22nd Annual Gun Rights Policy Conference

by Dave Workman
Senior Editor

Our GRPC 2007 report is divided into sessions for easier reading.
Click on the desired section to read.

October 6, 2007
October 7, 2007

“We all have more clout and more power than we believe...”

State Affairs
Hawaii State Sen. Sam Slom (R), a member of the SAF board of trustees, said that in the Aloha State, the fight has primarily been to prevent bad legislation from being passed. Hawaii, he noted, is one state where people cannot get carry permits or licenses.

He advised the audience to concentrate on meeting with local lawmakers even in the off-season when legislatures are not in session.

“The best time to get involved is when your legislature is not in session,” he stressed.

Slom encouraged activists to work with other groups and build coalitions. He suggested contacting taxpayer groups, and especially domestic violence organizations.

“There wouldn’t be as much domestic violence if particularly women had opportunities and choices for defending themselves, rather than temporary restraining orders, which is a death sentence,” he said.

In addition to taking advantage of letters to the editor and radio talk shows, he said this grassroots networking can be an effective means for change.

“We all have more clout and more power than we believe,” he concluded.

Indiana state Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-21st Dist.) proved to be a fireball at the podium, with a quick delivery that jammed lots of information into a five-minute talk.

It was her first appearance at a GRPC, and she made the most of it, recalling that she was a television reporter before becoming a state lawmaker.

“That’s why I started carrying a gun,” she recalled about her news days, “because of all the nutcases who saw me on TV and would start coming after me late at night. Then I became a state legislator and became a Second Amendment patriot.”

Walorski said she learned just how organized the “other side” of the issue was when she became a lawmaker. The only way to prevent these people from ramming through laws that take away gun rights is to “take back” the legislatures, she said, delivering an ominous prediction on the 2008 elections.

“Take back your state houses,” Walorski warned, “or you will never take back Congress and we’ll never take back the presidency that we’re going to lose.”

Walorski also warned the audience about the threat of so-called “blue dog” Democrats; politicians espousing a conservative message, but whose election reinforces a Democrat majority typically headed by liberal anti-gunners.

“Let me tell you what’s happening with the blue dog Democrats,” she said. “They’re making sure that your state legislators and your mayors are anti-gun. They may be coasting on votes at the federal level but they’re taking your rights away from you at the state and local level. You’ve got to stop that or we’re not going to get back the rights that we so desperately need.”

Walorski promised to sponsor legislation during the next session in Indiana that will provide for the immediate issuance of a temporary concealed carry license to any domestic violence victim. She also promised to sponsor a campus concealed carry bill, and another bill that will allow employees to have firearms in their cars on company property.

“The reason we have a Second Amendment is to protect ourselves from those people who would want to hurt us,” she noted.

“Politicians respond to pressure, pleasure or pain,” noted Ohio state Rep. Tom Brinkman Jr., a Republican who spoke during the state legislative affairs briefing. He recalled that “the last time I was here (in September 2001, just two weeks after the terrorist attack of Sept. 11), we didn’t have concealed carry in Ohio.”

But Brinkman explained how grassroots activists turned that around, even with resistance of ex-Gov. Bob Taft, who “became the laughing stock of the nation” for assorted reasons that ultimately led to his being thrown out of office. His veto of one concealed carry bill and his bitter resistance to similar legislation was one major reason Taft got the boot.

But Brinkman’s advice on dealing with politicians struck a chord with the GRPC audience, many of whom were Ohio residents who lived through the tumultuous Taft years, and heads nodded in agreement that politicians must be pressured, pleased or pummeled by constituents in order to get their attention.

If things in Ohio have settled down, things in California and elsewhere are in an uproar.

In the Golden State, according to attorney Chuck Michel with the California Rifle & Pistol Association, “things are happening…that should concern you.” His remarks came days before Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a Microstamping bill into law, and also signed legislation banning lead projectiles in certain areas that are home to California Condors.

Michel disdained California politicians, who are “trained to discuss concept, not content” when it comes to legislation they sponsor and pass, sometimes apparently without understanding the consequences.

He discussed the on-going lawsuit against the City of San Francisco by SAF, NRA and others that challenges Proposition H, passed in November 2005. That measure banned guns in the city, but gun rights groups immediately filed suit, and the case is now being appealed by the city, which has so far lost in the courts.

Stephen Aldstadt, secretary-treasurer of SCOPE (Shooters Committee on Public Education) in New York, gave an outline about ongoing troubles in the Empire State. He said gunowners have faced numerous problems, including state licensing issues, and at times grassroots efforts have jammed telephone lines to state lawmakers.

He said gunowners in New York will continue to work toward passage of “shall issue” carry permits, overcoming the current system of discretionary licensing. He also said efforts are underway to lower the minimum hunting age for youngsters.
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