Joseph P. Tartaro
March 17,1931 – June 13, 2020 (89)
Joseph Tartaro was a well-known American firearms rights activist and president of the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF). He served in the United States Marine Corps and later became a full-time firearms activist. Tartaro was been involved in firearm owner rights organizations, including the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA), which he co-founded in 1971, and the International Association for the Protection of Civilian Arms Rights (IAPCAR). He has been a vocal advocate for gun rights and has written extensively on firearms issues, receiving several awards for his work in the firearm owners rights movement.
- US Army – Korean War
- editor of Pacific Stars & Stripes
- Father of Peggy Tartaro
- President of the Second Amendment Foundation
- 1979 bought Gun Week newspaper (with his brother)
– later transferred it to the Second Amendment Foundation - Executive Editor of TheGunMag.com
- 1989 – named president of Second Amendment Foundation
- 1989 2nd Amendment foundation acquired Women & Guns, founded by Sunny Jones, who remained as its editor
- co-editor of the monthly newsletter, The Gottlieb-Tartaro Report
- 1991 – NRA’s Harlon B. Carter Award
- 1993 – Author – The Great Assault Weapon Hoax
- Joseph was a former Ad Executive for Tartaro Advertising
- 2013 – CCRKBA’s Gun Rights Defender of the Year award
Tartaro has been a vocal advocate for gun rights and has testified before Congress on numerous occasions. He has also written extensively on firearms issues and is the author of several books, including “The Great American Gun Debate: Essays on Firearms and Violence” and “The Gun Rights Fact Book”. He has received numerous awards for his work in the firearms rights movement, including the NRA’s Harlon B. Carter Award in 1991 and the CCRKBA’s Gun Rights Defender of the Year award in 2013.