Second Amendment Foundation Recognizes Ron Paul

By Mark Noble

Last weekend, the Second Amendment Foundation's (SAF) Gun Rights Policy Conference (GRPC) convened in Fort Mitchell, KY. With eight hundred pre-registered attendees, this was the largest SAF event ever. From the buttons, bumper stickers, and familiar faces, it was clear that a sizable chunk of the morning's record figure could be attributed to interest in Congressman and Republican Presidential Candidate Ron Paul.

The conference began on Saturday with a Federal Affairs Briefing that explained the many ways that bloated federal government and bureaucracy is currently attempting to regulate as well as legislate away our rights. The crowd was unified in their disgust at regulatory initiatives that would have effectively eliminated firing ranges, gun stores, and even private stores of ammunition. Candidate Paul's supporters were very familiar with these issues - and other examples of the unintended consequences of regulation without representation. Calls to continue to light fires under troublesome regulators were met with widespread enthusiastic applause.

The Paul supporters, libertarian-leaning folk from all parts of the political spectrum, listened intently as Robert A. Levy of the Cato Institute updated the crowd on the status of Parker v. District of Columbia and what to expect in the coming months.
By 3:15pm, a large group was beginning to trickle in to hear Gordon Hutchinson's account of "The Great New Orleans Gun Grab", yet another issue that resounded with the group of SAF regulars and Ron Paul supporting newcomers alike.

By 3:15pm, a large group was beginning to trickle in to hear Gordon Hutchinson's account of "The Great New Orleans Gun Grab", yet another issue that resounded with the group of SAF regulars and Ron Paul supporting newcomers alike.

The SAF had perfect timing as they moved on to another issue near and dear to the audience - the calculated attempts of the UN, EU, and NAU to ban gun ownership around the globe. The attendees were united in their desire to defeat these powerful global foes.

When asked for a show of hands of how many were first time attendees - at least half indicated this as their status, yet the first timers (many of them Ron Paul supporters) were familiar with the dangers all of these issues pose to our civil liberties. As one speaker put it, "I feel like I've come home!".

One of the key questions from a member of the graying crowd was how to attract young people to pro-gun groups. A later panel discussion explained the need for Second Amendment groups to develop expertise with new technologies to effectively influence policy in the future. An answer to both of these concerns was all around them.

By now the hallways were teeming with supporters. There were tables with literature on Ron Paul's career-long history of tireless insistence on the restoration of the Second Amendment and protection of gun owners rights. The crowd was now so massive that it was clearly overwhelming the event support staff - but the recent arrivals set to work helping to move tables and do anything else possible to make the event a success.
Sunday afternoon the SAF would put the total number of attendees at twelve hundred - the eight hundred pre-registered attendees plus another four hundred people that arrived for Ron Paul's speech.

Buckeye Firearms Association was recognized with the prestigious honor of being named "Grass-roots Organization of the Year"! The most applause of the day had either gone to pro-gun US Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-OH 2nd Dist.) or to Venus Ramey, Miss America, 1944 who at 82 confronted thieves on her farm and held them at gunpoint until police arrived. Both won awards, and both received standing ovations. As enthusiastic as it was, it wasn't close to what was in store for that evening.

As Ron Paul entered, the venue, the crowd went up in a deafening roar - you don't have to take my word for it - watch for yourself.

Alan Gottlieb introduced the candidate and talked about the many other presidential candidates that were invited but that couldn't come for one reason or another - Hillary Clinton's invite was the only one that went unanswered. He was also careful to explain that due to the legal status of the Second Amendment Foundation they could not make endorsements. He then explained that this was not Ron's first time attending a SAF event and handed over the podium to the candidate for his remarks.
The links to the video of his speech, in two parts is below: