Manassas, Virginia -- On July 4, 2009 The Firearms Coalition will celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of its founding with the release of Neal Knox - The Gun Rights War. The book is a compilation of columns, articles and essays by The Firearms Coalition's late founder Neal Knox. A championship-level rifleman, Knox was publisher of Rifle and Handloader magazines in 1978 when Harlon Carter brought him to Washington to head the National Rifle Association's legislative efforts. At NRA, Knox became the architect of the bill that would become the McClure-Volkmer Firearms Owners Protection Act which reformed some of the most onerous parts of the 1968 Gun Control Act. Knox later served on the NRA Board of Directors and as an officer of the Association.

Chris Knox, eldest son of Neal, selected the pieces from some forty years worth of writing, adding annotations to frame each piece in its historical context. "I'm really pleased to finally get this collection in print," said Chris Knox. "It's vital to the gun rights movement that we have a historical record. Dad's perspective is important because he was in the middle of every major fight for the Second Amendment stretching back to the mid-sixties. The story of his career is the story of the gun rights movement in America." Much of the material was previously printed, but several pieces are seeing print for the first time. This marks the first time that Knox's writing has been collected in one place.

"Chris has pulled together and organized the essence of Dad's writing between 1966 and 2000," said Jeff Knox, who works full-time as Director of The Firearms Coalition. "This book is a diary of the Second Amendment movement through some of its most crucial recent years."

The Knox brothers expect controversy over the book, as it includes one section devoted to Neal Knox's often-contentious relations with the NRA. "We're not looking to stir controversy for its own sake," said Chris. "The history is controversial, but it's important, and a fair amount of it has been forgotten, glossed over, ignored, or even covered up.

The section on the NRA is only one part of a wide-ranging collection of topics including practical advice for the grassroots Second Amendment activist, philosophical principles, how the background of the general culture affects gun rights, and several pieces that establish Neal Knox's place in the gun rights movement. Ordering instructions are available on The Firearms Coalition web site.

The Firearms Coalition is a loose-knit coalition of individual Second Amendment activists, clubs and civil rights organizations. Founded by Neal Knox in 1984, the organization provides support to grassroots activists in the form of education, analysis of current issues, and with a historical perspective of the gun rights movement.

The group's web site is at http://www.firearmscoalition.org/