Gun Thread - NRA Annual Meeting Edition (4-27-2014)

John E., Ben K. & I have been at the NRA Annual Meeting in Indianapolis over the weekend, and I'll try to distill the full 2.5 days into the post below. But before getting to the gun-related stuff proper, I'd say the best thing about the meeting was spending time with lots of people we've known on-line for ages but hadn't met in person. The list of great folks we've met is staggeringly long and I won't bore you with it, but for all the folks we've spent time with in the last couple of days, you were the highlight of the weekend.

And on that note, John and I were coming back to the convention hall this morning, and we were chatting with the shuttle driver from the hotel. She told us that her impression of the NRA had totally changed over the weekend. Last week, she had the view of the NRA and its members that the media promotes ... bloodthirsty gun worshippers who cheer at school shootings or whatever. But after a few days of driving a bunch of happy people (her words) who are, as a rule, polite and just enjoying being in each other's company, her perception changed.

Changing hearts and minds one at a time. This is how we win.

NRA: One Issue And One Issue Only

I was fortunate to be exposed to a side of the NRA that you won't see in any of the other reporting on the NRAAM. I have a cousin who's on the NRA Board, and he invited me to attend the NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund committee meeting.

The fund assists people charged with gun-related crimes, and listening to the committee go through the various cases up for consideration all across the country was fascinating. Also, in the room and speaking were the folks who argued and won the 9th circuit Peruta case, the Delaware public housing case, and others. This is where the rubber meets the road on defending our second amendment rights.

Andrew Branca, FTW

We spent plenty of time with our friend Andrew Branca over the last few days, and we attended the SYG presentation he gave on Friday. He got lots of mileage out of a debate he did at UC Berkley where the lefty CNN host on the other side lost a bet and then refused to pay.

I know the Downfall parody is pretty played out as a general rule, but the one below the fold was used in Branca's presentation and had the crowd of a few hundred firearms law-types rolling in the aisles.

Also, I understand from Branca that Adam Baldwin deserves a tip of the hat for providing a key insight that allowed him to win the debate in the first 5 minutes.

And here's Branca's full presentation at the NRA Annual Meeting:

Peak John E.

John and NRO's Charles C. W. Cooke were interviewed by Cam Edwards and will be on Cam & Co. sometime this week.

Tips

If there are topics you're interested in seeing in the gun thread, please send them to AoSHQGunThread at gmail. You can also send them to me on Twitter at @AndyM1911.

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posted by Andy at 12:51 PM

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