From my blog at libertary.typepad.com:

I had the privilege of attending the Gun Rights Policy Conference in Cincinnati this last weekend.  Sponsored by the Second Amendment Foundation and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (whew!  I think I’ll stick with CCRKBA henceforth), the event drew speakers and invited guests (such as yours truly) from all over the country.  Topics included gun control issues from past, present, and future.  I had an opportunity to meet many of the leaders in the mainstream gun culture that I’ve only heard about or whose works I’ve read. 

Here are my impressions of my first national gun rights conference.

The hotel and convention hall accommodations were not bad, surprisingly.  We never got hungry as there was either a lunch or refreshment or dinner reception every three to four hours.  We were each given a stack of books, many of which were written by attending speakers, totaling a purported value of $125.00.  I don’t dispute that total because they also had a book table and I would have paid that amount had I attempted to purchase them.

The amount of information given out at this conference was vast.  Speakers were held to a tight schedule, given usually about 10 minutes to speak, and bookended together over three-hour periods.  This resulted in a Vesuvian fountain of data, that was at the same time overwhelming and refreshing.  After being bombarded with liberal media talking points about guns my whole life and having to resort to alternative media to keep my sanity, it was comforting to be in an enormous room full of likeminded people.  Or so you’d think.  But more about that later.

One of the more notable exchanges was when Charles Cunningham of the National Rifle Association (NRA) spoke and updated us on the status of (Congress bill) HR 2640.  I’m not going to bore you with the details, you can go to NRA’s website and read about that one, or better yet, go to the Gun Owners of America’s website and get their perspective.   The pertinent part of this vignette is that the NRA is compromising with liberal Democrats over allowing shell-shocked and otherwise-labeled mentally injured military veterans to clear their records on the NICS federal background check database so they can be permitted to own firearms again, since up until now around 90,000 such veterans are not allowed to do so.  Permitted! Apparently this compromise has been taking withering fire from JPFO, GOA, and other groups because it gives too much power to the bureaucrats and doesn’t actually fix the problem.  So immediately after he sat down, Larry Pratt, executive vice president of Gun Owners of America (GOA), stood up and WOW can this guy capture an audience.  This man must have majored in speech and communications in college or something.  He eloquently, forcefully, and succinctly laid the smackdown on Cunningham, telling us in no uncertain terms that this whole HR 2640 thing is a waste of time, that we shouldn’t even be submitting to the premise that veterans should even be on NICS, and that the whole bureaucracy running NICS is a usurpation (yes, that was his word, I was on the edge of my seat!) of federal legislative power.  I stole a glance at Cunningham sitting there and he looked like he’d eaten a peck of lemons.  I love this guy Larry Pratt.   He’s a no-compromise, tell it like it is, orator.

Many other speakers, mostly talking about how we’re fighting legislation that’s designed to roll back our rights, followed.  Later, during the Q&A, I got some microphone time and asked this question:

“I’d really like to hear Mr. Pratt’s opinion on this, and then anyone else’s.  So far this morning, most of what I’ve heard centers around defense.  That is, we’re fighting to prevent more legislation that targets our rights.  Given that there are already 20,000 gun laws on the books in this country, when will we start going on the offensive and rolling back these laws, and will I see this happen in my lifetime?”

Of course Cunningham jumps up there and filibusters a bunch of nonsense about how the NRA is on the offensive, and I can see Pratt waiting in the wings itching to join the fray.  Unfortunately, the moderator said that we were out of time and I could see that Pratt was disappointed that he didn’t get to answer the question, especially since I HAD ASKED FOR HIS SPECIFIC OPINION in the first place.  Needless to say, I was, ehm, nonplussed, disconcerted, chagrined, and downright pissed off.  I tried to find Pratt later, but he had left.  So I wrote him a letter when I got home.

Interestingly enough, while I was looking for Pratt, I found Alan Gottlieb, the head of CCRKBA, and asked him where Pratt was.  Alan Gottlieb is a small, soft spoken bald guy with a mustache and a bow tie. You can just picture him, can’t you? He said he did not know where Pratt was, and then asked if I was the guy who had asked the question about going on the offensive.  I said yes, and he said, “Well, I can address your question. “  He then proceeded to tell me about the same old defensive stuff orgs like his have been doing.  I said, “So what about repealing the old laws and getting our rights back?  When are we going to actually start reversing this trend?”  His answer stunned me.  He said (in a condescending, rhetorical tone): “Well, do you have a concealed carry license?”  He’s saying I should be grateful that I have that, because up until 1987 no state allowed concealed carry.  But he’s also forgetting who he is.  He’s supposed to be a fighter and an advocate for even radical extremists like myself.  I didn’t miss a beat, however.  I replied, “I shouldn’t need a concealed carry permit.  The 2nd Amendment guarantees my right to carry.”  He replied, “Well, the courts have not seen it that way.”  I thought, “What are you, a closet liberal and a defeatist?”  I asked, “So what?  The courts are corrupt and wrong.  So what you’re telling me is that I should give up hope of ever changing things back to the way they should be?  That it won’t happen in my lifetime?”  At this time a woman with his book in her hand opened to the inside cover ‘suddenly’ diverted his attention away.  I understood immediately:  He had a book to autograph, and I was to move along.  I was holding up the line.  But wait a minute!  Hadn’t he started the debate with me?  Ah, what a weasel.  He had no more stomach for the debate.  My friend who had accompanied me on this trip told me, laughing, “You’re just too aggressive and fringe for these mainstream gun types.”  Go figure.  Happily, I was told by several people in the audience that my question was excellent and mirrored their thoughts as well.

Another interesting moment was during the awards luncheon.  Venus Ramey, Miss America 1944 and newly famous for drawing a gun, steadying it on her walker, and shooting the tires out of a robber’s car last month at her farm, was given a 2nd Amendment plaque by Alan Gottlieb.  Then she spoke.  We were stunned yet again.  She spoke of the disturbing changes in America from voluntary militias to a standing army and now to these mercenary (yes, her word) hired guns like Blackwater USA whose hired guns actually killed people in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina for a thousand dollars a day.  She said this country would be better off if states would start sponsoring militias again, say two or three in Michigan, a couple in Arizona, you get the idea.  People were cheering.  Then she said this would make it easier to win the upcoming civil war.  Jaw-dropping.  I could actually see Alan Gottlieb’s bow tie getting tight around his neck.  He actually stood up while she was speaking this blasphemy and made as though he was going to cut her off.  She ignored him.  We all stood up and roared. 

All in all, the information and exhortations given us were very valuable and I would definitely attend another conference if I’m given the opportunity.  I believe these conferences do tend to ignore the elephant in the room, which is that we gun owners are fighting a losing battle and more drastic changes (Jeffersonian in nature) will be the only salvation of our Constitution, which has been raped and pillaged by our own government for over 80 years.  But that’s another article.