....

I think both dates were a dumb time to schedule an event. There was no reason to let Obama, Bloomberg, and the other nutters have their first say and start passing legislation.

While Kentucky doesn't seem to be in any real danger of state legislation it made no sense for gun owners to sit on their hands and then make the first event during a time the legislature isn't even there.

Me and brother will be in Frankfort this saturday (Jan 19). Its not going to break us to drive 45mins to the capital and meet some fellow gun owners and scout for the Feb event, which we will also be attending and possibly bringing others.

Good to hear.  Will you be open carrying; or bringing a sign or flag or anything?

I'm meeting my girlfriend's daughters for the first time this weekend.  So it is sort of a big weekend for me.  Otherwise I would try to attend.

 

I have a few NRA stickers to give away

I can verify it's not a rumor. Right after Newtown they pulled all AR's off the shelf. Not just the real ones but toy AR's as well.

I think it was a BS pussy move but it's their store/business and in this country that still means they can run it as they wish IMO. I think preaching about the constitution and freedom and then turning around and protesting a private business because they made a business decision you don't like is hypocritical to say the least.

You don't agree with their decision then put down your signs and boycott them the old fashion way, with your wallet!

I suppose thats what they are trying to do, they just want to get everyone else on board too.

Id go but I have to work all day Sat

Any Bowling Green members planning on making the drive?

I ordered a black join or die flag and a come and take it flag that’ll be here tomorrow.  I'm also thinking about bringing a flag I received from the Va Congressman that was flown over the Capitol building in D.C.,  I think it would be fitting.  If someone wants to borrow one that’s why I got them.

Started a pre-meet thread pre-meet thread http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_8_27/511230_.html&page=1

Does anyone in the E-town area need a ride?  My Durango seats 7 so it'll help get people to come I'd be happy to.

I know it's a bit late, but you can send folks to www.dogonhunt.com for links to:

Guns Across America - Kentucky Flyer
Guns Across America - Kentucky Facebook Page

NRA Letter Writing Tool
Ruger Letter Writing Tool

http://www.dogonhunt.com/

Who are we talking about here?





 

Dicks Sporting Goods!

This past week, I walked into the "Hunting Lodge Section", picked out about $500 worth of firearms related stuff and took it up to the counter. I then had the guy behind the counter pull about another $500 worth of ammo off the shelves behind the counter. Finally, I had the guy pull down a Rem 700 in .308, and a 12 ga 870 shotgun. I then asked the guy behind the counter if I could speak to the store manger about a "special order item". When the manager arrived, I told him that I would like purchase/order an AR15 rifle. To which he replied corporate had decided that they would no longer be stocking or selling any type of "assault rifle". I then told him, that if that was the case, then I would be buying the $1,000 worth of stuff, and the rifles from a store that fully supports the 2nd Amendment, and I walked out!

Everyone should do it!!!


In terms of the rally this Sat, per some of the comments above,
IMHO, showing up and looking like a well organized, well behaved, group that represents middle America, is going to do us more good, than showing up and looking like an angry fanatical mob that comes from the fringes of society.

As such, make a statement whether it is with clothing, a sign, banner, or flag, but please be mindful of the message that it sends!

As much as I hate to say it, some of the messages being put out there like the ad the NRA put out about the Presidents kids, are more than likely going to cost more support than they are going to gain.

Remember, the media are well known for ignoring the good, sane, and rational people at a rally, and finding the one insane loud mouth extremist in the bunch. So please DO NOT give them that opportunity!

Looks like the weather is actually going to be good for a Jan, so see everyone there,
M Richardson

that was fucking awesome

updates?

total amount that showed up/total amount open carrying?

pictures?

300-400

Open carry was everywhere. Mostly pistols but lots of ARs too.

Were there any political figures at this rally. I figured that the Legislature has all gone home until February and Beshear and his cronies are in Washington DC bumping butts with the rest of enslaved Democrats, kissing Ob's butt.

Thats it?!?!
We're doomed.

The next one will have more. (Feb. 8th)  

But the low numbers have a lot to do with the half assed attitude that a lot of people have towards this.  Every other state numbered in the thousands.  But here, people were saying things like "I’ll come if it seems like there’s a good turn out" or "I’ll come if there are enough speakers".  Seriously I can’t even count how many hard core gun guys I know that said they didn’t feel like going anywhere today or Kentucky will be fine it’s a pro-gun state.  It’s not about KY or its laws; it’s about national attention for federal laws.  Even the difference in the attitude towards the rally could be seen in the other home town forums.  Fuck, in VA they didn’t get an organizer in time to get a permit, so people instantly started talking about how they would just line up on the sidewalks because you don’t need a permit for that.  They didn’t care about speakers or numbers or how board they'd be.  They only cared about the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution, their rights and the future of this country.  Hell even for me, on Thursday I started feeling like I got kicked in the nuts, the doctor said I needed to go to the hospital and probably need surgery, this mattered so more I got some pain killers and told him I’d go after the rally.  And those are my freaking balls people.  And then right this morning on the way to the rally, my truck managed to suck up water and bend a valve, so I turned around and borrowed my mom’s car and made it an hour late.  I just got out of the hospital just now (5am) and do in fact need surgery on Tuesday.  Not only that I'm so broke this week I ran out of gas after the rally and walked to the hospital.  I'd say most excuses are now invalid because I would have had them all.  Point is this matter, every person going matters and there are very few excuses for not going.  This is ripping the country apart and it hasn’t even happened yet.  Mark my words, if this happens people will die and half of this state couldn’t get off there couch to help do something about it.

