The 27th annual Gun Rights Policy Conference will unfold the final weekend in September and two high-profile faces will be noticeably absent, despite formal invitations from the Second Amendment Foundation and Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
Michael Bloomberg
Attorney General Eric Holder and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg both declined invitations to the GRPC, scheduled the weekend of Sept. 28-30 in Orlando, FL. It is the first time the conference will be held in the Sunshine State.
According to SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb, invitations were sent to the anti-gun mayor and embattled attorney general to provide an opportunity for both men to address a gathering of gun rights activists, who see both men as enemies.
Holder’s scheduling director advised Gottlieb via e-mail that the attorney general has “prior commitments.”
There will be a major headliner at the conference, however. Mark O’Mara, who is defending George Zimmerman against a charge of second-degree murder in the death of Trayvon Martin earlier this year will be speaking.
Gottlieb reacted tongue-in-cheek to Bloomberg’s rejection.
“It seems odd for a guy like Michael Bloomberg, who rushes to every television news camera and microphone, to avoid what could be a major media event,” he said. “He’s been complaining about the ‘deafening silence’ from Romney and Obama, but when he is offered the chance to confront gun owners, whose rights he wants to see trampled, he voluntarily puts on a muzzle.
Attorney General Eric Holder
“Mayor Bloomberg has spent the past several months,” Gottlieb added, “establishing himself as a Nanny State monarch, telling people give up their guns, to drink less soda, eat fewer fries and forego giving baby formula to newborns. He’s good at criticizing people he calls gun ‘nuts,’ but lately he seems a few cashews short of a full can, himself.”
GRPC will be held at the Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport hotel. Pre-registrations have been holding steady and Gottlieb anticipates a strong conference.
