From the Editor: More Relevant Than Ever After 20 Years

by
posted on June 17, 2020
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
miniter.jpg

America’s 1st Freedom is 20 years old this month. 

Twenty might not be an impressive age for a publication put out by an association that’s about to celebrate its 150th anniversary, but this is a magazine that became more and more necessary as the mainstream media gave up even the pretense of being honest about everything related to our Second Amendment-protected freedoms. 

This magazine was founded to tell the truth about our freedom. And this is what it will continue to do, with your support, for decades to come. 

At America’s 1st Freedom, we know that a new generation always needs to be educated about American freedom. But a good publication shouldn’t just be for the beginners. It must also constantly dig deep into the core topic the publication was founded upon as it brings interesting personalities into its pages and addresses the problems and opportunities of the day. This is exactly what we endeavor to do each month.

Still, as we publish America’s 1st Freedom, we constantly run into the mainstream media’s politically correct propaganda; narratives they think will benefit not the country and certainly not any honest analysis of the topic, but that they think will help the political party they prefer. 

This puts America’s 1st Freedom in an important place, as the truth is what solves problems and enhances American freedom.  

This, of course, doesn’t make this magazine popular with the in crowd in Hollywood, on the opinion pages of the big, urban newspapers or at the TV networks. But then it also doesn’t make America’s 1st Freedom counterculture, as NRA members are a fundamental part of America’s backbone—NRA members are as grassroots as it gets and what is more “mainstream” than that? Actually, this magazine has the grand sort of cross-culture audience CNN wishes it had—and maybe once did—when it was the first 24-hour news outlet, and before those in charge started thinking their job was political indoctrination. 

Still, this magazine is considered to be politically conservative, and this is true in the sense that we want to preserve a freedom protected in the U.S. Bill of Rights. But your NRA is also fighting for the freest idea ever to be protected in a nation’s founding document: the right to self-preservation, a natural right that is forever renewing and liberal (by the classical definition of liberalism, anyway). The right to defend ourselves and our loved ones and even our neighbors, after all, is a practical, empowering and liberating idea.

So, in this media climate, America’s 1st Freedom turns 20, which, of course, is a young, robust age full of possibility. And the possibilities are profound. During this pandemic, for example, many more Americans have decided to fully embrace their Second Amendment rights. Clearly, these people aren’t buying the media narrative that they’re better off without their basic right to self-defense. Just as clearly, these new gun owners need the NRA’s certified instructors, our advice, help and as much information about their freedom as they can digest. This, more than anything, will solidify this right for future generations.

Here’s to more decades of cherishing, exploring and rejoicing in our freedom in these pages and at A1F.com.

Latest

10 Lies About Guns And Crime The Trump Administration Has Exposed
10 Lies About Guns And Crime The Trump Administration Has Exposed

Dispelling Anti-Gun Disinformation | Here Are 10 Lies About Guns And Crime The Trump Administration Has Exposed

Crime is a major problem in the United States, 66% of Americans believe, with 81% saying it is a major problem in large cities, according to an August 2025 poll by the Associated Press/NORC [previously the National Opinion Research Center].

The Greatest Second Amendment Victory in a Century

On July 4, 2025, Americans celebrated not only our nation’s independence, but also the restoration of our constitutional Second Amendment rights becoming unconstrained by burdensome and arbitrary fees.

Opening Salvo | More Evidence That Gun-Control Groups are Freaking Out

With the Trump administration’s law-and-order push showing America’s crime problem is clearly not the fault of lawfully armed citizens, gun-control groups are freaking out.

John Rich has a Song for Armed Citizens

John Rich's latest song is "The Righteous Hunter." It is a moving tune about standing up to stop those with evil intentions. It is a song for lawfully armed citizens.

This Department of Education Grant Could Change Things

The University of Wyoming’s Firearms Research Center has been awarded a nearly $1 million grant by the U.S. Department of Education to develop a nationwide program on the origins, meaning and implications of the Second Amendment.

From the Editor | Charlie Kirk Lived for Freedom

“Give me liberty, or give me death,” are the immortal words of Patrick Henry spoken on March 23, 1775, to the Second Virginia Convention in Richmond, Va. His impassioned words were a call to arms against British tyranny.  

Interests



Get the best of America's 1st Freedom delivered to your inbox.