The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State …
Check out this local story that indicates Groupon is ending deals that involve gun safety training. I’ve used Groupon in the past, and will never again. Here’s their contact site. As an alternative, I’d suggest Living Social.
UPDATE: On second thought, it looks like Living Social may be no better.
Tam notes that the lines were around the corner:
These people weren’t there buying stuff to turn in. See that line? All those people are about to spend $500-$1000 to become stakeholders in the Second Amendment.
I’m really hoping by the time all is said and done, this is a story about Obama waking up a sleeping giant. I just wish I felt more confident about that. But that’s too little too late for gun owners in New York, and possibly other blue states.
I’ll repeat something that I said earlier today about a commenter’s use of the term “Fudd” to describe the situation of the Eastern Sports & Outdoors Show:
I really hate using that term because far too many gun owners are willing to lump everyone or every thing branded “sportsman†or “hunter†into that category. The folks up there on the list of vendors who have pulled out over this decision include quite a few people who sell nothing at all related to the demonized “black rifles,†yet they are sacrificing thousands of dollars to make a stand for our rights.
I get what you are trying to say in terms of how the sponsors are behaving, but just be careful throwing around that term so that you don’t end up turning people against all hunters & sportsmen.
I think that’s especially relevant after more announcement tonights. Several of the archery hunting celebrity speakers have now pulled out of their events at the Eastern Sports & Outdoor Show because of the exhibition company’s ban on all things modern sporting rifle. They are standing with us. Half of the companies on the list I’ve been keeping of confirmed speakers and exhibitors who are sacrificing their deposits don’t sell any products related to shooting modern semi-automatic rifles. Yet, they stand with us.
Just like we would hope that Reed Exhibitions and the Eastern Sports & Outdoors Show wouldn’t judge a gun by its color and aesthetic features, I hope that our folks don’t judge a Second Amendment supporter by their favorite sports.
Jacob’s reporting a lawsuit is in the works by NYSRPA and NRA. I do hope this is a carefully considered lawsuit that asks narrow questions rather than broad questions. I’ve been wary of taking assault weapons cases forward, but a) New York’s is pretty draconian, and b) circumstances have largely forced this issue. Someone is going to take cases forward, and I’d rather it be with responsible plaintiffs, and not a defense attorney taking bad cases with bad plaintiffs because someone somewhat shady but not prohibited got busted with a gun that had more than 7 rounds in it.
Will the federal courts help the good people of New York? I’d be a liar if I told you I think the odds are better than not that they strike down the law. Much more likely it will be upheld, even in the appeals court. What will the Supreme Court do beyond that? I wouldn’t hazard a guess, because by the time any case gets there, we could be looking at a different Court.
There are several good carry cases moving forward in the courts now, which are much closer to the Supreme Court than any case against the Cuomo gun ban, and for which I feel better about achieving victory. Hopefully the Court will offer some helpful language, and possibly some hints about what issue to press next.
So I’m afraid my initial skepticism of Gun Appreciation Day has unfortunately panned out. We went down to the local gun shop to see if there was anyone participating that maybe we could reach in terms of helping to write lawmakers. But as you can see, just a typical Saturday down at Classic Pistol. No lines out the door or obvious presence.
But Gun Appreciation Day being a success or not, today was no failure. We have an excellent example of Tea Party-style organic organization happening right under our noses, which us by surprise. If we had known about this we would have gone to Harrisburg instead of trying to implement our plan.
Images courtesy of @lauraolson
Denver, CO:
Images courtesy of @TickdOffPatriot & @fffalcon
Albany, NY:
Image courtesy of @anna12061
St. Paul, MN:
Images courtesy of @S_Larson & @robdoar
Salem, OR:
Images courtesy of @Beeshabomb2011 & @RedOregonCTU2
Salt Lake City, UT:
Images courtesy of @streetbauble
Madison, WI:
Image courtesy of @chunnamark
Jefferson City, MO:
Image courtesy of @BadtotheBohn
If you have pics from a rally at your State Capitol, please share.
Just a few minutes ago, Cabela’s announced that not only are they not going to attend the Eastern Sports & Outdoors Show because of their ban on modern sporting firearms, but they have also pulled out of their top sponsorship agreement.
With that news, Sebastian and I have decided in the last few minutes that tomorrow would be a lovely day for a drive to our nearest Cabela’s to buy a few things we don’t actually need. We’ll also send a short and polite note to the manager to let them know of our appreciation for their decision.
UPDATE: The interesting thing will be to see if The Outdoor Channel will continue to keep up their sponsorship agreement with the ESOS. They are the only other top sponsors with specific financial interests at stake with ESOS’s new ban on modern rifles.
