NRA Endows Chair at George Mason U. Law School

Gun-control advocates in academe have long been targets of the National Rifle Association. But now the group has found kindred spirits at an institution that’s a “haven for Second Amendment enthusiasts,” its dean says.

The NRA’s foundation pledged $1-million in January to the George Mason University Law School to establish the Patrick Henry professorship of constitutional law and the Second Amendment. Dean Mark F. Grady and Associate Dean Daniel T. Polsby had lobbied the foundation for the money. The NRA plans to fulfill the pledge with 10 annual contributions of $100,000.

Nelson Lund was chosen as the first holder of the chair, for what Mr. Grady called his “expertise in the area of Second Amendment law.”

Mr. Lund, an expert on constitutional law and an NRA member, said he became interested in Second Amendment scholarship in the mid-1980s because it was “a very neglected field.” He hopes he will now have more time to teach and conduct research on the subject.

Mr. Grady said that while many law schools establish centers and professorships focusing on First Amendment law, at least six law professors at George Mason have published articles on the Second Amendment.

“Many of them are target shooters,” Mr. Grady said. “Maybe that’s a Virginia thing.”

http://chronicle.com Section: Money & Management Volume 49, Issue 27, Page A25