Shall Not Be Questioned – Page 860 – The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State …

Where’s Your Bloomberg Now?

We’re quite pleased with the result of last night’s primary, a summary of which Bitter put up over at PAGunRights.com. There were two races we were keeping a very close eye on were two State Senate districts where a MAIG mayor was trying to move to a higher office. These are solidly Democratic seats, so this was essentially the election.

We helped raise money for both pro-gun candidates through ActBlue, and we are happy to report we won one of the two races, but most pleasing was that both MAIG mayors lost their primary. We’d like to congratulate NRA endorsed State Rep. John Yudichak on his commanding primary victory over anti-gun MAIG mayor Tom Leighton. We are very pleased to have thoroughly trounced Bloomberg in this race.Â In the second district, our endorsed candidate did not win, but it doesn’t look so bad. Here’s what Bitter had to say:

This is a mixed bag election for gun owners. On one hand, the NRA backed candidate â€“ State Rep. Jim Wansacz â€“ did not make the final cut for November. On the other hand, the extreme anti-gun Mayor of Scranton did not survive either. A dark horse candidate won the race, and we hope to find out more about his position on guns rights in the future. This is his first elected office, and he was backed by the retiring pro-gun Senator for this open seat. For anti-gun Chris Doherty, this is his second setback in a few months after his campaign for governor floundered. Calling in the big guns, the anti-gun leaderÂ brought in Bill Clinton to record phone calls for him, though it did no good.

The important thing is this race is that Doherty didn’t win. It was a multi-way race, and we had some other issues in this district that could have affected the outcome. This is a pretty clear message that no matter what Bloomberg is promising to MAIG mayors, if you try for higher office, NRA will notice, and we will kick your ass.

Charlotte: The Good and the Bad

Charlotte was a record setting city, so it would be hard to argue that the Annual Meeting just held there was anything other than successful. But I wanted to take a minute to talk about the venue, since more than a few people had issues with it. Now that I’ve attended four annual meetings, I believe I have enough information to compare venues.

Let’s start with the good:

Everything in Charlotte was close. I felt like I hardly had to do any walking, and certainly no driving. In Louisville, we had a lot of room, but everything was spread out. You had to drive between downtown and the convention center to go between events.
The food in Charlotte was great. I didn’t eat at any place I thought sucked.
The people of Charlotte were great to us.
It was obviously close to a lot of NRA members, because it set a record.
It was probably the safest downtown we’ve had a convention in since I’ve attended them. The Charlotte Police and County Sheriff did a very good job keeping up patrols.

Now the bad:

North Carolina’s carry laws suck. Technically, I’m not even sure I could carry up to my hotel room, because the hotels all have bars in them, and you can purchase and consume alcohol anywhere in the hotel. I did not carry at any point in Charlotte, and had to leave my pistol in a broken hotel room safe. No other venue has also been as in your face with us that carry is prohibited. Technically it was in St. Louis too, but St. Louis folks were discreet about it.
The Time-Warner Arena sucks as a venue. Not only could we not have an Annual Banquet, but they wanded down our members, and I heard a story from a reader that they wouldn’t let him in because his camera was “too professional looking.” We rented this venue for a private event. As far as I’m concerned, Time-Warner can take their venue policies and shove them up their ass when we’re the ones forking over our member dollars to use it. As far as I’m concerned, wanding down and disrespecting members does not make us feel welcome in the city.
The city is expensive. When I pay 12 dollars for a drink, I start to feel like I’m in New York City. Beer was cheap in Charlotte, roughly comparable to Philly, but Philly is still a cheaper city to drink in, and that’s sad. Food was expensive too, but I’m willing to shell out for good food, and I had nothing bad in Charlotte.
There was police presence in weird areas. Now it’s possible the convention center has a make work project for cops, in that you’re required to hire police officers for events, but a board member gave us some tickets to a cigar and brandy reception which had several Charlotte police officers patrolling. There was also two officers stationed just outside the Firearms Law Seminar, obviously based on rumors Dave Hardy was going to ride in on aÂ CarthaginianÂ War Elephant. Are they worried we’re going to get drunk and shoot up the place? Get rowdy? Maybe back in the old days of NRA you’d have to worry about that (things were more exciting then), but not now. I like a beefed up police presence, especially if you’re going to disarm me. Charlotte felt very safe because the CPD had a heavy presence on the street, but I found their presence at private events odd. I like feeling safe, not feeling watched.
The media was hostile, and some of the local businesses weren’t all that friendly. I heard oneÂ restaurantÂ chime to an NRA staffer “You’re with NRA? You know you can’t carry a gun in here right?” The Charlotte Observer also made is feel so welcome when they asked us not to shoot them. We’re used to papers making policy arguments against us during the Convention, but most other cities media and businesses at least make it clear our presence (and money) is welcome in their city.

Overall, I am very happy NRA set a record in the city, but I am not a fan of going back until the State of North Carolina fixes the problems with their carry laws, and the various Charlotte authorities that are responsible for getting big conventions make sure their businesses and media understand the kind of business we’re bringing to the table. We know we have to follow the law, but don’t be dicks about it. Don’t insult us, do various things to disrespect members, and then expect us to come back with a smile. Phoenix was a much more welcoming city. Louisville was a much more welcoming city. St. Louis was as well.

