2012 Gun Rights Policy Conference

I won’t be able to do much in the way of posting about the Gun Rights Policy Conference today due to work and teaching tonight. However, I wanted to post some links to stories and posts about the conference.

USAToday had a story on the conference which featured a picture of Miguel of the GunFreeZone blog wearing his Gunwalker T-shirt and holding up the SAF’s Keep Calm and Carry poster. I’m still looking for the video from a local Orlando TV station that featured the backs of my and Miguel’s heads. Still, a picture in USAToday definitely trumps that!

Kenn Blanchard has video up of Emily Miller’s speech at the conference which can be seen here. It presents a much more accurate picture than that of a certain so-called gun blogger who was responsible for the Gun Blog Black List being formed. I refuse to link to him but I’m sure you can find it by using Google as he is the master of search engine optimization (SEO).

Robb Allen whom I got to meet for the first time has a series of posts up on the conference including this one.

Here is Joe Huffman’s take on the first day of the GRPC. It was a pleasure to finally meet Joe.

The now famous Miguel has a number of posts up on the conference and they can be found here, here, and here.

Congratulations to Sean Caranna of Florida Carry and the blog All Nine Yars for being named a Defender of Liberty award recipient by the SAF.

Derek Ward, the author of Zombie Strike and a gun blogger, was at the conference. I enjoyed meeting Derek and he has a number of posts on GRPC up on his blog.

All in all it was a good conference and I’ll be posting more on it through out the week.

We are getting excited. It is only one more day before we board a Delta jet to Orlando for the Gun Rights Policy Conference. There will be old friends to see, new friends to make, and a chance finally to meet people you only know from the Interwebs.

The Complementary Spouse is making lists of stuff we shouldn’t forget while I’m trying to figure out which Hawaiian shirts to pack. We all have our priorities!

You can read the agenda here.

As I’ve said before, if you live anywhere in the area you should attend for at least Saturday. It’s free to attend, you’ll get tons of free books on Second Amendment topics, and you’ll learn a lot. Plus Madison Rising will be playing the National Anthem!

The agenda for the 2012 Gun Rights Policy Conference has been released and I’ve posted it below. The Second Amendment band Madison Rising will be doing the National Anthem as well as playing at both the Friday and Saturday night receptions. How cool is that!

27th Annual Gun Rights Policy Conference
September 28-30, 2012
Hyatt Regency Orlando, Florida, Airport

FRIDAY, September 28, 2012—Regency Ballroom
7:00 p.m. Registration Table Opens
7:00–9:00 p.m. Reception with Cash Bar
Co-hosted by Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) and Second Amendment Foundation (SAF)
Music by the patriot rock band Madison Rising

SATURDAY, September 29, 2012—Intercontinental Ballroom
7:30 a.m. Registration Table Opens
Beverages hosted by Women & Guns Magazine

8:00 a.m. CALL TO ORDER
Moderator—Julianne Versnel, publisher, Journal on Firearms & Public Policy, director of operations, SAF
Color Guard—University of Central Florida, Air Force ROTC
National Anthem performed by Madison Rising
Invocation—Rev. Anthony Winfield, chaplain, Elmhurst Hospital Center, New York City

8:10 a.m. State of the Gun Rights Battle

Welcoming Remarks
The Road Traveled—Joseph P. Tartaro, executive editor, TheGunMag.com, president, SAF
The Road Ahead—Alan M. Gottlieb, chairman, CCRKBA and founder, SAF

8:30 a.m. The Most Dangerous Election of Our Lifetime
Maria Heil, board member and spokesperson, National Rifle Association

8:45 a.m. Federal Affairs Briefing
Mark Barnes, president, Mark Barnes and Associates
Jeff Knox, managing director, Firearms Coalition, gun issues columnist
Larry Pratt, executive director, Gun Owners of America
Joe Waldron, legislative director, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms

9:15 a.m. State Legislative Affairs Briefing I
Hon. Sam Slom, Minority Leader Hawaii Senate, trustee of the Second Amendment Foundation
Sandra Barreras, Puerto Rico, Damas de la Segunda Enmienda
Jim Irvine, president, Buckeye Firearms Association
Richard Nascak, co-executive director, Florida Carry.org.
Patrick Shomo, president, Maryland Shall Issue Inc.

