2A Group Founder

2A Group Founders: The People Who Built the Organizations

Every gun rights organization, shooting league and training network began with someone willing to start it. This page profiles the founders and co-founders behind groups that defend the Second Amendment, from the two Union Army veterans who chartered the National Rifle Association in 1871 to the state caucuses, advocacy networks and support groups launched in the past decade. Knowing who built these organizations, and why, helps 2A advocates understand how the movement grew and how new groups can be started.

Minuteman University.com currently lists 23 founders below, arranged roughly by birth year. Each profile outlines the groups the person started and the work that followed.

Featured

Gen. George Wingate: Co-founded the NRA in 1871, wrote the Manual for Rifle Practice (1872) and served as NRA president from 1886 to 1900.
Col. William C. Church: Founded the Army and Navy Journal in 1863 and co-founded the NRA in 1871.
Clifford “Neal” Knox: Founded the Firearms Coalition in 1984 after leading the NRA Institute for Legislative Action from 1978 to 1982.
Dianna Muller: Founded The DC Project, which brings women gun owners from every state to meet their legislators.
Erin Palette: Founded Operation Blazing Sword on June 13, 2016, and served as president of Pink Pistols in 2018.
Rob Doar: Co-founded the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus in 2015 and the Minnesota Gun Owners Political Action Committee in 2013.