by Dave Workman
Senior Editor
Prof. John Lott, author of More Guns Less Crime, told the Saturday afternoon GRPC audience about his snooping into the massacre at an Aurora, CO, theater in July, and it was startling.
Opening his remarks with an observation that there has been a lot of misrepresentation about Stand Your Ground laws in the aftermath of the Trayvon Martin shooting, he quickly turned his attention to the Aurora massacre.
“I don’t think people realize that out of the seven movie theaters playing the Batman movie within 20 minutes of the killer’s address, only that one had signs banning guns in the theater,” he noted.
The vast majority of movie theaters, restaurants and other businesses in the area allow customers to carry concealed handguns on their premises, he explained.
Lott noted that the press reports “kind of implied” that the Cinemark Theater was “near his apartment” and may have been the only such establishment close to him.
Lott said this raises the question about what types of laws work. He said disarming law-abiding citizens but not criminals can lead to this kind of event.
He pointed also to the Sikh Temple shooting in Wisconsin, mall shootings in Nebraska and elsewhere, and other areas where a mass shooting has occurred in a gun-free zone.
“With only one exception every single one of these multiple victim shootings have occurred in places where permit concealed carry is banned,” he observed.
Europe has the same per-capita number of multiple-victim shootings as the US.
“The bottom line,” he said, “is that there is one pattern that seems to be (more) consistent across these cases than anything else. They keep occurring in these gun-free zones, and these zones, rather than making victims safer, unintentionally serve as magnets for these attacks to occur.”
Media Stranglehold
The key to breaking the “stranglehold” that mainstream media has on the news was discussed by a panel that included Robert Farago, The Truth About Guns; Bob Harvey, Bullseye Radio; Fredy Riehl, Ammoland.com, and Mark Vanderberg, Gun Rights Radio Network.
Farago told the audience that his key to success as a website is to offer lots of content. He updates his website with new posts 14 times a day, and he said everyone has the same power to spread information. He mentioned Twitter and Facebook as two productive mediums, and also recommended that gun rights activists set up an on-line blog.
Harvey cautioned gun activists that “the mainstream media is not a friend of your Second Amendment rights.” He said reading the daily newspapers would have one believe that “every long gun is an AK47” and that “every Glock is a cop-killer.” The way to defeat such subtle, and not-so-subtle, messages is to get educated on the issue, and educate your friends. When confronted with falsehoods, correct them immediately.
Riehl criticized the mainstream press for repeatedly broadcasting the same story without updating content, while the social media provides that opportunity. He asserted that “journalism doesn’t exist anymore,” and told gun activists that “people in here are real journalists.” Vanderberg encouraged people attending the conference for the first time to get involved and plan to attend the next one. He has been attending since 2001, when the conference in Ft.
Mitchell, KY, was held right after the terrorist attack of Sept. 11, 2001.
Vanderberg noted that a question people have asked in the past is how to change “gray hairs” in the audience to “darker hair.” Noting that his children all grew up with technology, this is the vehicle to get them involved, he said.
Youth is drawn to technology, whether someone does a blog or even a radio podcast that is available on demand via the Internet. The Gun Rights Radio Network, inaugurated in 2008, is a network of podcasters who share information and sometimes content to reach out and expand their audience.
The same thing is done by bloggers, and it can be successful, he explained.
Fast & Furious
TGM’s Dave Workman discussed the current situation with the Operation Fast & Furious investigation, noting that one of the two men who first broke that story—blogger Mike Vanderboegh at Sipsey Street Irregulars— was in the audience.
Workman outlined the history of the scandal, which has been largely ignored by the mainstream press, and suggested that this story is not finished.
Just before the conference opened, Rep. Darrell Issa and Sen. Charles Grassley announced they may subpoena a former White House staffer who traded e-mail with one of the officials involved in Fast and Furious at the ATF’s Phoenix field.
He said the release of the Inspector General’s report did not signal the end of the investigation, and that the only certain way to guarantee that justice will be done and people will be held accountable is for a change to occur in the White House and at the Justice Department.
Gun Rights at Risk
Nationally-syndicated columnist John Fund, who does a column for the on-line National Review and also works as senior editor at The American Spectator, did a presentation on voter fraud that had many in the audience nodding their heads.
A frequent guest on the Fox News channel, Fund derided assurances that there is no voter fraud.
“The same people who say that,” he noted, “are the same ones who support the gun grabbers.” Fund said there has been a “constant mantra” over the past few months that voter fraud does not exist, but he countered that, “Voter fraud is everywhere and its potential is growing as we have more close elections.” Fund also reported that there are an estimated 2 million people on voter rolls around the country who are deceased.
Nation at Crossroads
Looking at the elections, a three member panel discussed how the nation is at “a crossroads.” SAF’s Alan Gottlieb opened the discussion, focusing on polling models that may have been skewing actual numbers.
