May 11, 1907 – Jan 4, 1970
- 1928 bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison
- 1931 law degree the University of Wisconsin Law School
- World War II
– rank of Colonel
– served on the staff of General Frank Merrill in the jungles of Burma - Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army.
- 1959 – 1970 Executive Vice President of the National Rifle Association (NRA)
- 1964 supported banning the inexpensive, often low-quality, handguns known as Saturday night specials
– supported limits on mail-order gun purchases - 1968 Gun Control Act
– wrote in the American Rifleman
“appear unduly restrictive and unjustified in their application to law-abiding citizens, the measure as a whole appears to be one that the sportsmen of America can live with.”
“We do not think that any sane American, who calls himself an American, can object to placing into this bill the instrument which killed the president of the United States.”
About Franklin Orth
Franklin Lewis Orth (1907-1970) led the National Rifle Association through the most intense gun control debate of the twentieth century. Born in Milwaukee, he earned degrees from the University of Wisconsin (1928) and its law school (1931), rose to colonel in World War II on the staff of General Frank Merrill, whose Merrill’s Marauders fought in Burma, and later served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army.
Orth became NRA Executive Vice President in 1959 and held the post until his death, a period in which the NRA became more active in legislative debates. After President Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, he supported some measures, including limits on mail-order gun sales and a ban on cheap handguns known as Saturday night specials, while opposing most other proposals. He wrote in American Rifleman that parts of the Gun Control Act of 1968 were unduly restrictive for law-abiding citizens but that sportsmen could live with the law as a whole. He is generally described as more moderate than the NRA leaders who followed him. In April 1969 he was elected president of the U.S. Olympic Committee. He died in Bethesda, Maryland, on January 4, 1970.
Key Facts
- May 11, 1907: Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- 1931: Law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School
- 1959: Became NRA Executive Vice President
- 1968: Gun Control Act enacted during his tenure
- April 1969: Elected president of the U.S. Olympic Committee
- January 4, 1970: Died in Bethesda, Maryland
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Sources
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