David Lehman: Deputy Executive Director and General Counsel of the National Rifle Association's Institute for Legislative Action

Summary

The National Rifle Association's Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) recently announced the addition of David Lehman as its Deputy Executive Director and General Counsel. Mr. Lehman is a career litigator who has dedicated his professional career to protecting the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans.

In his new role with NRA-ILA, Mr. Lehman will be responsible for providing legal guidance in the development of the organization's legislative agenda and its litigation strategy. He will also represent ILA before the courts and regulatory agencies of the United States.

Mr. Lehman has a long history working to protect and advance the rights of the Second Amendment. Before joining NRA-ILA, he served as Chief Litigation Counsel for the Institute for Justice (IJ), a public interest law firm that defends the right of individuals to pursue their economic and personal liberty. As Chief Litigation Counsel, he led IJ's involvement in legal cases challenging laws that infringe on Americans' Second Amendment rights.

Mr. Lehman has argued before the Supreme Court of the United States, in lower federal courts, and before state supreme courts. He has also had the honor to appear before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee testifying in support of constitutional rights.

Mr. Lehman's experience and expertise in defending Second Amendment rights make him an ideal leader for NRA-ILA. His deep understanding of the state and federal firearms laws will be a great asset to the organization and its mission of protecting the Second Amendment.

NRA-ILA is committed to advancing the cause of freedom and defending the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens. David Lehman is an important addition to the organization's leadership and his experience in law and advocacy will be invaluable in fulfilling this mission.

The National Rifle Association's Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) has welcomed David Lehman as the Deputy Executive Director and General Counsel. Mr. Lehman has extensive experience in protecting the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans and defending the cause of freedom. He has served as Chief Litigation Counsel for the Institute for Justice (IJ), where he argued before the Supreme Court of the United States, lower federal courts and state supreme courts. He is a strong leader for NRA-ILA and his deep understanding of the state and federal firearms laws will be a great asset to the organization and its mission of protecting the Second Amendment.
 

David Lehman, Deputy Director and General Counsel of The National Rifle Association's Institute for Legislative Action

David Lehman is the Deputy Executive Director and General Counsel of the National Rifle Association's Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA). The NRA-ILA is a nonprofit organization which is dedicated to protecting the Second Amendment rights of gun owners and promoting responsible firearm ownership.

Since joining the NRA-ILA in 2011, David has been a leading advocate for gun rights in the United States and has represented the organization in numerous legal proceedings. He has been instrumental in defending NRA members and organizations in cases relating to Second Amendment rights and gun control issues.

David Lehman has testified multiple times before Congress and state legislatures, advocating for gun rights and the protection of Second Amendment rights. He has also worked closely with state legislatures in their efforts to draft and enact pro-gun legislation.

David Lehman was formerly a partner in the law firm of Fennemore Craig, and he was a key figure in the court proceedings of the 2008 Supreme Court case District of Columbia vs. Heller. He was responsible for drafting legal briefs and oral arguments for the case, which resulted in a landmark victory for Second Amendment rights.

As Deputy Executive Director and General Counsel of the NRA-ILA, David Lehman is dedicated to protecting the Second Amendment rights of gun owners, and works tirelessly to ensure that these rights are not infringed upon. He was recently featured in The Washington Post, where he discussed the legal and political implications of gun ownership in the United States and talked about his efforts to safeguard the rights of gun owners.

If you want to be an actor in the movies, move to Los Angeles. If you want to help write laws or work in the federal legislative process in any way, David Lehman says you better move to Washington, DC.

Politics have always interested Mr. Lehman. During law school at Loyola in Los Angeles, he dreamed of working on Capitol Hill and becoming part of the behind-the-scenes machinations of the legislative process.

When he graduated in 1994, Mr. Lehman packed his car and drove across the country to the heart of America's legislative beast: Washington, DC. Three congressmen and ten years later, Mr. Lehman is the now one of the top attorneys in arguably the country's most powerful lobby: the National Rifle Association.

Mr. Lehman, 36, is Deputy Executive Director and General Counsel of the Institute for Legislative Action, the lobbying arm of the NRA. His job is part lobbyist, part supervisor, monitoring the various NRA cases around the country and deciding which attorneys should handle which cases.

"The legislative process was very, very interesting to me, and I thought a law degree would be helpful in that," he said. "And that's why I spent so much time on Capitol Hill. I just enjoy the interaction between the law and politics."

The Institute for Legislative Action was established in 1975 as the NRA's lobbying arm. The ILA "is committed to preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution."

The Second Amendment states: "A well-regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed." The Second Amendment is the backbone of much of the case law for gun rights groups like the NRA.

The NRA-ILA's mission involves "defending Second Amendment issues on Capitol Hill, in state legislatures and in local government bodies" around the country.

Mr. Lehman said he believes gun control groups like the Brady Center file "reckless lawsuits" in attempts to bankrupt the gun industry.

The NRA has more than four million members, and part of Mr. Lehman's job with the NRA-ILA is to keep members informed of new lawsuits and laws and to lobby Congress and the Senate for pro-gun reforms.

Although Mr. Lehman did not grow up around guns in a beachside community in Orange County, CA, he said he always wanted to go hunting and learn to shoot. Shortly after moving to Washington, he learned to shoot and started hunting.

Mr. Lehman applauded the expiration of the assault weapons ban and various measures by the Bush administration to implement lawsuit reform, so that the gun industry would not face so many class-action suits. Although the NRA-ILA represents individuals and not gun dealers and manufacturers, the group closely follows industry lawsuits.

"If somebody wants to use (an assault weapon) to protect their family, protect their home, or if they want to engage in target shooting and competitive shooting, then they ought to have the right to do that," Mr. Lehman said, "if they're a law-abiding citizen and all that. We feel that it's much more important to go after the criminal than to go after the gun."

Mr. Lehman said it's ludicrous that gun makers should "be liable for the unforeseeable acts of criminals," and the NRA-ILA strongly disagrees with lawsuits penalizing gun makers.

"In fact we've got a bill in Congress right now that would prevent those kinds of lawsuits where there's no defect in the product," he said. "It's just an unforeseeable criminal act."

The bill passed the House last year, but failed in the Senate after the NRA and others urged supporters to vote it down because it had become laden with gun-control amendments.

Other cases of interest to Mr. Lehman and the NRA-ILA include a plan by San Francisco's City Council to ban handguns in the city, like Chicago and Washington, DC, do now. The NRA often cites Chicago as an example of how strict gun controls only work to boost the murder rate. After a decade of a ban on handguns, there were almost 600 people murdered in Chicago in 2004, more than in New York or Los Angeles.

Before going to work for the NRA nearly three years ago, Mr. Lehman worked as a counsel to Rep. John Duncan (R-TN) and Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX). He then became chief of staff to Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), where he "played a major role in President Clinton's impeachment."

Mr. Goodlatte and Mr. Smith were both members of the House Judiciary Committee, which meant Mr. Lehman "worked very closely with the Judiciary Committee on the impeachment proceedings, the vote-counting process, both on the committee and in the House as well."

Mr. Lehman said there's no secret to getting a job on Capitol Hill, but like a politician, be prepared to press the flesh.

"You have to be here," he said. "If the legislative process and politics and Capitol Hill interests you at the Federal level, then you really need to be in Washington. I came out here without a job and looked for one after I moved, so you can definitely do that. If it really interests you, I wouldn't let anything stop you."