By Dave Workman
Senior Editor
The National Rifle Association returns to St. Louis, MO for its April 12-15 members’ meeting and exhibition, and it promises to be a major event, with country star Trace Adkins headlining a concert, two big banquets and much more.
The last time NRA came to St. Louis was in 2007. This time around, there is an NRA Foundation banquet on Thursday evening, the Adkins Country Jam event is on Friday and the annual NRA Celebration of Freedom banquet is on Saturday evening. Tickets are required for all of these events.
Since the NRA was in St. Louis the last time, there have been two huge Supreme Court rulings affirming that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms, NRA-backed legislation in Wisconsin was passed that allowed licensed concealed carry, NRA was a party to the successful lawsuit striking down a parks gun ban attempt in Seattle, WA and NRA membership has grown steadily since Barack Obama was elected president.
To that end, NRA has scheduled a big grassroots workshop on Friday, April 13 at the Renaissance St. Louis Hotel in Ballrooms 1-3 on the lobby level beginning at 9 a.m. NRA is actively recruiting grassroots activists in preparation for the 2012 presidential and congressional elections.
“This event,” says the NRA announcement, “will provide tips and strategies on how gun owners can work more effectively to elect a pro-gun President, along with electing members of Congress and state legislatures who will preserve our rights.”
NRA is also pushing hard to get HR 822, the National Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, passed by the Senate. It has already been passed by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives 272-154, but has been sitting idle in the Senate since November of last year.
The bill was sponsored by Reps. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) and Heath Schuler (D-NC) with 245 co-sponsors.
On March 13, several senators co-sponsored S-2188, the Senate’s version of the same measure entitled the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2012, as a companion of HR-822.
Both measures would require states, except Illinois that prohibits the carrying of concealed to recognize the concealed carry permits or licenses issued by all other states that issue concealed carry licenses, thus assuring American citizens that they can legally carry in 49 states that they might visit. What the legislation does not do appears equally important to what it does.
The bills do not create a federal licensing or gun registration scheme, nor do they establish a minimum federal standard for issuance of carry permits or licenses. There is no federal bureaucracy involved in setting standards, and there is no adverse impact on states that allow open or concealed carry without a permit (Alaska, Arizona, Vermont and Wyoming).
The annual exhibits will attract tens of thousands of NRA members and their guests, as they get a first-hand look at new guns and gear that was unveiled earlier this year at the annual Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade show. The NRA exhibits provide a “first opportunity” for most people to actually get their hands on new firearms and accessories, with displays by major firearms manufacturers including Ruger, Remington, Browning, Winchester, Weatherby, Kimber, Taurus, Mossberg, Benelli, Beretta and more.
The Second Amendment Foundation, publishers of TheGunMag.com, Women & Guns magazine, the Gottlieb-Tartaro Report and the annual Journal of Firearms and Public Policy will be one of the exhibitors at Booth 204.
