ANOTHER “LOOK AT BOTH SIDES”

This coming weekend, the annual Gun Rights Policy Conference will take place, bringing together the best and the brightest in the gun owners civil rights movement.  We’ll be getting the inside dope from the most important current battles and court cases, from the people who are making them happen.  Added bonus: Sunday afternoon will be a long “grassroots advocacy” workshop, with tips from the various state activists on what they’ve found to be the most successful approaches and strategies for working with state as well as national legislators.

I’ve mentioned this no-charge-to-attend conference before in this blog.  A couple of very good points have come up from folks who are reluctant to attend…because it’s in Chicago.

One of those points was, “Why Chicago, one of the most anti-gun cities in America? I don’t want to spend my dollars there!”  The answer is, first, it’s for the same reason both Chicago and San Francisco have been the host cities for successful GRPCs in recent years: it’s a symbolic gesture to hold the conference defiantly “behind enemy lines.”  And, second, this time around in Chicago it’s a celebration of triumph. Second Amendment Foundation, one of the hosts along with Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, was instrumental in the tremendous US Supreme Court victory in McDonald, et. al. v. City of Chicago, and in winning concealed carry in the State of Illinois.  A thumbing of the nose at the anti-gunners? Yeah, you could say that…

The other point was, “To heck with going to Chicago for that! I’m an armed citizen, I don’t live in Illinois, they’re not issuing non-resident carry permits to out-of-staters there yet, and just on principle I won’t go anyplace that doesn’t trust me to carry.”

Ya know what?  I totally sympathize with that, and if that’s why you’re not attending, I don’t blame you one damn bit.  When I was a little boy, my mother told me “Son, do not go places where you are not wanted.”  That turned out to be very good advice. I only go against that advice if I think going to the place that told me I’m not wanted, will do more good than not going.

In recent years, the GRPC speeches and panel discussions have been archived so those who could not attend can download them and review them later.  I have no reason to doubt that this will be the case for 2014 as well.

As soon as I find out where you can find those archives and listen to them at your leisure, I’ll post them here.

Stay tuned…

Share or Bookmark