Law school professorship endowed by the NRA Foundation

The long-debated issue of gun control has once again resurfaced with the recent mass-shootings. Powerful lobby groups like the National Rifle Association and well-known politicians like former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords have been speaking to Congress on the ability of gun ownership limits to prevent future tragedies.

The debate has frequently hit close to home for George Mason University, leading to protests and debates on campus. A Washington Post article highlighting the powerful presence of gun lobbyists pointed to a Mason professor as an example.

For the past ten years, Mason’s law school has been home to a professorship endowed by the NRA Foundation, an organization that provides funds for NRA-related endeavors.

Dr. Nelson Lund is the Patrick Henry Professor of constitutional law and the Second Amendment at Mason's law school (photo courtesy of George Mason University School of Law).

The $1 million endowment was given to the law school by the NRA Foundation in 2003, according to an article by Mason’s media and public relations department.

“The NRA Foundation supports those organizations and programs that ensure the continuation of our proud shooting and hunting heritage,” reads the foundation’s website. According to the website, some benefactors of the NRA Foundation include the NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund and the National Firearms Museum.

“The NRA Foundation (not the NRA) approached us ten or twelve years ago with the suggestion that we might consider having a professorship in the Second Amendment,” Daniel Polsby, dean of the Mason law school, wrote in an email. “This subject, until very recently, was scarcely paid attention to at all in law schools, even in courses in advanced constitutional law.”

According to Polsby, the foundation and the school agreed that the professorship would be chosen by the school, specifically the dean, with no input from the donor.

 “The donor would retain no visitation rights whatever concerning the content of the teaching or scholarship produced by the elected professor,” Polsby wrote.

Such guidelines are used for all endowed professorships at the law school, Polsby insisted. Several endowed professorships have been granted to the law school over the years, including one for science and law.

Nelson Lund, the Patrick Henry Professor of constitutional law and the Second Amendment, has held the position endowed by the NRA Foundation since 2003.

“The title was conferred by the dean, presumably because of my scholarly writings about constitutional law and about the Second Amendment,” wrote Lund in an email.

According to the law school’s website, Lund has worked at the United States Department of Justice and as a law clerk for the Honorable Patrick E. Higginbotham and, later, the Honorable Sandra Day O’Connor. He then worked as an associate council to the president of the United States between 1989 and 1992.

As a professor at Mason, Lund has taught several subjects including constitutional law, employment discrimination and state and local government.

In light of the current gun-control controversy, Lund declined to comment on his own opinion on the debate. However, Lund provided two of his writings discussing the issues: “The Second Amendment, Heller, and Originalist Jurisprudence” and “The Past and Future of the Individual’s Right to Arms.”

Despite the recent gun-control debate, neither Lund nor Polsby believe the potentially controversial endowment will have an impact on the classroom. In addition, Polsby insists controversy should not deter similar endowments.

“Being controversial—with some people—isn’t a reason not to welcome the help of donors who want to help us advance the project of professional education,” Polsby wrote. “We only wish we had more of them.”