9:45 a.m. Beverage break hosted IAPCAR

10:00 a.m. State Legislative Affairs Briefing II
Stephen Aldstadt, president, Shooters Committee on Political Education (SCOPE, Inc.) NY
Thomas Bolioli, secretary, Commonwealth Second Amendment, Inc.
Don Moran, president, Illinois State Rifle Association
Tony Montanarella, president, California Rifle & Pistol Association
Philip Van Cleave, president, Virginia Citizens Defense League

10:30 a.m. Global Gun Control: Down but Not Out
Gary Burris, founder, Lone Star Shooting Association
Sheldon Clare, president, National Firearms Association of Canada
Julianne Versnel, publisher, Women & Guns, director of operations, Second Amendment Foundation
Maj. Gen. Allen Youngman, USA (ret.), executive director, Defense Small Arms Advisory Council

11:00 a.m. “Stand Your Ground” Laws under Fire
Eric Friday, Esq., counsel for Florida Carry
Jon Gutmacher, Esq., firearms instructor, attorney and author of Florida Firearms — Law, Use & Ownership

11:20 a.m. Protecting the Right to Protect
Mark O’Mara, Esq., defense attorney for George Zimmerman

11:45 a.m. Q & A on Morning Panels

12:00 Noon Recess and break to prepare for box luncheon

12:15 p.m. Awards Luncheon Hosted by CCRKBA and SAF
Speakers:
U.S. Representative. Joe Barton (R-Texas 6th Dist.)
Ambassador Donald A. Mahley
Otis McDonald, lead plaintiff, McDonald v. City of Chicago
Awards presentations

1:30 p.m. Recess Break

1:45 p.m. Fine-Tuning Arms Rights in the Courts
David Jensen, Esq., SAF counsel in Kwong vs. Bloomberg, Moore v. Madigan and Piszczatoski v. Maenza
Donald Kilmer, Esq., counsel to CalGuns Foundation and SAF
David Kopel, Esq., research director, Independence Institute, co-author, Firearms Law & the Second Amendment
Dan Schmutter, Esq., legal counsel, Association of NJ Rifle & Pistol Clubs

2:15 p.m. The Second Amendment and the Legal Community
Bobbie K. Ross, Esq., Chair, Second Amendment Civil Rights Litigation Subcommittee, American Bar Association

2:30 p.m. The Realities of Self-Defense in Washington, DC
Emily Miller, senior editorial page editor, The Washington Times and author of Emily Gets a Gun

2:45 p.m. The “Fast and Furious” Fiasco
David Workman, senior editor, TheGunMag.com, Seattle Gun Rights Examiner

3:00 p.m. Beverage service hosted by KeepAndBearArms.com

3:15 p.m. Those Dangerous Gun-Free Zones
John Lott, PhD, commentator for FoxNews.com and Wall Street Journal

3:30 p.m. Breaking the Establishment Media’s Stranglehold
Robert Farago, publisher, TheTruthAboutGuns.com
Bob Harvey, host, Bullseye Radio Talk Show
Fredy Riehl, editor and press coordinator, Ammoland.com
Mark Vanderberg, Gun Rights Radio Network

4:00 p.m. How Gun Rights Are Really at Risk if They Steal the Election First
John Fund, senior editor The American Spectator and columnist for National Review Online

4:15 p.m. The 2012 Elections: A Nation at the Crossroads
Alan Gottlieb, chairman, AmeriPAC, chairman, CCRKBA
Stephani Scruggs, president, Unite in Action and national chair, The 912 Project
Kirby Wilbur, chairman, Republican Party of Washington, SAF trustee

4:45 p.m. Growing State Gun Rights Networks
Gene Hoffman, chairman, CalGuns Foundation
Brent Carlton, president, Commonwealth Second Amendment Inc.
Sean Caranna, co-executive director, Florida Carry.org

5:15 p.m. Which Case Will Be the Next RKBA Case to Go to SCOTUS?
Alan Gura, SAF chief counsel and lead attorney, D.C. v. Heller, McDonald v. Chicago and Ezell v. Chicago

5:30 p.m. Q & A on afternoon panels

6:00 p.m. Announcements and Adjournment

6:30-9:30 p.m. Reception with Cash Bar—Regency Ballroom
Hosted by Second Amendment Foundation and National Shooting Sports Foundation
Entertainment by patriotic rock band Madison Rising

SUNDAY, September 30, 2012—Intercontinental Ballroom
8:30 a.m. Registration Table Opens
Beverage service hosted by TheGunMag.com

