24th Annual Gun Rights Policy Conference
'Challenges Ahead'

Photos and Report by
Dave Workman
Senior Editor

Our GRPC 2009 report is divided into sessions for easier reading.
Click on the desired section to read.

September 26, 2009
September 27, 2009

“We have nothing but good news to tell you. We’re winning!”

So said attorney Alan Gura, the man who successfully argued the landmark Heller case before the US Supreme Court, and who is now preparing to argue another critical gun rights case, McDonald v. City of Chicago, before the high court in February.

Gura was the opening speaker at the 24th annual Gun Rights Policy Conference (GRPC) awards luncheon in St. Louis, MO, and he offered this prediction: “It’s obvious if you look to see what’s going on. We’re winning and we’re going to keep winning. We are going to make the Second Amendment a normal part of the Bill of Rights.”

Introduced to a standing-room-only audience by Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) President Joseph Tartaro, Gura explained the importance of the Heller ruling, which affirmed that the Second Amendment protects an individual civil right, by prosecutions that have not occurred, and by legislation that has been passed, and bills that have not been passed because legislators do not want to run into the Second Amendment.

On or about the same day that Gura argues the Chicago case before the Supreme Court, carrying guns for personal protection will become legal in national parks. Legislation is moving that will allow Amtrak passengers to travel with firearms in their checked baggage. He also noted that gun rights are being “attached to anything that has to do with DC voting (rights).”

Gura represents SAF in about a half-dozen cases, including the Chicago gun ban challenge.

“Even if we don’t win right away,” he said, “at least we’re the ones with the football and we keep running up the score. We are on offense and that’s the way it’s going to be from here on out.”

He said playing offense must be done intelligently, but he predicted that states and local governments will be made to recognize the Second Amendment and that “we are going in the right direction.”

“We are working hard to expand the right and make it more meaningful,” Gura said.

Barr Keynotes
Former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr, the Libertarian presidential candidate in 2008, delivered a rousing keynote address that touched on the presidential debates, Congress and the United Nations, and a lawsuit he is pressing against New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Barr recalled that he had watched all six hours of debates, four between Barack Obama and John McCain and two between Sarah Palin and Joseph Biden. Only one time could he recall anyone alluding to the Constitution, and it was only in passing.

But instead of focusing on the past, Barr cautioned the audience to watch the future because there are challenges on the horizon that could be daunting, on the legal and political levels. He spent considerable time discussing the threat of United Nations actions to diminish constitutional rights.

Referring to James Madison’s Federalist No. 47, Barr recalled that Madison recognized “the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation.” This gives Americans the ability to resist tyranny.

“We understand in this country that the right to defend one’s self is a fundamental human right,” Barr observed, “but to the folks at the UN…they authored a paper that said if a government actually recognizes the right to keep and bear arms, then in their twisted mind that government is actually committing a human rights violation.”

He said there are nations and organizations that “take this nonsense seriously” and are working to make it a part of their international agenda. The former congressman asserted that the UN has been waiting for the current situation in the United States government, with a friendly administration and Congress that are supportive of the UN agenda.

“They are moving into high gear,” he said.

Barr stressed the importance of being vigilant about UN activities. He suggested not only keeping a copy of the Constitution at hand, but also a copy of the Federalist Papers, which discuss the powers of the people and authority of government.

“The Constitution is about more than just the Second Amendment,” Barr said, “and the Second Amendment is about more than just guns. It’s about freedom.”


After saluting SAF founder Alan Gottlieb and his staff for hard work on behalf of gun rights, he said that this is not the time to relax.

“The challenges remain as profound and dangerous today as they were during the Clinton Administration,” Barr cautioned.

A second luncheon speaker was Gary Mauser, professor emeritus at Simon Fraser University in Canada and a veteran gun rights advocate on an international scale. A native Californian who has lived in Canada for the past three decades, Mauser has worked in other countries and he proclaimed the United States as “the best country in the world.” He said this is partly due to the Constitution and Bill of Rights, and the people who place a unique value on an armed citizenry.

“The international push to disarm civilians is driven by a fear of an armed populace,” Mauser said. “Few nations other than the United States trust their citizens with weapons.”

He contended that nations with lower gun ownership have higher homicide and suicide rates, and then discussed a study he did with attorney Don Kates that examined data from various countries to establish a link between firearms ownership and homicides.

In North America, the nation with the highest murder rate is Mexico, yet it has the lowest rate of civilian firearms ownership. Mauser also noted that Great Britain banned handguns and yet has a gun crime problem that is out of control. Russia’s murder rate is four times that of the United States, he continued, and yet the US has far more private gunowners.

“It is a myth that nations with more firearms in civilian hands suffer from higher homicide rates,” Mauser stated.

Gun bans do not work, because they disarm the victims and criminals ignore them, he added.

Mauser said citizens of this country need to realize that “few outside our borders share our trust for armed citizens. Disarmament is a powerful mantra.”

He encouraged people to elect pro-gun politicians “and hold their feet to the fire.”
Return to Table of Contents