Second Amendment Blog Bash

Those attending the Second Amendment Blog Bash in Louisville will have the chance to hear Glenn Beck address the Annual Banquet.

Didn’t know that Glenn Beck was a big gun guy? Well, he wasn’t so much of one that he felt he needed to be active on it until this year, according to his public admission on television that he just joined NRA, and he’s confident that there are still big forces at work to go after our guns.

Here’s his coverage of Shirley Katz’s case where he notes that the right to own the tools to defend your life are bigger than the constitution, they are inherent rights.

It should make for an entertaining and interesting speech, especially since we should know who the nominees will be by that point.

Now, if we can just get NRA to get the Red State Update guys for the entertainment…

Bloggers registered with the Blog Bash will be able to cover the speaker with their media credentials for free.  Those who would like to be seated for dinner will need to purchase a ticket when the online banquet registration goes live.

If there’s not enough at the NRA Annual Meetings to keep you entertained, or you have guests with you who may be looking to see the area more, check out a few highlights from the area on our Louisville Links page.

Bourbon Heritage Center

Buffalo Trace Distillery

Jim Beam Distillery

Wild Turkey Distillery

Maker’s Mark Distillery

Caesars Indiana

Churchill Downs

Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory

General George Patton Museum

Kentucky Derby Museum

Thomas Edison House

Frazier International History Museum

Muhammad Ali Center

NRA Offers Discounted Travel Services

MacNair Travel Management has been selected to serve as the air travel coordinators for the Annual Meetings to be held in Louisville, Kentucky. They will guarantee the lowest published airfare from your home city to Louisville.

To reserve your flight to Louisville, please call, fax, or email your travel requests to MacNair Travel Management. Tell the convention specialist that you are attending the NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits.

MacNair Travel Management’s contact information is as follows:

• Email: mj@macnairtravel.com
• Phone: 866-823-6429
• Fax: 703-836-2078

For those looking to learn more about the voting process for the NRA Board of Directors, NRA has recently posted information about the process and how it relates to the Annual Meeting.

I’ve had some questions about rooms at the Executive Inn since some folks still want to stay there for the location.  They are no longer available through the official NRA meeting website.  There are rooms available through the hotel’s website for $109/night.

Orbitz has rooms for $108/night.  Hotels.com is offering rooms at the $109/night rate, as are Expedia and Travelocity.

I want to reiterate that the Executive Inn isn’t any sort of official hotel.  It was just the cheapest place in the early booking phase, so several folks chose it because of price and location.  You’re welcome to use the NRA official housing website that offers discounted room rates at several area hotels.  And, as some attendees have noted, there are other options in the area that are cheaper than anything listed on the NRA site, nearly as close, and take reservations through their websites.

If you will need a rental car in Louisville or to get to Louisville this May, don’t forget to use the NRA member benefit discounts at Hertz and Avis.

• Hertz: 1-800-654-2210 and refer to NRA’s discount number CDP# 166609 and PC#994232.
• Avis: 1-800-331-1600 and refer to NRA’s discount number specifically for the Annual Meeting, ADW# A832199.

Save yourself some money now so you have plenty to go buy all the goodies you’ll want after checking out the exhibit hall.

The following comes to us from local blogger, GreatBlueWhale.

Welcome to Commonwealth of Kentucky, home of the lowest Brady rating in the nation (tied with Oklahoma), and welcome to what I lovingly call the Democratic People’s Republic of Louisville (DPRL). As you travel to our fair environs, first and foremost in your mind may be the question, “What do I need to know about firearms laws in the Bluegrass State? Well, Kentucky laws are your only concern. Though it grieves the DPRL, except for very limited exceptions local firearms regulation is prohibited.

All Federal restrictions regarding limitation of open or concealed carry are, of course, in force in Kentucky.

Though legal in most areas, open carry is not common in the DPRL, and may generate interest from law enforcement personnel.

Carrying a concealed weapon is, with few exceptions, a Class A misdmeanor in Kentucky unless you are in an exempt group, peace officers, etc., or licensed to carry a concealed deadly weapon.

Unlawful possession of a weapon on school property is a Class D Felony punishable by a maximum of five (5) years in prison and a ten thousand dollar ($10,000) fine. Possession of a weapon in your vehicle is not necessarily a violation of this statute.

Unlawfully providing a handgun to a juvenile or permitting a juvenile to possess a handgun is a Class D felony.

If you have a valid concealed carry permit or license from any state, Kentucky recognizes it. It doesn’t matter if your state doesn’t recognize a Kentucky license. Kentucky doesn’t hold it against you. If you are a full-time paid peace officer or elected Sheriff, you may carry without a permit on or off duty IF your state accords a Kentucky full-time paid peace officer the same rights by law. If your state only allows a Kentucky officer to carry on duty, then that restriction applies to you in Kentucky.