My head is spinning. I am so thoroughly confused by NSSF’s statement that actually calls on gun owners to stand up for the Eastern Sport & Outdoor Show and attend. Seriously?
I must fisk this just see if I understand this correctly because this honestly blows my mind.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation strongly disagrees with the decision of the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show’s management to disallow the display and sale of Modern Sporting Rifles at its 2013 exhibition. In our discussions with Reed Exhibitions, we have made this very clear.
Okay, this sounds all good and well. So where the hell do we go from “strongly disagree” to “go and give them money” which is in the last paragraph?
While assuring us that all legally available firearms will be welcome at future Eastern Sports and Outdoor Shows,
I guess the ESOS that is planned for this upcoming February is somehow in the past. How can “all legally available firearms” be “welcome at future [shows]” when they are, in fact, banned at the upcoming show?
…it was explained that this unfortunate decision was made in response to the planned actions of a single retailer that would have drawn significant unwelcomed media coverage at a time when firearms ownership is being assailed in the media.
So let me get this straight. One exhibitor planned to behave in a manner to bring negative media to the Eastern Sport & Outdoor Show. In response to the bad behavior of one retailer, they decided to ban all modern sporting rifles. Funny, that’s exactly how gun control groups think. One person used a gun in an irresponsible or illegal manner, therefore all of us must have our guns banned. This just legitimizes the entire “logic” behind gun control efforts. The logical response for ESOS was to ban that retailer. Crazy concept there. You punish the people who are doing wrong, not the people who use and sell their firearms and accessories perfectly lawfully and responsibly.
I would also argue that if NSSF’s defense of ESOS (below) is based on the notion that banning an entire class of modern firearms is the best solution to bad press, then they have been willfully ignoring the headlines that have come out from ESOS’s actions. The papers all over the region have been promoting their decision to ban these “powerful” weapons from a show for average sportsmen. In fact, one paper actually quotes the Reed staff as saying that their concern over having these guns is with the consumers who might attend. It’s us that the company doesn’t trust, and that is the story playing out in the media.
It is important to note that this year’s show will continue to feature a wide variety of firearms.
It just won’t feature “all legally available firearms” that NSSF promised in the first part of the statement.
However, it would be unfair to penalize the 1,200 exhibitors or the some 200,000 sportsmen and women who will attend the show by discouraging participation at a time when the hunting and shooting sports community needs to be united in the face of political challenges.
Now, I really like the folks at NSSF on a personal level. They are good people. But, I would really, really appreciate an explanation on just how telling sportsmen about ESOS ban on firearms is a manner of “penaliz[ing]” people who planned to go. Do we consider informed consumer decisions to be punishment nowadays?
And don’t even get me started on the blatant hypocrisy of their advice here. NSSF is begging consumers not to punish the vendors who are showcasing their products at ESOS by a blanket boycott of the show. Yet, they want those consumers to hand their hard-earned money over to the management of ESOS ($14/person per day), a company that is enforcing a blanket ban on modern sporting rifles because of the actions of a single retailer. There’s so much logic fail there that I don’t know where to begin.
We urge industry exhibitors and attendees to participate in the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show as planned and encourage attendees to visit the Reed Exhibitions booth at the show to share their concerns and to then enjoy the show.
I will say this for NRA’s statement on the situation. They told members who are concerned to contact Reed Exhibitions directly. That way, if a consumer decides to sit out of the show over this ban, they aren’t out a dime. However, NSSF asks you to pay $14 and then go complain to a company that is, so far, refusing to contact any customers whatsoever, including those who have requested refunds for pre-purchased tickets (and won’t even answer emails from vendors). Let’s just say that in the interest of your wallet, it’s better to follow NRA’s advice.
I totally get why NSSF would want to stick with the exhibition company because they have managed to successfully put on SHOT for years now. I understand what a nightmare position it puts them in. But to actually encourage gun owners to give more money to their consumer show that is actively banning the firearms we use recreationally and for defense?
It boggles the mind that they are asking people to financially support a company that believes in punishing ALL vendors for the misbehavior of one. They have the authority to ban a vendor from their show if one plans to misbehave. That is the appropriate response, not a ban on an entire class of firearms.
I like the guys at NSSF, but the last two paragraphs of this statement calling on gun owners to actively support the company banning modern sporting rifles are just absurd. If they wanted to get word out that ESOS’s parent company had a motivation of fear of bad press, then they could have published this entire statement without the plea for money at the end.
I’ve seen many gun owners argue that the anti-gun efforts aren’t aimed at their guns. Some don’t like that many of us describe so-called “assault weapons bans” as semi-auto rifle bans, even though that’s exactly what they are banning (or, in many cases, much, much more). In this case, Exurban Kevin notes that Time Warner is banning all images of semi-automatic firearms of any kind in commercials.
