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« Gun control organization "plants"at Hillary speech | Main | Newsweek's version of Dewey Defeats Truman »

Don Kates, rest in peace

Posted by David Hardy · 4 November 2016 09:10 AM

I've received the following. For those who can remember the beginnings of the 2A movement, Don was the person who took it mainstream, with his article in the Michigan Law Review. He thereafter served an invaluable function in reaching out to academia.

"It saddens me to bear bad news, but as some of you may already know, Don Kates passed away on Tuesday, November 1, 2016. While Don had a long struggle with his health issues, he bore it all with great dignity. He was given the highest quality care and was comforted throughout by his wife and close friends. A more formal announcement and tribute may be planned for later, but the family wanted to inform his friends in the Second Amendment and Academic Communities now. There will be a small service attended by family and friends in Washington state on Saturday, November 5, 2016. We regret the short notice at this point but plans were in flux and just finalized late yesterday. The details his wife gave me are as follows:

Northwood Park Cemetery  

Address: 16407 NE 15th Ave, Ridgefield, WA 98642

It's set to be kind of an open house on Saturday, November 5, from noon to 3, so people can come and go as they please."

7 Comments | Leave a comment

Don Kilmer | November 4, 2016 11:19 AM | Reply

Plan to rewatch Dave Hardy's "In Search of the Second Amendment - A Documentary" soon. Thank you Dave for capturing some footage of Don and preserving it. Sad day.

Jim March Simpson | November 4, 2016 5:32 PM | Reply

Dammit. I can remember Don getting exasperated with me in...1998 I think and sitting me down in his garage where he explained "rational basis", "intermediate scrutiny" and "strict sctrutiny". Never forgot it after that!

The left hated the fact that Don was a genuine hero during the Civil Rights struggle, working with Dr. King in the deep south.

He will be missed.

God, Don Kilmer must be about cracking up right about now. Don Kilmer was Don Kates' brightest student and understudy and is well placed to continue Mr. Kates' work.

Anonymous | November 4, 2016 6:27 PM | Reply

we all owe him a great debt.

LarryA | November 4, 2016 8:30 PM | Reply

Don Kates was one of the few gun-rights writers in the 1970s and 80s. Gun control had been ascendant since GCA 1968, and stayed so until 1986, so he took heat for his work.

He was one of the first "liberals" who started anti-gun, studied the issue, and "saw the light." A big part of the value in what he published was to other, reasonable researchers who met him with skepticism, but were won over when their own studies confirmed his.

For a lot of us who were already trying to drain the swamp, "The Red Book," Restricting Handguns: The Liberal Skeptics Speak Out, (1979) was the first breath of fresh air in a long time.

Vaya con Dios.

Mike M. | November 5, 2016 10:55 AM | Reply

I got to meet him at the oral argument for the Heller case and Gun Rights Policy Conference. A real gentleman-lawyer, a giant in the civil rights movement. May he rest in peace.

Jim March Simpson replied to comment from Don Kilmer | November 6, 2016 12:40 PM | Reply

Don, I'm sorry you lost him, you knew him better than any of us.

We've met. I took my wife's last name three years ago.

Frank P | November 7, 2016 10:27 AM | Reply

Mike M,
We must have been at the same event. I keep the photo of Don(s) K, Alan G, Bill W, Brandon, Wash, 7x57, Gene, me and a few others here at my desk. It was a great day.

RIP Don Kates.

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