You don’t have to have a concealed carry permit or license to carry a firearm in the glove compartment of your vehicle. It is deemed not concealed by the statute. The Kentucky Supreme Court has determined that this does not mean a console between the seats or any other compartment in your vehicle. It must be the manufacturer’s designated glove box or glove compartment.

If you patronize establishments serving adult beverages, you need to read this. You may not carry a loaded concealed firearm in a bar. This may also apply to some restaurants which sell liquor or wine by the drink. In addition to any criminal charges which may ensue, you will lose your firearm if found guilty of violating this law.

When are you legally justified in using force, including deadly force, in Kentucky? I will not summarize here. If you plan on carrying a firearm in Kentucky, you need to read and understand KRS 503.00, paying particular attention to Section .070, paragraph 2. This statute also states “A person does not have a duty to retreat if the person is in a place where he or she has a right to be.”

Colleges, universities, technical schools and community colleges may control the possession of deadly weapons on any property owned by them. My understanding is that this includes banning weapons from personal vehicles, too. Local government units may also ban weapons within “that portion of a building actually owned, leased, or occupied by that unit of government, but they may not ban possession outside those buildings. For example, you may carry in a public park, but the buildings may be posted. However, no criminal penalty shall attach to carrying a concealed firearm with a permit at any location at which an unconcealed firearm may be constitutionally carried, and that includes post-secondary education facilities. If you do your job right and stay concealed, you shouldn’t have any issues. The statute is here.

A link to all the statutes above, and many more can be found on the left side of my blog, GreatBlueWhale. More information can be found on the website of the Kentucky Coalition to Carry Concealed (KC3) website.

Special sessions give attendees the chance to hear from experts about the unique topics or the latest news about our old, favorite issues. Here are the highlights from the updated Annual Meeting schedule:

• In Their Own Words - Saturday at 2:00pm
• NRA and the Media: It’s Not the Critic Who Counts - Sunday at 11:00am
• Refuse To Be A Victim® Seminar - Friday at 1:00pm, Saturday at 1:00pm
• Refuse To Be A Victim® Instructor Development Seminar - Sunday at 1:00pm
• The African Hunting Experience - Friday at 2:00pm
• Methods of Concealed Carry - Friday at 2:00pm, Saturday at 2:00pm
• Guns of D-Day - Saturday at 2:00pm
• Guaranteed Whitetail Tactics - Saturday at 2:00pm
• Handloading Today - Sunday at 11:00am
• United We Stand featuring Ted Nugent - Sunday at 12:30pm

They have something for the hunter, the carry license holder, the history buff, the reloader, and those who just support the Second Amendment.

Nothing is set in stone, and I will have further updates on this from a blogger perspective as we finalize some arrangements, but I did want to let you know that the general NRA Annual Meeting Schedule has been updated!

Now that we’re really headed towards May, updates are going to come more often.  Keep an eye out on this page, or sign up for our email alerts.

If you know bloggers out there who support enjoy hunting, love hitting the gun range, or just simply support the Second Amendment, let them know about this great event.  We’re going to have some amazing developments over the next few months, and no one should miss out!

Well, there’s a silver lining to everything. I realized based on some feedback that rooms were starting to sell out (though not completely, just some evenings) at the $99/night hotel. Now, if cost was a factor, hopefully it just became less of a factor.

I now see that they have added hotels, and some are even cheaper! Though they aren’t quite as close, there are now rooms at the La Quinta Inn for $79/night and the Holiday Inn for $94/night.

I know that some are looking for roommates, so please check the last housing post if you’re interested.

For those of you who aren’t as worried about cost, this is just a reminder that some hotels are starting to fill. The member magazines with more details for NRA’s 4 million members will likely be the March issues which will mail in February. The little secret that housing is open will be out soon.

This year’s event will likely be one of the largest meetings ever. Don’t be shocked when you find yourself roaming the aisles with 65,000 or more fellow gun owners, Second Amendment supporters, and others.

I’ve had some questions, and figured I’d post here to let everyone know what they can do for cheap housing. (Here’s the link to the housing program.)

First, there is a $99/night hotel - the Executive Inn. However, for anyone who lists a check-out date of Monday, May 19, they cannot see it as an option. After several phone calls, I finally figured out that there’s a reason for this, but not one that should stop you from taking advantage of it if you want the lower rate at the closer hotel, but want to leave on Monday.

You will need to sign up online, but set your check-out date for Sunday. Reserve the room, and get your acknowledgment number. Call the Conference Direct folks at 866-799-8878, and tell them you’re having trouble modifying your reservation online. Give them your acknowledgment number and name so they call pull it. If your operator is new, they may try to tell you that the hotel is booked Sunday night. As of now, that is far from the case. They have now sold out of the Sunday night room block. However, don’t be alarmed, read on.

Basically, the hotel didn’t sign up to have their rooms blocked off by the housing agent Sunday night because they weren’t sure of demand. The Conference Direct operator can put in a request to extend the reservation to a Monday check-out, and as of now, they are all being approved because the hotel has lots of open rooms on Sunday night. (I have confirmed this directly with the hotel as well.)  They should be able to put in a request and have an answer within a day or two.  At this time, they do seem to be granting extensions without issue, just delay.

