The National Rifle Association's Civil Rights Defense Fund (NRACRDF) is sponsoring both a scholarship and an essay contest for law students in the United States in celebration of the Second Amendment as an integral part of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Scholarship applicants must be third-year law students as of Fall 2006, who submit articles on the Constitutional right to keep and bear arms. Articles must be of quality suitable for publication in a law review journal and authors may not have been previously admitted to practice law in the United States at the date of submission. Papers cannot have been previously published. Citations should conform to A Uniform System of Citation, current edition. The scholarships will be awarded to first, second, and third place winners in the amounts of $12,500, $5,000, and $2,500 respectively.
The essay contest is open to all current law students who have not been previously admitted to practice law in the United States at the date of submission. The theme for the essay is "The Right of the Individual to Keep and Bear Arms as a Federally Protected Right." Papers should be double spaced, not exceed 30 pages in length, exclusive of endnotes, of law review quality, and cannot have been previously published. Citations should conform to the current edition of A Uniform System of Citation. Cash prizes will be awarded to first, second, third and fourth place winners in the amounts of $5,000, $3,000, $2,000 and $1,000 respectively.
Submissions must be postmarked or delivered on or before May 31, 2007. The author's full name, address, and phone numbers, as well as a brief discourse on the author's legal education, should accompany entries. For any additional questions, or a listing of scholarly reference materials, please call (703) 267-1250.
Please mail entries to: The NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund, C/O NRA Office of General Counsel, 11250 Waples Mill Road, Fairfax, VA 22030, and specify scholarship or essay contest on the envelope. For questions regarding the contest please call (703) 267-1250.
The NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund was founded in 1978 to preserve and defend the civil and constitutional rights of the individual to keep and bear arms in a free society. It is also charged with the purpose of encouraging inquiry, research and scholarly works on the right to keep and bear arms. For additional information please visit our webpage at www.nradefensefund.org.