Previous Years Winners of the NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund Youth Essay Contest

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).
• At April 13, 2007, meeting $40,000 Independence Institute Research Grant (David B. Kopel) from Catherine Post Woodring Educational Scholarship Trust
• At April 13, 2007, meeting $60,000 education grant for a book to The Independent Institute of Oakland, California. This book is The Founders' Second Amendment by Stephen P. Halbrook. The book will be published by the Stanford University Press.
• At April 13, 2007, meeting $6,000 to Don Kates of Washington State for research project on Parker v. District of Columbia. $7,500 grant to James H. Warner of Maryland for research and preparation of amicus curiae brief in Parker v. District of Columbia.
• At September 14, 2007, meeting an educational grant of $10,000 was provided for right to hunt project to Stephen P. Halbrook.
• At September 14, 2007, meeting an educational grant of $15,500 was provided to David T. Hardy analysis of book on right to bear arms and response thereto in William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal, for an analysis of case law on standing and an article on standing in the Thomas Jefferson Law Review, and research of U.S. Supreme Court papers.
• At September 14, 2007, meeting a research grant of $65,000 (from the Catherine Post Woodring Trust) to Independence Institute (David Kopel). Also, a $10,000 education grant for a book by Kopel, Galland & Eisen.
• 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).
• At January 4, 2008, meeting $10,000 for National Firearms Law Seminar.
• At January 4, 2008, meeting $117,000 Independence Institute Research Grant (David B. Kopel).
• At January 4, 2008, meeting $10,000 research and writing grant to David Hardy.
• At January 4, 2008, meeting $16,000 grant for self-defense amicus brief in District of Columbia v. Heller and law review articles writing project for James Warner.
• At the January 9, 2015, meeting $15,000 grant to David Hardy to fund various Second Amendment research and writing projects.
• At the January 9, 2015, meeting $10,000 Second Amendment research and writing grant (David Hardy).
• At the January 9, 2015, meeting $2,500 FFL Defense Research Center grant.
• At the January 9, 2015 meeting; $50,000 to Office of the NRA General Counsel to fund a law clerk position.
• At the April 10, 2015, meeting; $25,000 grant to the Independent Institute of Oakland for a book/communication project entitled Gun Rights 2.0: Protecting the Cornerstone of a Free Society, by Stephen Halbrook.
• At the April 10, 2015, meeting; $6,000 grant to David Hardy for the purpose of performing research at the William J. Clinton Presidential Library regarding that administration's documents on firearms policy.
• At the April 10, 2015 meeting; $1,500 grant to David Hardy for the purpose of retrieving, organizing, and donating Mike McNulty's Waco cover-up files to a university in Texas whose library is building a collecting on the Waco matter.
• At the April 10, 2015 meeting; $15,000 grant to David Hardy to fund various Second Amendment research and writing projects.
• At the September 11, 2015 meeting; $20,000 grant to David Hardy to fund various Second Amendment research and writing projects.
• At the September 11, 2015 meeting; $6,000 grant to David Hardy to fund litigation against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) arising out of his FOIA requests.

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).

2021 Winners

First Place

Lucas Wright

Second Place

Third Place

Olivia VanVreede

Fourth Place

Luke Noble

Junior Category

First Place

Patricia Wells

Second Place

Third Place

Fourth Place

2020 Essay Winners

Senior Category

First Place

Owen Scala

Second Place

Third Place

Hays Turner

Fourth Place

Mubarak Adeshina

Senior Honorable Mentions

Junior Category

First Place

Serena Whipple

Second Place

Third Place

Fourth Place

Junior Honorable Mentions

Zoe Zuk
Baha Naga Sahrasra Tella

2019 Essay Winners

Senior Category (Grades 9 through 12)

First Place

Angela Zhong

Second Place

Third Place

Jessica Overbay

Fourth Place

Emma Sanders

Honorable Mentions

2018 Essay Winners

2017 Essay Winners

2016 Essay Winners

Congratulations to the following 2016 Winners!

Congratulations to the following 2015 Winners!

Congratulations to the following 2014 Winners!

 
Congratulations to the following 2013 Winners!

 
2012 NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund Youth Essay Contest

2011 NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund Youth Essay Contest

2009 NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund Youth Essay Contest

Papers were submitted for the 2009 contest by students enrolled in an elementary, junior high or high school. Nearly 1,500 essays were submitted for the contest setting a new record for entries. The papers were graded by Attorney Skipp Galythly. The winners were selected by a committee made up of attorneys Skipp Galythly, Matt Bower, Lindsay Charles, and Legal Assistance Ashleigh McFadden.

First prizes are $1,000 in U.S. Savings Bonds; second prizes, $600 in Savings Bonds; third prizes, $200 in Savings Bonds; and honorable mention, $100 in Savings Bonds.

Law Student Writing Contest for 2006-2007. The papers were graded by Professor Robert J. Cottrol. The winners were James Andrew Salemme, Duquesne University School of Law; Mary Elizabeth Parrilla, Thomas M. Cooley Law School; and Daniel J. Huyck, University of Minnesota Law School.

Law Student Scholarship Writing Contest for 2006-2007. The papers were graded by Professor Robert J. Cottrol. The winners were Craig M. Hoehns, Oklahoma City University School of Law, and Dylan Orton, University of Idaho College of Law.

2008 NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund Youth Essay Contest

Papers were submitted for the 2008 contest by students enrolled in an elementary, junior high or high school. Nearly 1,200 essays were submitted for the contest setting a new record for entries. The papers were graded by Attorney Skipp Galythly. The winners were selected by a committee made up of attorneys Skipp Galythly, Matt Bower, Lindsay Charles, and Legal Assistance Ashleigh McFadden.

First prizes are $1,000 in U.S. Savings Bonds; second prizes, $600 in Savings Bonds; third prizes, $200 in Savings Bonds; and honorable mention, $100 in Savings Bonds.

Law Student Writing Contest for 2006-2007. The papers were graded by Professor Robert J. Cottrol. The winners were James Andrew Salemme, Duquesne University School of Law; Mary Elizabeth Parrilla, Thomas M. Cooley Law School; and Daniel J. Huyck, University of Minnesota Law School.

Law Student Scholarship Writing Contest for 2006-2007. The papers were graded by Professor Robert J. Cottrol. The winners were Craig M. Hoehns, Oklahoma City University School of Law, and Dylan Orton, University of Idaho College of Law.

2007 NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund Youth Essay Contest

Papers were submitted for the 2007 contest by students enrolled in an elementary, junior high or high school. Nearly 700 essays were submitted, the second highest total ever received. The papers were graded by Attorney Skipp Galythly.

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:

An additional 100 students received Special Awards for their efforts.

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