You can still show up Friday or Saturday and register at the door for the 2014 Gun Rights Policy Conference.
Meet with gun rights activists from across America, and discuss strategies and techniques that are working to advance the cause of freedom in your locale.
It’s completely free to attend.
Hotel rooms are available at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare, site of the GRPC event for $115ish/night (mention GRPC to get the special rate).
Here’s the draft agenda (thank you No Lawyers – Only Guns and Money):
29th Annual Gun Rights Policy Conference
September 26-28, 2014
Hyatt Regency Chicago O’Hare AirportFRIDAY, September 26, 2014—International Ballroom
7:00 p.m. Registration Table Opens
7:00-9:00 p.m. Reception with Cash Bar
Co-hosted by Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms & National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF)
SATURDAY, September 27, 2014—Rosemont Ballroom
7:30 a.m. Registration Table Opens
Beverages hosted by Women & Guns Magazine and Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership
8:00 a.m. CALL TO ORDER
Moderator—Julianne Versnel, publisher, Journal on Firearms & Public Policy, director of operations, SAF
Star Spangled Banner – Colleen Lawson, plaintiff, McDonald v. Chicago
Trooping of the Colors – American Legion Post 206 – Arlington Heights, Illinois
Pledge of Allegiance—Rhonda Ezell, plaintiff, Ezell v. Chicago
Invocation—TBD8:15 a.m. State of the Gun Rights Battle
Welcoming Remarks
The Road Traveled—Joseph P. Tartaro, editor of TheGunMag.com, president, Second Amendment Foundation (SAF)
The Road Ahead—Alan M. Gottlieb, chairman, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) and founder, SAF8:30 a.m. Federal Affairs Briefing
Mark Barnes, President, Mark Barnes Associates, CCRKBA federalist lobbyist
Jeff Knox, Director, The Firearms Coalition, founder of GunVoter.org
Larry Pratt, Executive Director, Gun Owners of America
Seth Waugh, director of Government Relations- Federal Affairs, NSSF9:00 a.m. Disarming the Jews and “Enemies of the State”
Stephen P. Halbrook, Esq., Research Fellow at the Independent Institute
9:15 a.m. State Legislative Affairs Briefing I
Philip Van Cleave, president, Virginia Citizens Defense League
Scott Bach, chairman, Association of NJ Rifle and Pistol Clubs, board member, NRA
Jim Wallace, executive director, Gun Owners Action League (GOAL) Massachusetts
Richard Pearson, executive vice president, Illinois State Rifle Association
Sean Maloney, Esq., Buckeye Firearms Association leader
Stephen Aldstadt, president, Scope NY, Inc. (Shooters Committee on Political Education)10:00 a.m. Beverage break hosted Ruger
10:15 a.m. State Legislative Affairs Briefing II
Jerry Henry, executive director, Georgia Carry.org
Paul Valone, president, Grass Roots North Carolina
Sean Caranna, co-executive director, Florida Carry.org
Tony Montanarella, board member & past president, California Rifle and Pistol Association
Andrew Rothman, vice president, Gun Owners Civil Rights Alliance MN
Hon. Phillip Journey, vice president, Kansas State Rifle Association11:00 a.m. Collision Course: Our Second Amendment and the International Gun Control Agenda
Mark Westrom, president, Defense Small Arms Advisory Council
D. Allen Youngman, executive director, Defense Small Arms Advisory Council
Julianne Versnel, director of operations, Second Amendment Foundation11:30 a.m. Special Address
Jack McCauley, former Captain, Maryland State Troopers, investigative consultant
11:45 a.m. Recess and break to prepare for box luncheon
12:00 p.m. Awards Luncheon
Hosted by American Legacy
Master of Ceremonies, Tom Gresham, host of Gun Talk radio
Address by Alan Gura, Esq., litigator in the Heller and McDonald Supreme Court casesAwards presentations
1:30 p.m. Recess Break
1:45 p.m. Winning Firearms Freedom One Lawsuit at a Time
Dan Schmutter, Esq., legal counsel, Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs
Eric Friday, Esq., litigator for Florida Carry and Second Amendment Foundation
Miko Tempski, Esq., general counsel, Second Amendment Foundation
David Sigale, Esq., attorney for SAF in several gun rights actions
David Jensen, Esq., attorney for SAF in several gun rights actions
David Kopel, Esq., law professor and litigator in Colorado gun law challenge
Paloma Capanna, Esq., litigator and policy analyst, Second Amendment Coalition Resource Center (NY)2:45 p.m. Pro-Second Amendment Allies and Resources
Bill McGrath, legislative director, Safari Club International
Rick Patterson, vice president, Sporting Arms & Ammunition Manufacturers Institute3:15 p.m. Beverage service hosted by Cheaper than Dirt
3:30 p.m. Gunowners and the Mid-Term Elections
John Fund, national affairs correspondent, National Review Online
3:45 p.m. The Anti-Gun Troika: Background Checks, Microstamping & Smart Guns
Alan Gottlieb, chairman, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
George Owens, director of legislative affairs, Alabama Gun Rights
Stephen D’Andrilli, president, ArbalestQuarrel.com4:15 p.m. Bloomberg’s false claims about guns.