Next year we’ll be in Pittsburgh, another city that will want our money. There won’t be any problems with Pennsylvania’s carry laws, which are among the best in the nation, but lets hope their businesses and media make us feel more welcome than Charlotte’s did.

Why Get Involved?

It seems rather curious that the Bradys would insert themselves into what is almost certainly going to be a losing issue for us defending these Firearms Freedom Acts in federal court. What are they worried about?

My guess is their pocketbook. One of the disadvantages of the Brady approach to this issue is they have to be able to fundraise off their message, as opposed to MAIG who have a wealthy patron. I posit that Brady got involved because it’s a guaranteed win, they are getting the work pro bono, and it’ll be great for fundraising letters. They will be able to go to their donors and say they defeated the big bad “gun lobby” and their attempt to implement their “guns everywhere” philosophy.

Not that I blame them. Any group would be stupid not to do this. But I find it hard to believe the Bradys think this is going somewhere if they don’t help stop it.

Specter is Gone

The man who switched parties to avoid getting beat in his primary just got beat in his primary. As much as I’m enjoying the poetic justice, the words “Senator Sestak” scare the living hell out of me. I’ll work like hell for Pat Toomey.

Glad Our New Attendees Had a Good Time

Sister Toldjah (one of the best blog names out there if you ask me. I wish I had picked a better name) was a new attendee this year, and I’m really glad she had a good time. Other newbie attendees this year were Countertop, American Manifesto, Newbie Shooter, Fat White Man, Moose Droppings, Campaign Spot, Detroit CPL, Personal Armament Blog, and Virginia Gal.

I did not get to meet them all because I spent all day in the Firearms Law Seminar Friday, and a lot of them came Friday. But we were glad to have so many Annual Meeting newbies.

How Annual Meeting Has Changed

Dave Kopel has attended NRA Annual Meetings for a lot longer than I have, and has some interesting thoughts on how they’ve changed over the years.

From the Floor: Bushmaster ACR

SayUncle has some video of the Bushmaster ACR from the exhibit hall. I did not get a chance to stop by the Bushmaster booth myself, which is sad. I have a few other reports from the floor to do, but coverage for the NRA Convention 2010 should wrap up shortly, and we will resume our usual blogging.

Primary Day

WithÂ recuperationÂ from Annual Meeting now fully underway, I nearly forgot that I came back to primary day in Pennsylvania. Who am I going to vote for? I’m undecided, believe it or not. Might not decide until I’m in there. Let me explain my conflicts.

Governor: Without a doubt, Sam Rohrer represents my values of limited Government much more closely than Tom Corbett does. But Corbett is proven in a statewide race. I have my doubts as to whether Rohrer will be able to raise enough money, win enough independents in the general election, and beat whoever the Democratic nominee is. I also don’t think Tom Corbett is a bad candidate. Given the choice, I’ll probably go with the guy I think can win in November.

Congress: Mike Fitzpatrick is the presumptive winner in the race, and is carrying an NRA endorsement. I like Gloria Carlineo philosophically, but much like the situation with Rohrer, I’m very concerned about her ability to raise money. That’s not a small concern, because Patrick Murphy is a fundraising machine. If Carlineo loses, I really hope she doesn’t disappear from politics. She should really consider a stab at State Representative, or maybe a County Row Office. I am by no means happy the GOP reanimated Fitzpatrick to go after Murphy, but it is what it is.

In both cases, I will back whoever the eventual nominee is. We have to get Murphy out, and we definitely need to prevent any of those Dems from getting in the Governor’s Mansion. Ed Rendell has convinced Democrats in this state the NRA can’t beat them. Its only so much time before the General Assembly starts believing that too, and when that happens, we’re screwed.

It’s a difficult choice. Do you vote for someone who is with you 90% of the time who can’t win over someone who is with you 70% of the time who can? These are the compromises you make along the way. All politics is compromise. It’s the only way we all live together without killing each other.

Open Carry Activist Charged

Looks like he was involved in a shooting. I think that’s about all you can say until the facts come out. The coverage, obviously, is not a good thing for us.

UPDATE: More here and here.

UPDATE: Reading the situation over, it does not look good. He was shot while inside the car. Under some circumstances a car can be a deadly weapon, but it’s very difficult for me to see how this could be the case in a parking lot. On the surface, this does not look like a clean shoot.

UPDATE: Found the Criminal Complaint. Also it seems the alleged victim here had a history himself. The other victim did too. From the complaint, I wouldn’t say the victims were choir boys, but this isn’t a clear cut case of self-defense. Facts are in dispute, and when that is the case, it’s a jury of your peers who will sort out the facts and stand in judgement of the evidence.

We Appreciate the Help of All the Daves

This year for the Blog Bash, we tried to organize an event called “Drinkin’ with the Daves,” where we got together for drinks with fellow bloggers Dave Hardy and Dave Kopel, who in addition to being bloggers, also happen to be some of the great minds of the movement, and excellent conversationalists:

Dave, Dave and Bitter — Dave Kopel, Dave Adams and Bitter

Dave Hardy couldn’t make it the same day as Dave Kopel, so we had to do a separate brunch event I dubbed “Ham and Eggs with Hardy,” but it turns out Dave Adams, Legislative Chairman and Blogger for the Virginia Association, was able to make it, so we appreciate his help in saving the title of our event, in addition to Dave Kopel and Dave Hardy for making time for us in the first place.