Research

(Previous Years)

The NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund also distributes to libraries, public defender services, and other persons free books and law review articles for educational purposes, provides research grants, and conducts a student writing contest and law student scholarship writing contest. Such activities are a public benefit. The recipients of research grants have resulted in the publication of scholarly writings, which end up in the public domain. Recent activities in this area include the following:

At September 15, 2006, meeting a $10,000 grant was given for the 2006 Second Amendment Symposium at George Mason University Law School (Virginia).
At September 15, 2006, meeting a $53,000 research grant was given to Independence Institute.
At September 15, 2006, meeting $5,000 research grant on Right to Hunt was given to (Stephen P. Halbrook, Ph.D.
At September 15, 2006, meeting $5,000 research and writing grant to David Hardy.
At September 15, 2006, meeting $9,000 educational grant for Second Amendment Documentary Film (David Hardy). The grant is to be taken from accumulated earnings of the Catherine Post Woodring Educational Scholarship Trust. The trust is restricted to educational purposes.
At January 5, 2007, meeting $10,000 for National Firearms Law Seminar to be taken from the Catherine Post Woodring Educational Scholarship Trust.
At January 5, 2007, meeting $2,500 for Junior and Senior Student Writing Contest from the Catherine Post Woodring Educational Scholarship Trust.
At January 5, 2007, meeting $5,000 for Second Amendment weblog (also known as blog) (David Hardy) to be taken from the Catherine Post Woodring Educational Scholarship Trust.
At January 5, 2007, meeting $7,500 for Research & Writing Grant Law Review Project (David Hardy).
At January 5, 2007, meeting $45,000 to Independence Institute Research Grant (David B. Kopel).

An educational grant of $15,000 was provided at the April 25, 2003, meeting. It has resulted in the publication of a book: Clayton E. Cramer, Armed America: The Remarkable Story of How and Why Guns Became as American as Apple Pie (2007).

NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund Youth Essay Contest

Papers were submitted for the 2006 Civil Rights Defense Fund Youth Essay Contest by students enrolled in elementary or secondary school. The CRDF received an unprecedented 900 essays this year. The papers were graded by Attorney Skipp Galythly with the assistance of Attorneys Sarah Gervase and Matthew Bower and intern Karen Mellor. The winners are as follows:

Senior Category

First Prize
Sunjay K. Gorawara of Buffalo Grove, IL
Second Prize
Katherine Lynn O’Keefe of Pleasant Hill, CA
Third Prize
Benjamin Tannenwald of Overland Park, KS
Honorable Mention
Byrel Mitchell of New Paris, IN

Junior Category

First Prize
Matthew Dlabich of Chester, MD
Second Prize
Kjirstin Almos of Clear Lake, SD
Third Prize
Lisa Liang of Morgantown, WV
Honorable Mention
Abbie Tonello of Sagamore Beach, MA

An additional 100 students received Special Awards for their efforts.

Samantha Allen	Zachary Dunn	Andrew Kischner	Amber Pratt
Benjamin Anderson	Kirk Erickson	Stephanie Kover	Stephen Ragno
Danielle Austin	Ashley Erskine	Jonathan Krisko	Jacob Reed
Sequoya Balboa	Dan Ewert	Krystal Kunz	Kyle Alexander
William Ballance-Walsh	Sebastian Florez	Lee Anne LaPlue	Stephen Rondone
Philip Baugh	Kelsey Friedrichsen	Emil Liakhovetski	Ravi Sankar
Elizabeth Beckett	David Foster	Kyle MacFarlan	Grant Scwertzing
Andrew Bonin	Matthew Gerken	Chelsea Madrang	Joe Shadduck
Karissa Brahler	James Gibson	Wilfred Manzano	Alexander Stephens
Zachary Bright	Alicia Graf	J.B. Marek	Ashley Strain
Sara Brummer	Eric Grant	Andrew Matsumoto	K. Michelle Springer
Bonnie Buckingham	Lisa Guerra	Coy Matthews	Sanaz Talaifar
Katie Bush	Abbie Hall	Melissa McCann	Ethan Touzjian
Aislynn Cannon	John Hammons	Melinda McDonald	Aparajita Tripathi
Alex Chandler	Alexandra Harrison	Michael Mendis	Jennifer Turri
Molly Cook	Clacey Henry	Douglas Menton	Jaime Varela
Lindsey Cornum	Toni Henry	Elizabeth Munago	Shannon Veyon
Scott Coryell	John Hixson	Joseph Muscarella	Bill Waldrep
Jaclyn Crumbley	Rachel Horning	Adrienne Myers	Kevin Wandrei
Evan Davis	Susan Hwang	Thomas Neeck	Jessica Wasson
Jason Paul Davis	Sara Ingle	Lucas Nevola	Meghan White
Tess DeLean	Matthew Jeppesen	Sabrina Norton	Emily Williams
Aryelle Delgado	Charles Johnson	James Pappas	Bailey Williams
Anna Lynn Doster	Benjamin Johnson	David Pasquazzi	Kirsten Williamson
Emily Drewel	Christine Kim	Sabra Perry	Victoria Yee

Law Student Writing Contest for 2005-2006. The papers were graded by Professor Robert J. Cottrol. The winners were, First Place: Peter J. Linken, Fordham University School of Law, $5,000; Second Place: Dylan Orton, University of Idaho College of Law, $3,000; Third Place: Benjamin Shapiro, Harvard Law School, $2,000; Fourth Place tie: Peter Caleb Faerber, Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, $1,000; Fourth Place tie: Andrew K. Taylor, Seton Hall University School of Law, $1,000.

Law Student Scholarship Writing Contest for 2005-2006. The papers were graded by Professor Robert J. Cottrol. The winners were Christopher L. Zealand, University of Michigan Law School, first place $12,500; Lindsey L. Kiser, Salmon P. Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University , second place $5,000; Christopher A. George, Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University, third place $2,500.

Northern Illinois College of Law Writing Contest for 2005. The papers were graded by Attorney Skipp Galythly. The winners were Carrie Lynn P. Vine, Ph.D., first place $1,200; Daniel Greco, second place $800; Nathan Ihnes, third place $500.

For more information about submitting an entry to an NRACRDF writing contest, please click the "Writing Contests & Scholarships" link at left.