John Lott, PhD, economist and columnist for Fox News, president, Crime Prevention Research Center
4:30 p.m. Targeting ‘Gun Free’ Zones
Massad Ayoob, trustee, Second Amendment Foundation, author, founder, Lethal Force Institute
John Edeen, MD, pediatric surgeon, Texas Hospital activist
Chris Bird, firearms instructor, author, Thank God I Had a Gun, Second Edition5:00 p.m. Building Effective State Legal Action Organizations
Gene Hoffman, CalGuns Foundation
Thomas Bolioli, Commonwealth Second Amendment Foundation5:20 p.m. Expanding Train Me Arizona Nationwide
Alan Korwin, author & publisher of Firearms Law Books
5:30 p.m. Q & A on Saturday session
6:00 p.m. Announcements and Adjournment
6:30-9:00 p.m. Reception with Cash Bar— International Ballroom
Hosted by Second Amendment Foundation and US Concealed Carry Association (USCCA)
SUNDAY, September 28, 2014—Rosemont Ballroom
8:15 A.M. Registration Table Opens
Beverage service hosted by TheGunMag.com and Keep and Bear Arms.com
8:50 a.m. CALL TO ORDER
Moderator: Peggy Tartaro, editor of Women & Guns, board member CCRKBA
9:00 a.m. Shootout at the Airwaves Coral
Tom Gresham, host of Gun Talk radio and TV shows, CCRKBA board member
Mark Walters, host of Armed America Radio9:30 a.m. A First Amendment Guide to the Second Amendment
David Kopel, Esq., research director, Independence Institute, adjunct professor of constitutional law, Denver University Sturm College
9:45 a.m. Science vs. Fiction in Public Health Policy
Vikram Khanna, Editor at Large, THCB’s Wellness, blogger at “Khanna on Health”
Robert B. Young, MD, distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association
Timothy Wheeler, MD, Founder, Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership, co-author, Keeping Your Family Safe10:15 a.m. Expanding Carry Options for America
Tim Schmidt, Founder, U.S. Concealed Carry, Inc., Publisher, Concealed Carry Magazine
10:30 a.m. Tackling Media Bias on Guns and Gunowners
Charles Heller, host, Liberty Watch Radio
Malia Zimmerman, editor, Hawaii Reporter
Don Irvine, president, Accuracy in Media11:00 a.m. Investigating Gun Related News and the Rise of the Citizen Journalist
David Codrea, Unauthorized Journalist
Dave Workman, senior editor, TheGunMag.com11:20 a.m. The Bigger Picture Second Amendment
Doug Ritter, founder and chairman, KnifeRights.org
Jennifer Coffey, former NH state representative, legislative liaison Second Amendment Sisters11:45 a.m. Q&A on morning panels
12:00 Noon Report of the Resolutions Committee
Genie Jennings, Maine activist and Women & Guns columnist
Don Moran, president, Illinois State Rifle Association
Stephen Aldstadt, president, Shooters Committee on Political Education (SCOPE, Inc.) NY
Herb Stupp, Board Member, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
Robert Weist, Trustee, Second Amendment Foundation
Ainsley Reynolds, Citizens for a Safer New Jersey
Joe Waldon, Legislative director, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
Andrew Queen, president, Fidelity Security1:00 p.m. Closing remarks and adjournment
Alan M. Gottlieb and Joseph P. Tartaro
See you there.
Now why would they hold an event like this in the hole called Chitcago?
Why would any sane person go there to spend money? They could easily have held it just outside of Chitcago in a gun friendly town.
I for one will not be going to Chitcago.
Honestly then you’ll be missing a lot. It’s sweet irony holding an event like this w/ dozens of the most prominent names in firearms rights advocacy in the middle of the lion’s den.
1. You’re not going there to “spend money”. You’re going there to take advantage of the knowledge and insight of many of the leaders of the pro-gun movement.
2. To give the organizers the benefit of the doubt, it’s a central location for a national event. It’s being held right near a major airport and many of the speakers and attendees will be flying in.
3. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. It’s free, you get to hear, meet, and mingle with nationally known people, and you get a ton of free books and stuff just for showing up.
I attended the one previous to this that was held in Chicago (actually Rosemont) and it was well worth setting aside my general rule of going nowhere north of I-80.
The area around the airport, and for that matter the Rosemont, doesn’t have as bad a reputation (or history) of the crime you see in the city or on the south side.
KK: You should go.
I think you would have a good time AND you’ll get to meet some of the greats in the national struggle for our civil rights.
Again, it’s FREE (I believe they even provide lunch if it’s like in the past) AND it’s a great time around some great people.
John