The 2001 Gun Rights Policy Conference
Gun Rights Affirmed

We just returned from the Gun Rights Policy Conference in Covington, KY (across the river from Cincinnati).  The conference was co-hosted by Citizens Committee to Keep and Bear Arms,  (http://www.ccrkba.org/) and The Second Amendment Foundation, (http://www.saf.org/). Equally important was the guiding presence of Joe Tartaro, publisher of GUNWEEK magazine (http://www.gunweek.com/). The ramrod of the program was Julieanne Gottlieb. She is publisher of WOMEN AND GUNS (http://www.womenandguns.com/) magazine. She is smart and very dynamic. Alan Gottlieb of Citizens Committee to Keep and Bear Arms is a very warm and personable guy with political connections that just won't quit.

We got to hear from some real Second Amendment warriors, people who are leading the fight intellectually and spiritually to preserve and enhance our civil rights. Neal Knox, Larry Pratt, Wayne La Pierre, Dave Kopel, Gen. James Chambers, Masaad Ayoob, Ken Blanchard, and Dave Workman were there along with many others whose names may not be as immediately recognizable but who are nevertheless making significant contributions to the struggle for the preservation of the Second Amendment.

Themes

The underlying energy of the meeting came from self defense concerns and issues, particularly the CCW campaign in Ohio. 9-11 cast a long shadow. Security and personal defense issues dominated the psychology of the conference. There wasn’t a lot of discussion about duck hunting. Given the tragedy of 9-11 and the continuing specter of terrorists being in our midst, the right to carry a personal defense weapon concealed or otherwise suddenly has taken on a whole new meaning and urgency, even for long-time gun rights and CCW activists.

Several of the speakers made note of the fact that we, as gun rights people, find ourselves in a special moment in history. I hesitate to use the word “opportunity” for such a crisis, but it is a unique opening and perhaps a sea change in the public’s view of self defense issues. Ken Blanchard hit it straight on and said that we are going to find that people who wouldn't listen to us a few weeks ago are interested today and want to learn what we know. He encouraged us to start with our own neighbors and friends and discuss with them their survival plans and emergency preparedness. For the first time in this long fight, we have a major labor union, the pilot’s union, demanding to have defensive firearms in their work place. We heard from a sharp young Delta pilot and Kentucky CCW holder who urged us to support the pilot’s call for defensive arms.

The second major theme was the threat to everyone’s civil rights (and not just the Second Amendment) posed by this rush to create greater “security.” FBI is demanding broad new surveillance powers, many of which are plainly unconstitutional and have little to do with combating terrorism. FAA has instituted absurd new regulations which further reduce the citizen’s ability for self defense and have brought our airports to a virtual stand-still. Some nanny state legislators are suddenly proposing national ID cards with electronic capabilities. (Would somebody please explain to me what a national ID card would do to prevent airplane hijackings). In the current environment, the Fourth Amendment, which guarantees protection against unreasonable search and seizure, appears to be at greater risk than the Second, for the moment.

The most important part of it was the networking and meeting of people. I have a pocket full of business cards to sort through. A few real highlights:

Ken Blanchard, author and webmaster of BLACK MAN WITH A GUN (http://www.blackmanwithagun.net). Ken is a sweet spirited Marine embassy guard and counter-terrorism expert. He talked to us about the difficulty of reaching out to other demographic groups. He has a unique gift for telling the truth and telling it straight but in a gentle and engaging way.

Dr. Andrew Johnstone of Doctors for Sensible Gun Laws (http://www.dsgl.org). Dr. Johnstone is a long haired hippie-looking dude and you certainly wouldn’t guess him to be a gun rights activist to look at him but he is an extremely articulate spokesman for gun rights and a dedicated opponent of the anti-gun forces within the medical community. His site provides some excellent ammunition with which to counter the medical elite who are trying to frame the gun control debate in terms of a health care issue.

Dave Kopel, senior policy analyst, Independence Institute (http://www.i2i.org/) If you have read my newsletters, you have read Dave Kopel. I remain amazed at the quality and quantity of articles Dave produces. He talks just like he writes – fast and intense. You just make sure that you catch every word. Dave’s concerns are turning toward the assault on our privacy and civil rights posed by the rush to establish the illusory sense of security that our politicians are baiting us with. (If they couldn’t give us security two weeks ago, what makes us think they can give it to us today?)

Neal Knox, Firearms Coalition, (http://www.nealknox.com) needs no introduction. The master tactician pushed us to “think outside the box” and get on the offensive about gun rights rather than always playing the rear guard defensive actions through better networking and coordination of grassroots organizations such as KC3.

The GRPC was good for KC3 too. We got a lot of recognition as a positive example of a state level CCW campaign. We had eight directors and members there and I think we came away from the meeting affirmed with a fresh and enhanced vision of ourselves as an organization. Randy and Lori made sure that we had an excellent display table. Tyler had the KC3 website loaded on his laptop so that we could show the site to people who came by our table. Additionally, Tyler and Melissa were gracious enough to allow Charles, Stuart, and I to crash at their lovely home. Tony Haubner provided us with a terrific archive of news stories and info on the original CCW campaign in Kentucky. Charles did a right decent presentation on state and local legislative efforts. Bob Jaynes turned over his room to us for the hospitality suite. I was given the distinct privilege of offering the invocation and blessing over lunch.

A couple of thoughts about KC3 came to me though the process of the conference. One was that we have really accomplished a lot, more than we realize sometimes. The whole country looks to Kentucky when they are working up their own CCW laws. I have thought for a long time that we have perhaps the best CCW law in the country but it was really wild to hear that from folks from other parts of the country who yearn to have a law as good as ours. KC3, the organization, has done an historic piece of work, and we are a beacon in the storm to other states. Second, our work is far from over, but it is evolving in some new directions.

Consider this a sharing of the pat on the back that we received. Ya done good, KC3.

Syd