they cannot do their job very well if tasked with defending them in court.

That’s true, but if anything, such a viewpoint would be indicative of a young attorney a respectable law firm would not want in its stable of lawyers. If an attorney cannot effectively represent one lawful industry based on that attorney’s myopic, anti-gun views, what’s to stop that same attorney from ineffectively representing another client because of some sort of perceived fault—whether real or imagined—with that client?

The far left of the political spectrum has spent the last several years trying to divide the nation on any number of fronts, and there is little to indicate that campaign will subside. When it comes to attacking the firearms industry, their efforts have been supported by most in the mainstream media, and, of course, by the man currently occupying the White House. If the anti-gun extremists—a distinct minority of our nation—are able to convince some young, impressionable future attorneys to refuse to do the job they are trained to do, and other radical movements can do the same, then the only segment of society that will be truly harmed is the legal profession.

Sure, some young law school graduates may voluntarily remove themselves from the candidate pool of many prestigious law firms, but there will be plenty of more competent candidates to take their place. Whether they are passionate about the Second Amendment or simply have a better understanding of the basic principles of our legal system than their radically anti-gun counterparts, these young attorneys will prove to be a better fit in any law firm that has not sold its soul to the anti-gun extremists at Giffords/March.

So, the campaign may be thumbing its nose at the concept of justice being blind. It may also be willing to sacrificing the Sixth Amendment—which, among other things, recognizes the right to legal counsel—on the altar of those who worship destroying the Second Amendment. But, in the end, it may result in a fairly accurate list of the least qualified potential attorneys coming out of law school.

Hopefully, the anti-gun extremists at Giffords/March make the “Bad Lawyers” list available as a public service.

IN THIS ARTICLE
Giffords
TRENDING NOW
First Affirmative Lawsuit in Support of Gun Owners Filed by Trump’s DOJ

News  

Monday, October 6, 2025

First Affirmative Lawsuit in Support of Gun Owners Filed by Trump’s DOJ

California officials’ egregious foot-dragging over the issuance of carry permits has finally attracted the ire of the federal Department of Justice (DOJ). 

NRA Files Another Lawsuit Challenging the National Firearms Act

Thursday, October 9, 2025

NRA Files Another Lawsuit Challenging the National Firearms Act

Today, the National Rifle Association—along with the American Suppressor Association, Firearms Policy Coalition, and Second Amendment Foundation—announced the filing of another lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA).

North Carolina: Update on Permitless Carry

Tuesday, September 30, 2025

North Carolina: Update on Permitless Carry

Last week the North Carolina General Assembly briefly returned from recess and re-referred Senate Bill 50, Freedom to Carry NC, to the House Rules Committee.

Trump Administration Repeals Biden Era Firearms Export Crackdown

News  

Monday, October 6, 2025

Trump Administration Repeals Biden Era Firearms Export Crackdown

Last Monday, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) at the U.S. Department of Commerce published a final rule that reversed a crackdown on the commercial export of firearms from the U.S. to other countries.

California: Governor Newsom Signs Gun Control Bills Into Law

Monday, October 13, 2025

California: Governor Newsom Signs Gun Control Bills Into Law

For someone who has claimed to be"...deeply mindful and respectful of the Second Amendment and people’s Constitutional rights,” Governor Gavin Newsom has once again proven that actions speak louder than words.

NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging SCOTUS to Hear Challenge to Ban on Firearms Possession by Nonviolent Felons

Thursday, October 9, 2025

NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging SCOTUS to Hear Challenge to Ban on Firearms Possession by Nonviolent Felons

Today, the National Rifle Association, along with the Second Amendment Foundation, Firearms Policy Coalition, and FPC Action Foundation, filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a challenge to the federal lifetime prohibition on ...

Federal Court Strikes Down Biden Administration’s “Engaged in the Business” Rule in NRA Case

Thursday, October 2, 2025

Federal Court Strikes Down Biden Administration’s “Engaged in the Business” Rule in NRA Case

Yesterday, in Butler v. Bondi, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama held that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives exceeded its statutory authority by issuing its 2024 Final Rule expanding ...

Trust in Mass Media Craters to New Lows, in Single Digits With Republicans

News  

Monday, October 6, 2025

Trust in Mass Media Craters to New Lows, in Single Digits With Republicans

There’s an old saying that rings especially true to Second Amendment supporters: If you don’t read the news, you’re uninformed.

President Trump’s GOP Leads Polling on Crime and Guns, To No Surprise

News  

Monday, October 6, 2025

President Trump’s GOP Leads Polling on Crime and Guns, To No Surprise

A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll revealed that Americans know the President Donald Trump-led Republican Party has a better plan than their Democratic Party opponents on crime and gun control.

Canada’s Public Safety Minister on Gun Ban & Confiscation: “Don’t Ask Me to Explain the Logic”

News  

Monday, September 29, 2025

Canada’s Public Safety Minister on Gun Ban & Confiscation: “Don’t Ask Me to Explain the Logic”

There have been multiple developments on the Canadian gun grab and ban in the last few days, but the most astounding has got to be a leaked bombshell recording of the Liberal Public Safety Minister, ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.