Shall Not Be Questioned » NRA Convention

Anti-Gun Activists on Parade

Bitter — Tue, 31 May 2011 22:00:49 +0000

About 200 people marched on the NRA meeting in April, and I went to talk to a few of them about what inspired them to participate in a protest, what they believed was happening inside the convention, how they felt about concealed carry at such an event, and how they view the Second Amendment.

First, I want to thank reader Adam Z. for taking the pictures. Oh, and for bringing a buddy new to the issue along to Pittsburgh for their first NRA meeting. They both decided to go check the protest out with me, and this video would be missing several of the shots of signs & people if it had not been for Adam. Second, I apologize for the shaky images. Again, forgetting the tripod was not one of my better moments. But, for much of the video, it would not have mattered since I was conducting most of the interview while we were actually marching. During said march, I was dodging construction signs, potholes, and cars.

An Interview with David Keene, NRA President

Bitter — Mon, 23 May 2011 21:07:17 +0000

This is his segment from Washington Journal last week. The first questions may seem a little odd, but they are a bit of a bridge from the host’s previous topic about candidates and their personal lives.

He emphasizes the role of women in the organization and he discusses how NRA members vote on the Second Amendment so they don’t have to spend as much as in elections. He is accused by the second caller of buying Democratic votes instead of actually having the support of Democrats. Keene, even though he is associated with the right, is great at outlining how the Second Amendment spans party. I could outline everything, but I won’t. He flat out tells a gun owner who supports banning magazines that he’s wrong. I love it. Just listen for yourself.

At the 2A Blog Bash in Pittsburgh, participants had a chance to sit down with Keene at our breakfast with Tom King. I don’t just mean that he came by and shook hands with a friendly hello. He actually sat down with the group for quite a while to discuss a whole range of issues at NRA – technology, outreach, you name it. He’s a serious guy with a serious outlook on the issues from the political to the programming.

An Update on Antler (Non-)Thieves

Bitter — Tue, 10 May 2011 22:57:47 +0000

I blogged about the seemingly very bold thieves who tried to swipe some very large antlers from the NRA annual meeting while the vendors were cleaning up. It turns out that charges have been dropped.

The men’s attorney said the two are union carpenters who were working to dismantle dozens of booths at the convention. Freddy Rabner said at the end of the convention they saw the antlers lying on the floor as they were about to get crushed by a fork lift. …
Rabner said the men brought the antlers to the registration table in an effort to find the rightful owners. According to the carpenters, the antlers never left convention center property. …
The judge dismissed the case because of lack of evidence.

If all they have is security footage of them walking inside the convention center in plain view with the antlers, I think this is a good call. You can’t prove one way or the other what their intent was in that case. If they were getting them out of the way of potential damage, then they should be thanked.

First PJTV Interview

Sebastian — Tue, 10 May 2011 00:44:33 +0000

I speak for a bit with Professor Glenn Reynolds about 3D printed magazines, among other things. For those who are interested in the project, you can explore the category here.

The one thing I hate about interviews is the sound of my own voice. I normally don’t think I have much of a Philly accent, but I can hear it stronger when I’m listening to myself.

Talking to Pennsylvania’s Gun Owners

Bitter — Wed, 04 May 2011 17:59:36 +0000

Since I was representing PAGunRights.com this year at the NRA meeting, I decided to do a little research on attendees. I picked up my media credentials on Thursday, got permission to film without an escort, and didn’t step back into the press office again during the weekend. When I wasn’t interviewing NRA protesters, I was interviewing NRA members from Pennsylvania to conduct a bit of a survey on their civic engagement with elections, campaigns, and voting.

I also questioned people on whether their mayors were members of MAIG and whether their members of Congress were pro or anti-gun. The good news is that people overwhelmingly got those questions right. The only wrong MAIG response was from someone who thought his current mayor was a member, but his mayor is not part of Bloomberg’s coalition of anti-gun mayors. So that’s okay for him to be wrong since it’s good news. :) On the Congressman question, a couple of folks from Pittsburgh were mistaken by saying their guy is pro-gun. But, if they claim to be “from Pittsburgh,” but are really from any suburbs, then their actual Congressman may not be anti-gun.

Apologies for some shaky camera work. I should probably remember the tripod next time.

NRA Protests

Bitter — Tue, 03 May 2011 16:55:47 +0000

I’ve seen a lot of misinformation put out about the protests against NRA’s annual meeting during the last few days which is a little odd since there were only a few pro-gun people who actually attended the protest to find out what was happening. It wasn’t something you could watch from the windows of the convention center or see from the sidewalks anywhere near the main hall. The actual protest & rally took place about a mile from the convention center, and almost every person there marched all the way back to the Westin across the street from the convention center.

I’ve seen some people try to claim there were only 30 people, and that the media is lying when they say around 200 people marched against NRA. There were easily 200 people, and I might even say closer to 250 or more. And almost every single one of them not only came out for the rally, but they marched for a mile in the heat and bright sun. (Seriously, I got sunburned and I wasn’t out there that long on the warmest day of the convention.) I took video which I’m currently editing. I interviewed quite a few protest attendees during their march, and I have to say that it was a very enlightening experience.
Before I get into the details of why people told me they were out there marching against NRA, I just wanted to set the record straight on the numbers game and who was involved. We had 71,139 members come through those convention hall doors. We don’t need to lie about the other side to claim victory in this case. I also know that someone somewhere mentioned that Ceasefire wasn’t involved, something that could lead people to believe that they have basically given up. That’s absolutely not the case. They were decked out in their organization t-shirts, and their director even addressed the rally. They are still around and planning to fight.

