The Law Enforcement Alliance of America (LEAA) is a non-profit,

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

gun rights The right to keep and bear arms (often referred to as the right to bear arms) is a right for people to possess weapons (arms) for the preservation of life, liberty, and property. The purpose of gun rights is for self-defense, including securi ...

corporation in the United States, headquartered just outside

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, in

Springfield, Virginia Springfield is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The Springfield CDP is recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau with a population of 30,484 as of the 2010 census. Homes and businesses in bordering CDPs includ ...

. Its membership is composed of active duty and retired

law enforcement officer A law enforcement officer (LEO), or peace officer in North American English, is a Public sector, public-sector employee whose duties primarily involve the Law enforcement, enforcement of laws. The phrase can include campaign disclosure specialist ...

s, crime victims, and other interested

civilian Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not "combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant, b ...

s. LEAA publishes a magazine, ''Shield'', and a newsletter, "The LEAA Advisor". It works to highlight incidents of civilian self-defense like that in which Harry Beckwith interrupted seven criminals in the process of stealing firearms from his gun store, ensuring six of them could be safely arrested by police. The Law Enforcement Alliance of America is a non-profit organization under IRS Code Section 501(c)(4). Due to LEAA's legislative activities, contributions to LEAA are not tax-deductible as a donation or business expense. Dues and contributions are not refundable. Critics have said that the organization is a "stealth PAC", funneling corporate monies into state judicial elections. The organization was sued in Texas in 2002 for allegedly failing to disclose campaign contributors. The group was also very active in unseating

West Virginia Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia is the state supreme court of the state of West Virginia, the highest of West Virginia's state courts. The court sits primarily at the West Virginia State Capitol in Charleston, although from 1873 t ...

Justice

Warren McGraw Warren Randolph McGraw (born May 10, 1939) is a lawyer, politician, and judge in West Virginia and brother of former West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw. Personal life Warren McGraw was born in Wyoming County, West Virginia, United ...

. In 2002, LEAA spent $1.5-2 million to air ads against Democratic candidate

Kirk Watson Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning "church". It is often used specifically of the Church of Scotland. Many place names and personal names are also derived from it. Basic meaning and etymology As a common noun, ''kirk'' ...

's bid for Texas

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

. At the time, they also spent money in support of two other Democratic candidates' bids for the Texas State Legislature, one of whom was Mike Head. In 2003, Watson and Head filed a complaint in state court, accusing LEAA of using corporate funds in a political campaign in violation of Texas law. LEAA contends the ads were legal and did not coordinate directly with any candidate's campaign. In 2007, Buck Wood, the attorney for the plaintiffs, said that he was to pursue the litigation in federal court. In 2004 the LEAA got most of its money from

Massey Energy Massey Energy Company was a coal extractor in the United States with substantial operations in West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia. By revenue, it was the fourth largest producer of coal in the United States and the largest coal producer in Centr ...

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Don Blankenship Donald Leon Blankenship (born March 14, 1950) is an American business executive and political candidate. He was chairman and CEO of the Massey Energy Company—the sixth-largest coal company (by 2008 production) in the United States—from 2000 ...

, who had said in numerous interviews that he would do "whatever it takes" to get rid of Maag.

References

External links

LEAA web page
{{USgunorgs Gun rights advocacy groups in the United States