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’re here to win a battle for America and for everybody.”

Open Carry
Openly carrying firearms at large public events was the next topic, with Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, leading the panel. He gave a brief history of the Open Carry movement in his state, and the legislative battles that have occurred as a result.

Van Cleave said anti-gun lawmakers tried to kill open carry and the bills were defeated. However, the legislature did adopt a measure that requires a permit to carry openly at the Assembly.

He recalled how Open Carry activists showed up in the General Assembly and also appeared at a hotel event. Congressman Eric Cantor hosted a town hall in August and Van Cleave’s group asked why the meeting was at an area where guns were prohibited.

There are some odd laws in Virginia, including one that requires open carry at a restaurant that serves alcohol, he said.

Van Cleave urged people who open carry at big events to dress with a shirt and tie, look responsible and behave. When that has occurred in the past, he said, “the reaction of the public was a big yawn.” Only the media began “frothing at the mouth.” This gets the public used to the notion that open carry is legal, and only the media tries to counter activists and create a negative image, he suggested.

He encouraged people to understand the laws when they carry openly, but he does not discourage anyone from carrying openly where they can.

Van Cleave was followed by John Pierce, a co-founder of the OpenCarry.org (OCDO) forum and the Minneapolis Gun Rights Examiner. He said it is important for gunowners to understand their rights. The mission of OCDO is to educate private citizens and police about the legality of open carry.

He said open carry is “not uncommon in Virginia” especially at public events. He has open carried at county fairs and other events and he has noticed “almost no reaction” from the public. However, the media focuses on that.

He said there is absolutely nothing wrong with open carrying if one attends a public meeting. He acknowledged that the attention given to open carry lately was due to the attendance of activists near events hosting President Obama.

He said OCDO does not advocate nor take a position on the open carry of long guns, only on a properly holstered handgun.

Pierce noted the two types of reactions to open carry at presidential events, and he quoted White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs who observed that just because the President comes to town, that does not call for a suspension of civil rights. He added that he would not question a decision by the Secret Service to prevent some open carriers in too close proximity to the President,

The goal of open carry is to promote the practice and educate the public that gunowners are responsible. He wants the public to become accustomed to the carrying of firearms.

Brian Anse Patrick rounded out the panel. An associate professor at the University of Toledo and author of the Rise of the Anti-Media: In-Forming the American Concealed Weapon Carry Movement, he reminded the audience that several laws were passed to protect the rights of gunowners in the wake of the Hurricane Katrina gun confiscations.

When those laws were being debated, an associate of his asked why the NRA wanted to pass a law that allowed rioters to have guns.

“That’s his reality,” Patrick said, “and he’s not the only one who holds it.”

Patrick said open carry is a useful tactic. He also called gun rights activists “revolutionaries.” He admitted that gunowners have been only partially successful in mainstreaming their message, and they have resorted at times to “guerilla tactics.”

He discussed the strategies of gun rights activism, and observed that in recent times, gunowners have done well with open carry laws. The appearance of openly armed citizens at Obama events brought public attention to the lawful carrying of firearms.

Patrick suggested having visual props that the media can use as images, such as the empty holster protest mounted by students on college campuses. He also pointed to using armed women to get attention, and having women write letters to the editor.

Gun Free Zones
Van Cleave and John Fenter, a board member of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, briefly reported about reciprocity and how it collides with enforcement of the Gun Free School Zones Act.

According to Van Cleave, grassroots activism may be the key to changing onerous laws, and it appears to have worked in passage of a statute that allows national parks carry. He stressed the importance of coordinating such efforts, noting that “at the end of the day, we’re here to win a battle for America and for everybody.”

“We are not going to inundate our busy grassroots organizations,” Van Cleave said, “but there is a time when we do need to mobilize. There is a tremendous amount of power there.”

He wants to build a network of grassroots contacts, and to that end, encouraged the audience to contact him via e-mail at: president@vcdl.org.

“This would be our emergency 911 system,” he commented.

Fenter then cautioned about the way that the Gun Free School Zones Act is enforced or interpreted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. There is an exemption in the law for people with concealed carry licenses and permits, but only if those permits are issued by the state in which the school zone is located.

For example, if a person has a Utah permit and strolls through a school zone in neighboring Colorado during a visit, the exemption will not apply.

“Don’t rely on reciprocity,” he advised. “They just haven’t arrested you, yet.”

This is an issue on which grassroots groups all over the country could work together, Fenter suggested. It is an opportunity to find some member of Congress to introduce a bill, find co-sponsors and carry it through to amend the Gun Free School Zones Act.

One amendment that needs to be included would provide an exemption for using a firearm in self-defense. Currently, the act does not allow the discharge of firearms for any reason, he indicated.

Safe Families
The final panel of the conference focused on Keeping Your Family Safe, and it included the co-authors of a new book by the same title Keeping Your Family Safe. Drs. Timothy Wheeler, director of Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership (DRGO), and John Wipfler, MD, appeared with the Rev. Anthony Winfield, chaplain at Elmhurst Hospital in New York City.

Winfield led by noting that there are things homeowners can do to discourage burglaries and home invasions, including making it appear there is a large dog in the family. Post “Beware of Dog” signs and even erect a dog pole in the back yard with a chain that might convince strangers there is a big dog inside the house.

He said families should have “a plan” and that extends to beyond the household. Some tips he offered included not lingering in shopping mall parking lots; get in the car and get out of the lot quickly. Park close to the entrance, and if you see someone in the lot that makes you feel uneasy, go back inside and ask a security officer to walk out to the lot with you. If someone approaches a woman in a crowded place and attempts to force her away to a secluded area with threats of violence, he said they are not likely to actually do any harm because there are too many witnesses. He also suggested just fainting.

Winfield’s next purchase is going to be a 20-gauge shotgun so his wife can use it.

Wheeler took the podium to explain how DRGO has countered anti-gun rhetoric from those who would treat firearms as a public health menace.

“We’ve informed Americans that the public health gun control advocates are wrong and that the vast majority of gunowners are right,” he said.

He said guns are not a virus and they do not need to be banned. Wheeler said people have a right to self-defense and that firearms are part of this country’s heritage and history.

When Wheeler collaborated with Wipfler on the book, they made certain to include chapters on laws and self-defense, and about children and guns, and such topics as lead exposure, first aid for gunshot wounds and home defense.

Wipfler continued where Wheeler left off, noting that he works at a Level One trauma center and is involved with three different police SWAT teams.

“They have the same mission as doctors,” he observed, “to save lives.”

The “gun tragedies” he sees in the emergency room are preventable, Wipfler continued, adding that many of them are gang-bangers shooting one another.

The Midwest-based physician gave the audience tips on home defense, the importance of eliminating a threat before treating a loved one for a wound, and having family members train on first aid.

Keeping Your Family Safe is available on Amazon.com.

At the close of the GRPC, it was announced that the 2010 Gun Rights Policy Conference will be held the final weekend in September in the San Francisco, CA-area. Watch future issues of Gun Week for more information.
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