We win because of larger numbers, passionate grassroots activists, and people who are willing to turn up to the polls to vote for freedom. Trust me, the other side knows this. One key theme in Saturday’s rally was that the NRA wins because we get involved and the politicians listen to us. If we try to belittle the other side & their efforts to motivate their base, we risk missing the point where they could become relevant if we become complacent.

(Photo credit: Adam Z. who, along with his friend who is new to the issue, hopped in a cab with me up to the rally & marched down taking photos while I interviewed protesters.)

Not Free of Criminals

Bitter — Tue, 03 May 2011 16:37:46 +0000

You have to be a bold thief to steal from a room full of gun people. Apparently, the exhibition services company retained for the NRA Annual Meeting appears to have found two bold thieves.

Two men working for an exhibition service at the National Rifle Association convention over the weekend were arrested late Sunday for stealing two sets of elk antlers.

According to Pittsburgh police, the antlers were stolen from a vendor’s booth while the operator was waiting to pack up his truck at the loading dock of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. …

The theft was reported about 8:45 p.m. Sunday. Security officers in the area spotted two men on the east side of the convention center walking with the antlers, and they were detained.

Stephen C. Lee, 44, of Cumberland, Md., and Gary C. Felts, 49, of Joppa, Md., are charged with theft and criminal conspiracy, and taken to the Allegheny County Jail.

Both men worked for Brede Exposition Services, of Beltsville, Md.

Antlers. Seriously, how do you even pretend to just walk off with antlers?

More About NRA’s Latest Volunteer

Bitter — Tue, 03 May 2011 13:46:19 +0000

Sebastian live blogged the morning session of the NRA Board of Directors meeting, and made a brief mention about a special guest who addressed the board & members. I told him later that I was really amazed that I didn’t tear up listening to Tucson shooting survivor George Morris speak. To know that his support for freedom remains strong is absolutely inspiring.

According to news reports, George Morris met his wife Dorothy at a high school dance where she took the initiative at the end of the night and asked him to call her. They celebrated 54 years of marriage, and their 55th anniversary is next week.

Friends told the press that George still referred to Dorothy as his “sweetheart,” a fact that I can absolutely say is true after listening to him speak. During the shooting, he tried to shield her from the gunman and ended up shot twice himself. According to a friend who spoke with the media, he was placed in intensive care, had one bullet in his right leg, and suffered a broken rib and punctured lung from the other. He was in the hospital for 11 days recovering.

During his address to the board, he referred to the “NRA family,” and he made it clear that he recognizes it was not a gun that killed his wife. It was a “vicious young man” who should not have been on the streets. George said that standing up for what his rights & freedom was something his wife would support without question. He and his wife were at the event even though they were both Republicans because they were simply engaged in their community and with their elected officials. It’s incredible to hear about someone whose dedication to civic participation and protecting our rights remains so strong even after such a terrible tragedy. And I’m very happy to know that he does with the sound knowledge that his wife absolutely supports him in such an endeavor.

One of the best parts about Annual Meeting, for me anyway, is to meet these types of people. It’s so moving to know that there’s someone else out there whose shared values with their spouse can remain so strong even through the toughest times. I know that if in a similar position with Sebastian, it would absolutely be the same for us. It’s very refreshing to know that there’s someone else out there who feels as strongly about liberty. To have the opportunity to learn more about that person, it’s very touching and even inspires some watery eyes.

Finally Home

Sebastian — Tue, 03 May 2011 01:15:32 +0000

Back from Annual Meeting, and I’m exhausted. We will return to our normally scheduled blogging tomorrow. Not much else to report on the Board meeting. We decided to leave when they broke for lunch. Most of what goes on after lunch will put you to sleep if you’ve been sleeping well, let alone if you’re really tired.

Where I’ve Been

Sebastian — Sun, 01 May 2011 19:40:03 +0000

Sorry for the lack of updates on the NRA Annual Meeting. This has been one of the busier meetings for us, and I’ve probably spent a grand total of five minutes wandering around the exhibit hall until this afternoon. I’ve been going around with Dan Pehrson of PAFOA doing some relationship building.

Yesterday Dan and I were lucky enough to score an invite to a reception that had a high likelihood of featuring a number of lawmakers. We were pleased to be able to spend some time talking to PA Senator Richard Alloway about Castle Doctrine, along with NRA’s Pennsylvania Liaison John Hohenwarter. I think we should have Castle Doctrine soon, and Alloway has been a real leader on this issue for us in the Senate.

Spent a good deal of time talking to NRA’s Illinois lobbyist Todd Vandermyde. For those of you who haven’t ever met Todd, he’s a fun guy to talk to, and has a through knowledge of how to play this game. Illinois gun owners are lucky to have him. I told Todd I keep expecting to wake up, and talk bout the crazy dream I had where we were actually getting close to passing concealed carry in Illinois. This is something I would have said had a snowflake’s chance in hell a few years ago.

This morning we had nice breakfast session with Tom King, President of the NY State Rifle and Pistol association, and David Keene, who tomorrow will become the next NRA President. Jim Porter, who also stopped by briefly, will become First Vice President, next in line for President. Keene was also ACU Chairman, and took a lot of heat from conservative groups for including GOProud at CPAC. I think that was a smart move, and given that Keene is keen on using his term as President to recruit younger members, and women members, into NRA, I think he brings a lot to the table in that regard.