Open Source Defense

by

2019

Open Source Defense

We couldn’t wait for a gun rights organization that matched our approach to show up, so we created our own.

 

  • BJ Campbell
    – engineer
  • Chuck Rossi
    – engineer at Facebook from 2008 to 2018
  • Jon Stokes
    – co-founded the tech news site Ars Technica
  • & others

Open Source Defense

https://www.instagram.com/opensrcdefense/

https://opensourcedefense.substack.com/

https://opensourcedefense.org/

About Open Source Defense

Open Source Defense (OSD) is a gun rights project founded in 2019 by a group with roots in the technology industry, including Ars Technica co-founder Jon Stokes and former Facebook engineer Chuck Rossi. It describes its vision as “defense rights for everybody” and its mission as building “the TCP/IP layer of the gun rights stack,” borrowing the language of open-source software. Rather than a membership lobby, OSD works through writing, a newsletter, podcasts and community-building, with a strategy of changing gun culture, building a high-competence community, and serving as a credible source of expertise for people on any side of the debate.

OSD stands out for its focus on building a diverse, inclusive and positive gun culture that welcomes new gun owners. Gun culture researcher David Yamane noted in 2019 that it presents a pro-gun position without a combative culture-war tone. The project has offered free “Office Hours” video calls for new and prospective gun owners, moved its newsletter to Substack in March 2020, and has been featured on The Firearm Blog’s Behind The Gun podcast. Its Substack was still publishing in 2025.

Key Facts

  • 2019: Open Source Defense founded
  • July 22, 2019: OSD newsletter reaches issue No. 22
  • March 2020: Newsletter moves to Substack
  • April 2020: Co-founder Chuck Rossi featured on TFB’s Behind The Gun podcast
  • January 4, 2021: OSD publishes “The State of Open Source Defense in 2021”

Learn More

Sources

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