The big question was about the White House, and numbers at the time of the conference showed President Obama still in the lead, but that was before the debates. Also, he said, a lot of people who voted for the president in 2008 did not appear enthusiastic about voting for him this year.
Stephani Scruggs, president of Unite in Action and national chair of the 912 Project, told the audience that the 2012 election would be the “most important election of our lifetime.” She said, “We have to reign in an executive branch that is drunk on power and it is rapidly replacing our republic with outright tyranny.” Kirby Wilbur, a member of the SAF board of directors and chairman of the Washington State Republican Party, said “The American dream is at stake.” Wilbur listed several problems with the Obama administration that he said should be corrected.
Growing Networks
Advice on growing state gun rights networks came from a panel featuring Sean Caranna, co-executive director of Florida Carry; Gene Hoffman, chairman of the Calguns Foundation, and Brent Carlton, president of Commonwealth Second Amendment, Inc.
Caranna told the audience that he had received tremendous help from Charles Heller, executive director of Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership and founder of Liberty Watch.
Heller assisted in Florida’s grassroots effort, and he has also helped other state-level organizations.
In Florida, activists saw that the original preemption law “had no teeth,” so there was a push to give that statute some muscle, and they succeeded.
Caranna explained how Florida Carry has been networking with grassroots activists all over the Sunshine State.
“Once you light a fire under certain people,” he said, “and tell them there’s work to be done…and give them a little bit of direction…you’re going to find that you have some people with some outstanding talent within your state.” Carlton told the audience about strategic litigation in Massachusetts to challenge local gun laws. He said local organizations are critically important to the overall gun rights movement. He also noted that if Massachusetts gunowners can create an activist organization in that state, “You can do it too.” Hoffman said the place where this year’s election results will be felt the most will be in the federal courts and the Supreme Court.
He said California vies with other states as to which one is worse for gunowners.
According to Hoffman, his group has continued to beat the California Highway Patrol in court on gun rights issues. He said Calguns has been finding a lot of support from people in Silicon Valley, and noted that California gun owners have been able to build a coalition of different groups to defeat some bad legislation.”
Next Case?
While he was not there in person, attorney Alan Gura had a recorded message for the audience to explain what lies over the legal horizon. Noting that there have been a number of petitions to the Supreme Court on Second Amendment cases, he said it would not be surprising to see another major ruling on gun rights from the high court in 2013.
There are many cases in the lower courts that have resulted in split opinions in the federal districts that, he said, “would have to be addressed by the Supreme Court.” He urged gun owners to keep in perspective that some cases will bring bad rulings. He also cautioned self-appointed activists from filing their own cases, because those often result in bad rulings.
Growing the Base
Growing the base of gun owners through “popular culture” was the focus of the opening panel on Sunday morning, which included author Alan Korwin, Madison Rising President Richard Mgrdechian, screenwriter Neil Schulman and Women & Guns editor Peggy Tartaro.
Tartaro said there are many ways for gun rights activists to connect with people, whether simply talking to friends or co-workers, inviting someone to the range or interacting with people at public meetings. She noted that many people watching the Olympics this year focused on archery events, thanks to the popularity of the film, “The Hunger Games”.
Likewise, she said, the rise of “zombie shoots” is based on a television series called “The Walking Dead.” Mgrdechian talked about the Madison Rising rock band that is pro-military, pro-America and pro-gun. The opening track on the band’s album is “Right to Bear.” The band was created to “fill a void in the music market, which is notoriously anti-American and anti-gun.” He said pop culture is the best form of communication and it reaches people at an emotional level, and it is easy leverage.
By listening to the album, he said, there is a good chance others will be listening too, and the message may reach them. He said it is subtle, in the background and it makes an impression in a subliminal fashion.
Schulman, who has written books and produced a film with a pro-gun message, told the audience that he has been “a hard-core activist since the 1980s,” but he warned that “We’ve got an age gap problem.” Appealing to a new generation requires a new approach.
He is currently working on a new movie with a pro-rights theme. His first novel, Alongside Night, is the basis for that film, which deals with the economic collapse of government because of spending. He described it as a “pure, pro-liberty, pro-Second Amendment” film set in the future.
Korwin explained his approach with a band he calls The Cartridge Family.
He discussed how different words and phrases can be used to change the dialogue and conversation. He encouraged people to say they are pro-rights rather than pro-gun, because that places the opposition in the realm of “anti-rights.” He suggested getting rid of the term “assault weapon,” by noting that “assault” is a type of behavior, not a type of firearm. Instead of “concealed carry,” he suggested calling it “discreet carry.”
Supreme Court
SAF President Joe Tartaro and attorney David Kopel discussed how the Supreme Court is “a majority of one.” Tartaro said elections are important because the balance of power can be decided by a single vote. Likewise, legislation also moves on one vote, and many decisions at the Supreme Court are decided by a single vote, including both the McDonald and Heller rulings.
