The Gun Rights Policy Conference has broadened the diversity of both speakers and attendees since the first one I attended decades ago. But the entire gun owners’ civil rights movement still has some distance to go on that.
I was happy to see Tiffany Johnson at the GRPC for the first time. Tiffany is an attorney, a person of color, and one of the best of the “younger generation” in the movement. Check out her insights here: http://frontsightpress.com/2016/09/take-the-gun-away/.
Great post – thanks so much for the link, Mas.
Thanks so much for the nod, Mas! It was great to see you! -Tiff
Good read. She makes a lot of very good points about including everyone, especially the atypical gun owners.
Wasn’t impressed, article read like an extremist’s hit piece from the Huffington Post. Then in the comment section author admits to exaggeration to make the speakers appear even more “deplorable” than she actually perceived them to be.
Would be curious as to her positions on civilian ownership of 17 round pistol magazines and AR-15 style rifles as well as general “gun safety” legislation such as Universal Background Checks.
She did have a very nice comment regarding Mas, and a very true comment indeed, although I am surprised she didn’t give him five demerits for his choice of presentation ending joke.
She is a really smart young lady. The entire gun community would do well to listen to her and support her efforts to include more people in our cause.
Constitutional Carry trumps Stop & Frisk. Chicago should try encouraging open carry.
Re: My “Wasn’t impressed…” comment;
The second sentence of my comment above was actually a misworded summation of the author’s comment about the event speakers, my poor recall. After rereading the author’s comment below the article I can see she was just having fun and had no intention of negatively portraying them.
The author’s actual comment below the article was; “I hope it was clear that I was being hyperbolic. I probably should have included an asterisk to confirm that no one actually “said” the things in my bullet points (not exactly). I was just having a little fun. I’m sorry if I was over the top.”
That being the case, it seems my initial “hit piece” sentence was likewise over the top.
I have been seriously seeking the Truth about all kinds of things since about 1977. I love to be around people with whom I agree, especially when it comes to religion and politics, the big taboos. Would I like to see all kinds of people at Firearm Conferences? Of course. The more the merrier. We need lots of people on our side. But if most gun owners, (or the ones who attend conferences) happen to be white guys in their 50s and 60s, then so be it. I’m sure Volkswagen wishes more men would buy Beetles, but they don’t. Oh well, at least they sell those Beetles to someone, and make money at it.
So yeah, I hope more types of people come over to our side. They can study, can’t they? They can read encyclopedias, and search the Internet for Truth, can’t they? Then why don’t more people, other than white men, attend these conferences? Come to think of it, why don’t more women and minorities invent things? Why have most of the world’s inventions come from white guys? Why do most of the nice-to-live-in countries have white people in them? Of course, South Korea and Japan are nice-to-live-in countries, but they are exceptions.
Why don’t Middle Eastern men make Middle Eastern countries nice places to live? Why don’t African men make African countries nice places to live? Notice how many people complain about America, but they stay right here and never think of leaving. Why do they want to live with a bunch of white guys, who pollute the earth with their pickup trucks and air conditioning? Lots of people come to the USA from south of the border, but not so many people come from north of the border. Oh yeah, Canada is a nice place to live, mostly populated by white folks.
I’m glad the NRA has grown from 3 and a half million members to 5 million members since I joined in 2001. Hopefully all types of people are waking up, and realize what a great thing it is to be allowed to own guns. Most of the people in the world are not allowed to do what we do. So, don’t be afraid of old, white guys. Maybe we are right about some things. Maybe people who are not white males need to do more studying to find the Truth about stuff.
And remember, this country was invented by old, white, male slave-owners, except for John Adams, who was not a slave owner, and hated slavery. No women at the 1787 Constitutional Convention, no Jews, no blacks, no Catholics (I may be wrong about no Catholics being there), no Native Americans, no Latinos, no Orientals or Asians. But over two hundred years ago they created the nation that everyone wants to live in, or to live like. They were genii (that’s the Latin plural form of “genius.” “Geniuses” has too many ‘s’s in it.) They studied a lot about history, politics, and human nature. That’s why they knew a lot of Truth, and created a great country.
Roger Willco
53-year-old WASP
no beard, no beer belly
Ms Johnson raises a question. My area is mostly white and I don’t remember seeing any but whites at any olf the local gun clubs. Taking the MAG40 down in Iowa and several refreshers of the classroom I can recall only one person who was Native American. With all your teaching trips over the country and competitions do you see many blacks or other races involved in shooting? Or does it seem guns are a white thing, except for the gangs.
There is a black guy that I hear from time to time on, “Cam & Company” NRA radio on XM. Sorry, can’t remember his name, but he is on a crusade to educate inner city blacks on firearms, race relations etc. He shows up at shooting ranges and blows a few minds there too among the mostly white participants.
A little bit of research reveals his name, Maj Toure and his site, Black Guns Matter.
Here is an interview from, of all places, NPR:
http://www.npr.org/2016/06/20/482750884/black-guns-matter-focuses-on-firearms-education-to-decrease-violence
Check him out. He’s doing good work.
Marc, I think we’re making some headway in dispelling the stereotype of the gun culture being exclusive to “old white guys.”
Hi, Everybody!
I really do appreciate the feedback – good, bad, and otherwise. In one of the comments, William mentioned that he was “curious as to [my] positions on civilian ownership of 17 round pistol magazines and AR-15 style rifles as well as general ‘gun safety’ legislation such as Universal Background Checks.” Although I wasn’t asked, I hope you don’t mind me taking the liberty to put those curiosities to rest. (1) I am a civilian. (2) I myself carry concealed on my person not one but two 17-round pistols and an extra 17-round mag every day, wherever I can legally do so. (3) I own an AR-15, although sadly there aren’t many places in my hometown where I can safely, legally, and conveniently practice firing it. I hope to have more opportunities to learn more about rifles in the future. (3) While I admit that background checks are not really a big hot button issue for me, I can say anecdotally that I’m not convinced they actually do any good or make much difference, other than placing yet another administrative/bureaucratic barrier between citizens and the Second Amendment. I am generally skeptical of anything cloaked in the manipulative banner of “common sense gun safety measures.”
If anyone else is curious about anything I’ve ever said or done, I’m happy to talk, listen, and learn! You can reach me directly at tiffany [at] frontsightpress.com, any time.
– Tiffany
Absolutely loved Tiffany Johnson’s article. Refreshing and much needed. Thanks for the link. She needs to be a speaker at the next conference.
The only black pro gun spokesman I have seen is Colion Noir for the NRA. Delivers a good message, if a little stiffly but then he is a lawyer.
Very Cool, A+.
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