They, of course, will continue to show movies that feature criminals using semi-automatic firearms to kill and hurt people. But, allowing law-abiding gun owners to be shown what they can legally purchase and use at the range or for home defense is clearly crossing their moral line in the sand.
UPDATE: It just occurred to me. Time Warner Cable is now going to refuse every Hollywood movie trailer with a semi-automatic firearm. Right? Oh, wait, no. This is only a rule targeted at hurting our community.
NRA Favorability is 54%, whereas Obama’s is 53%. For unfavorables, the number is 38% having an unfavorable view of NRA, compared to Obama’s 41% unfavorables.
h/t Instapundit
If you’re a gun owner or hunter anywhere within a day’s drive of Pennsylvania, there’s a good chance you’ve at least heard of the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show in passing. It’s an absolutely massive outdoor show that has previously allowed firearms vendors to showcase their wares alongside outfitters looking whisk you away on a new hunt. Not this year.
We saw news from a credible source last Friday that the show was putting a ban on modern sporting rifles & magazines. Not only can the firearms and magazines not be on display, “no brochures or documentation that mentions or pictures any ‘black rifle’ or high capacity magazine will be allowed.” We asked around about the issue, and of course, noted as soon as we saw the statement that the company that actually puts on the show is none other than Reed Exhibitions – the same company that NSSF contracts with to put on SHOT Show. Needless to say, Reed did not institute such a ban on SHOT, only on the ordinary consumers that will be frequenting the ESOS. To them, it’s apparently a privilege that only credentialed people can look at the guns or hear their names, but we lowly citizens have no rights to speak or see these firearms and accessories.
Needless to say, the post we saw about the potential ban was verified this week. What’s more, according to one vendor who posted their letter to Reed online, Reed has seemingly violated their agreements with vendors on not only what would be allowed, but how parts of the show would be marketed. Domari Nolo Defense Consulting reports:
In particular, the removal of the promised Tactical section and renaming of that part of the event in a way that belittles the efforts of companies involved is unacceptable.
We would not have agreed to be included in a ‘Wild West’ area had that been the original agreement. Our sponsors also do not want such an association, and have pulled their support of our show presence.
In fact, according to other exhibitor reports, the organizers behind the ESOS won’t even return phone calls or emails to the exhibitors concerned and impacted by the decision. In other words, our money and the money from vendors who sell guns we use was good enough for Reed before, but now they want to have us banned from the premises.
Fortunately, we gun owners are happy to listen. Sebastian & I were planning to attend the Eastern Sports & Outdoors Show – something we have done while also lending a hand to NRA’s booth in the past. We pay for our own entrance fees and we support the vendors on the floor. Well, we did do all of those things. We will not be doing it this year. We will also ask our family members in the area not to attend.
Reed is more than happy to take the money of the modern firearms industry from NSSF with SHOT Show, and word on some forums is that they are keeping the money of the vendors who are pulling out now that they can no longer support the show’s restrictions on their products or those related to their products. They will take our money, but they will work against our Second Amendment rights and actively work to hurt the shooting sports communities. That is a problem.
People boycotting the show have already started to organize, and they are also doing great work in highlighting the exhibitors who are taking a significant financial loss and pulling out of the show over this decision – even when their products aren’t being banned (yet).
Gun owners, especially those in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland, are asked to contact Reed’s headquarters at 203-840-4800, inquiry@reedexpo.com, or by fax at 203-840-5805.
Or, as boycotting folks have noted, the information for the Reed employees (or director contractors) assigned to run the ESOS were previously published online, and some of the key folks include:
Group Vice President – Ed Several
Phone: 203-840-5932 Fax: 203-840-9932 Email: eseveral@reedexpo.com
Event Director – Chris O’Hara
Phone: 717-368-7487 Fax: 203-840-9868 Email: cohara@reedexpo.com
Public Relations – Deb Davis
Phone: 717-834-6267 Fax: 717-834-6207 Email: ddavis@conceptoneinc.com
Marketing – Cathy Kitlasz
Phone: 203-840-5871 Fax: 203-840-9781 Email: ckitlasz@reedexpo.com
If you have a moment, also consider checking out the products of some of the companies that have decided to stand with us and lose the investment they paid to exhibit at the show. Here are the ones I have found so far:
In addition to the above vendors who are sacrificing thousands of dollars just in deposits and many more thousands in lost sales, The Bear Whisperer, Fred & Michele Eichler, Lee & Tiffany Lakosky, and Ralph & Vicki Cianciarulo are withdrawing from their promotional and seminar appearances.