These rulings can guide society for generations, and the nation is facing a situation where every presidential election is important because the president appoints federal judges and high court justices, whose decisions can affect the nation for decades, he warned.
Kopel, who is a Second Amendment scholar at the Sturm College of Law, University of Denver, reminded the audience that George Bush’s victory in 2004 assured the victories in Heller and McDonald because he appointed Chief Justice John Roberts. The court would have had a different makeup, Kopel said, had John Kerry won that election.
Faces of 2A
The Rev. Kenn Blanchard led the next panel, dealing with the different aspects of the right to keep and bear arms. A firearms instructor, Blanchard—author of Black Man With a Gun—noted that “a lot of people of color” are shooters.
He recommended reaching out to minorities, especially in urban areas.
He does a podcast called “Urban Shooter,” and he uses that to spread the Second Amendment message.
Doug Ritter, founder and chairman of KnifeRights.org, discussed how knives are the second front of the Second Amendment fight. Knife ownership is under attack in New York City, while elsewhere around the country, his group has worked to change laws to make them more knife-friendly.
Erik Royce, founder of the TruckerGuns Foundation, talked about truck drivers and their need to have firearms, especially on long hauls. He revealed that many truckers have believed a myth that there is a federal prohibition against truckers having guns in their rigs.
“We can find no such law,” he said.
He cited the need for a national reciprocity law that would enable truckers to be armed through all states, and said there should be some sort of national self-defense law.
Linda Walker, a member of the NRA board of directors and an activist with the Buckeye Firearms Association in Ohio, has been working to get more women involved in shooting and the gun rights movement.
Walker said it is easier for women to reach other women than for men to make that connection, and it is important on many levels.
Patient Privacy
Dr. Timothy Wheeler, director of Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership (DRGO), a project of SAF, told the group about the current situation with a law in Florida that prohibits doctors from talking to patients about guns in their homes.
The law was the result of a case where a pediatrician cancelled a patient from his practice because the woman would not answer questions about guns in her home. Proponents of such privacy invasions, including pediatrics organizations, insist that asking questions about guns is part of health care.
Anti-gunners sued and won a permanent injunction against enforcement of the law, but that ruling is now being appealed.
Wheeler also revealed that legislation requires that all medical records be computerized by 2014 so those files are available to physicians.
David Burnett with Students for Concealed Carry gave an overview of what his organization has accomplished, and the challenges that lie ahead.
His organization has won nearly every battle it has waged since 2007.
More than 200 campuses in six states now allow concealed carry on campus, in Utah, Oregon, Mississippi, Virginia, Colorado and Wisconsin.
Brian Patrick, professor of communications at the University of Toledo, recounted his experiences dealing with academics. He has earned tenure and he did a study on the NRA and the media. He found that the worse the publicity about guns and the NRA, the greater the benefit to the NRA.
He said a lot of his fellow academics were not keen on the fact that he is a gunowner. He ran three honors seminars on gun policy and students “loved them,” but it did not please some of his colleagues.
In graduate school, there was an attempt to cut his funding during his final phase of the NRA research.
Homeland Security
Charles Heller, executive director of Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, leveled his sights on the Transportation Safety Administration.
He advised gun owners to learn the policies of various federal agencies, including the TSA. Be on the lookout for people in these agencies who want to control people. The question, he said, is how citizens preserve their culture.
Benjamin Smith, director of Strategic Affairs with Unite in Action and a contributor to Breitbart and Fox News, is a former Navy SEAL who addressed the “seriousness of the Second Amendment.” He became involved in the gun rights movement when he saw that “our Constitution is going by the wayside.” “When people are talking about the Second amendment,” he said, “you’ve got to be the red meat in that conversation.”
Countering Media Bias
The final panel of this year’s conference dealt with media bias. Herb Stupp, adjunct professor at the Graduate School of Public Affairs, Baruch College, told the audience that they need to be on the lookout for misquotes and misinformation in the media.
He said activists can write letters to the editor, calling for retractions, and offering corrections. It is something he currently teaches.
Malia Zimmerman, editor of the online Hawaii Reporter, explained some of her experiences with other members of the press.
She was invited to a press conference with President Obama in Hawaii, and she saw how the press is controlled.
She said a White House staffer went from reporter to reporter asking what their questions would be and in what order they would be asked.
Zimmerman offered suggestions about how to counter media bias by checking out reporters, what types of articles they write, and learn if they have any biases, particularly against firearms. In her case, she actually started her own news organ to counter some of the biases.
Don Irvine, president of Accuracy in Media, wrapped up the program with an evaluation of media bias. He said gun rights are not the only victim of media bias. “The public doesn’t trust the media anymore,” Irvine said.
He suggested that gun owners become “truth vigilantes.” Alan Gottlieb and Joe Tartaro closed out the conference noting that the 28th annual GRPC will be in Houston, TX, Sept. 27-29.