However, there’s another trick around this.  The hotel has open rooms outside of the room block for now.  If you go straight to the Executive Inn website and choose either Friday through Monday or Thursday through Monday, you’ll pay more.  But for those of you who would like to stay until Monday and save a little money, you can order the $99 rate through NRA and check-out on Sunday.  But you can reserve a room directly with the hotel for Sunday night at only $79 (right now) and check back in while you’re downstairs at the desk.

Second, we have folks who would like to split rooms to cut costs. I think a little spontaneous order is the best way to solve this problem, so I’m un-moderating comments and suggest you guys use this post to put up requests/offers/etc.

Third, we’ve had questions about where most bloggers will be staying. From what I can tell, people are congregating at the Executive Inn because of the $99/night room rate and close location. Because demand for rooms is going to pick up when the March issues of the magazines hit, I didn’t want to designate one hotel and have people feel left out because they may end up at another one. I will also ask folks about their hotel in advance so I can put together a hotel list for fellow bloggers if people are interested in a few post-show beverages/meals/time to mingle.

For those of you who are looking to stay at another hotel, don’t be intimidated by those listings that say they are 100+ blocks away. The Expo center doesn’t have many hotels nearby. Traditionally, when faced with a location like this, NRA has sponsored shuttle buses to and from partner hotels.

You’re welcome to look for hotels not working with the housing reservation service. There may be better rates. However, I can’t promise that since there will probably be about 60,000+ people descending on Louisville for 3+ days. In addition, I don’t know what transportation to/from the Expo center will be offered.

I hope that answers most questions. Please email me or leave a comment if you have more or experience other difficulties.

There’s so much to say about the upcoming NRA meetings now that we’re officially in 2008.  I’ll have more details and an update in the coming week.  For those of you who have recently submitted a note that you’re interested in joining us, thank you, and I’ll get you added soon!

We’re going to have a blast in Louisville, and there’s still plenty of time to make up your mind to come out and join us!

I will remind you all again that once NRA starts advertising the meeting in their magazine, hotel rooms will likely go fast.  You can reserve now and cancel later, but you can’t reserve one once they are sold out at the discounted rates.

Turns out Louisville is home to Andrew Fink who asked Rudy about his past anti-gun statements.

What do you think the chances are we could convince Andrew Fink to come over to the Louisville NRA meeting and meet up with a few dozen bloggers?

If he’s not up for it, there’s always Eric in Pheonix who asked the candidates about their gun collection and threw in the sly reference to tax stamps.

Seriously, you can’t beat it. (Well, you can, but that’s at SHOT Show, and until I hear rumors otherwise, I’ll assume that’s still off limits to non-industry bloggers and press.) Anyway, back on track, here’s a few facts about just how much is there for all types of gun bloggers:

• More than 350 exhibitors;
• 296,100 square feet of exhibits;
• State, National, and International pro-gun leaders; and
• Special sessions on everything from self-defense to hunting to shooting to culture and politics.

There is also plenty for those who aren’t really into guns, but really dig our Second Amendment rights.  I’ll have more on those events as the schedule shapes up a bit more.

Join other bloggers in Louisville for the
National Rifle Association’s Annual Meeting!

May 16-18, 2008

We’re pleased to announce that pro-Second Amendment bloggers are planning to converge on the 2008 NRA Annual Meeting in Louisville, Kentucky with the intent of enjoying some fun and fellowship at one of the largest events for Second Amendment activists and firearms enthusiasts in the nation.

Email Updates
At this time, we invite you to poke around our new website for the latest information, including hotel reservations, and to sign up for our email newsletter to keep up with the most recent information about our plans in Louisville.

Have questions now? Check out a few common questions for those planning to attend the event.

Plenty to Keep You Entertained and Informed
The NRA Annual Meeting has plenty to offer anyone with interest in the shooting sports, Second Amendment activism,and politics. We will have events just for bloggers which will be determined at a later date. If that’s not enough, the city of Louisville offers plenty of activities to keep you and guests busy outside of the Expo Center.

Schedule Highlights
Though it’s still months away, here are a few highlights guaranteed to interest any blogger:

• An exhibit hall with hundreds of thousands of square feet featuring the best guns, gear, collectibles, and hunting opportunities.
• A grassroots workshop discussing how to take on a more active role in protecting freedom. They provide materials and strategies needed to educate and empower fellow gun owners.
• The Annual Meeting of Members, a massive gathering for NRA members to hear the reports of the officers and vote on organization business.
• Join other gun bloggers for the Annual Banquet. In 2007, Ambassador John Bolton addressed the St. Louis meeting, preceded by General Tommy Franks in Milwaukee, Majority Leader Tom Delay in Houston, and Vice President Dick Cheney in Pittsburgh.

Consider joining other bloggers in Louisville for the pro-gun new media event of the year!