8:50 a.m. CALL TO ORDER
Moderator: Peggy Tartaro, editor of Women & Guns, board member CCRKBA

9:00 a.m. Growing the Gunowner Base in the Popular Culture War
Alan Korwin, author, After You Shoot, Bloomfield Press Richard Mgrdechian, president, Madison Rising
Neil Schulman, screenwriter, journalist, filmmaker
Peggy Tartaro, editor, Women & Guns magazine, board member, CCRKBA

9:35 a.m. The Supreme Court: A Majority of One
David Kopel, Esq., adjunct professor of Advanced Constitutional Law, Sturm College of Law, University of Denver
Joseph P. Tartaro, executive editor, TheGunMag.com, president, SAF

10:00 a.m. The Many Faces of the Second Amendment
Rev. Kenneth V. Blanchard, pastor, firearms instructor, blogger
Doug Ritter, founder and chairman, KnifeRights.org
Erik Royce, founder, TruckerGuns Foundation
Linda Walker, board member, National Rifle Association<

10:30 a.m. Is Patient Privacy Dead after Florida Court Ruling?
Timothy Wheeler, MD, director, Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership, a project of the SAF

10:45 a.m. The Academic Front in the Gun Rights Battle
David Burnett, Students for Concealed Carry
Brian Patrick, associate professor of communications, University of Toledo

11:05 a.m. The Anti-Gunners’ Homeland Security Gambit
Charles Heller, executive director, Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership
Benjamin Smith, director of Strategic Affairs, Unite in Action, and contributor to Breitbart and Fox News

11:25 a.m. Countering Media Bias
Don Irvine, president, Accuracy in Media
Malia Zimmerman, editor, Hawaii Reporter, director, Hawaii Rifle Association

11:45 a.m. Q & A on Morning Session

12:00 Noon Report of the Resolutions Committee
Genie Jennings, W&G columnist
Stephen Aldstadt, president, SCOPE, Inc.
Linda Farmer, Georgia gun rights activist
Jeff Knox, managing director, Firearms Coalition, gun issue columnist
Don Moran, president, Illinois State Rifle Association
Herb Stupp, Vice Chairman CCRKBA
Miko Tempski, director, CCRKBA
Linda Walker, board member, National Rifle Association
Robert Wiest, SAF board of trustees, Tennessee activist

1:00 p.m. Closing remarks and adjournment
Alan M. Gottlieb and Joseph P. Tartaro

The Second Amendment Foundation released information on a number of their confirmed speakers. These include Emily Miller of the Washington Times and “Emily Gets Her Gun” fame, perennial favorite Alan Gura, George Zimmerman’s attorney Mark O’Mara, and Congressman Joe Barton of Texas.

The 27th Annual Gun Rights Policy Conference attracts leaders from across the country, including Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms; Joseph Tartaro, president of the Second Amendment Foundation; Maria Heil, board director of the National Rifle Association; Larry Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America and many others.

Also scheduled: Attorney Alan Gura, winner of the landmark Supreme Court Second Amendment Heller and McDonald cases; Criminal Defense Attorney Mark O’Mara; Columnist and Fox News contributor John Fund; John Lott, author of More Guns, Less Crime, and Emily Miller, senior editor of The Washington Times.

Texas Congressman Joe Barton will be the featured Saturday luncheon speaker.

The Gun Rights Policy Conference offers an opportunity for grassroots gun rights activists from across the country to gather under one roof for the opportunity to network, exchange strategies and hear from national gun rights leaders on major issues relating to firearms litigation and politics.

This year’s agenda includes panel discussions on Campus Concealed Carry, Gun rights litigation after the Heller and McDonald rulings, the UN threat to gun rights, Federal and State legislative updates, Media Bias, Self-Defense and Right-to-Carry, Open Carry and Stand Your Ground laws.

For more information and registration: www.saf.org.

Alan Gottlieb was the guest in the first hour of Tom Gresham’s GunTalk on Sunday, Sept. 2nd. During the interview, he said that there will be a surprise guest speaker whom he couldn’t name for “security reasons”. The speaker will be announced on Saturday, Sept. 29th when he (or she) is scheduled to speak.

I have no special knowledge and no one has tipped me off to who he or she might be. However, I could think of at least two to three people that might fit that bill given that the conference is in Florida.