Otherwise though I thought it was great lol.  Everyone I spoke to was great and like I figured there was a good amount of militia wannabes that came with rifles so I'm glad me and my wife brought ours to show those aren’t the only people who need assault rifles.  Someone even brought their musket which had a sign in the barrel that said "18th Century "assault" rifle".  I hope everyone takes the February rally more seriously and we have a lot more people show up.

ETA: fixed the quote

Sorry to hear about your bad luck. I felt the same way though, really thought there would be a better turn out since it was in every state. People always have excuses

Glad you made it, excuses be damned. Chickenman81 and myself came from Lexington. Had plenty of room for more riders too.
I was carrying a  flintlock Kentucky Longrifle with a sign sticking out of the barrel that said "18th Century "assault" rifle.

More photos from the 1/19/13 Frankfort rally. Click on thumbnail to enlarge

My son won 1st place in the pinewood derby.



I'll be watching for info / plans for the event on 2/8.

There is no doubt in my mind this event was poorly planed, organized and advertised so I didn't expect a large crowd and honestly, there were more people there then I actually expected. That's a shame because I think a small crowd at a protest can look just as bad, if not worse then no protest at all.

The event on the 8th will hopefully be bigger as there is more time to get the word out and people have more time to plan for it. On the other hand, it scheduled on a work day for most so I'm not sure how that will play out?

As far as the protest itself, I hope the next one stays on topic better. The main speaker at this one (not sure who he was?) drifted off into other, unrelated topics IMO such as religion and gay marriage. These protests are supposed to be about the constitution and our 2nd amendment rights. Your belief (or non-belief) in a god, thoughts about religion in the classroom or feelings about gay marriage have no bearing on this issue IMIO are distracting and possible even divisive to our real goal here.

Jim Franklin was the main organizer he is in the leather jacket in the 2nd pic in the post above yours.

The ass clowns in the front row yelling about gay marriage, martial law signs going by the truck load to Houston, TX, etc did nothing to help our cause. I agree the focus should be solely on 2nd Amendment rights.

Less fringe milita types more everyday people. This will only come with better organizing and publicity.

That's what I mentioned in the thread about the best pro-gun organization in Kentucky.  The people here have had it easy for so long that there isn't an aggressive spirit to fight and defend gun rights because it hasn't really been needed.  I don't see that changing any time soon but I think there are ways to work with that and get more people involved.

 
 

Some news reports I have found relating to the event...

Guns Across America rally targets Frankfort - Courier Journal

Hundreds rally in Frankfort for gun rights - WDRB

Hundreds gather in Frankfort for Guns Across America rally - WKYT

Thousands join pro-gun rallies in state capitals- USA Today
Even though this one is national, our Protest in Frankfort is specifically mentioned in this one /

And videos...

lol I got the quote wrong.  In my defense I was a bit drugged up last night lol  But it was a pretty awesome sign none the less.  Didnt you post on the facebook forum about it too?

Miles, I did like the sign.

Yea no shit that was an "Awww Jeez" moment.

Not sure if the rally was exactly what I expected?

On the downside, not an extremely planned out and well put together event with things like high profile speakers. On the upside, it was also not just some people standing around with signs & guns.

Messages were all over the place, per comments above it seemed like certain individuals were trying to push other agendas outside of just the 2nd Amendment / Gun Rights. IMHO, going after Obama directly, and throwing in other “Conservative Agendas” isn’t really going to help the cause. It can either dilute or confuse the message, or feed into the perceived “radical / extremist” image.

Numbers, it is hard to say. IMHO there obviously could have been more, but with the Feb rally also coming up, I can see some people choosing one over the other. Based on the National Numbers that I saw, KY seemed to be about in the middle.

Good News Overall,
- The Frankfort rally hit the local press both in Lexington & Louisville.

- The rallies all over the Country made the National Press, to include the Frankfort rally.

- I did not see any real downsides/negatives portrayed in the media coverage that I saw.

- Any politician that is paying any interest at all, should now have a clear message that there is going to be a battle if they want to come after the 2nd Amendment / Gun Rights.

Hopefully the Feb rallies will also have at least the same level of impact, hopefully even bigger, and with 2 rallies, that really should drive home the message, gun owners are going to stand and fight.

Per some of the discussion above, I am still pissed at the NRA! Why they do not have an “official rep” at the state level who is orchestrating events like this is beyond me?

Per another topic/thread that was just started,
http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_8_27/507833_Is_KYSRPA_the_biggest_best_gun_rights_org_in_KY_.html
it is very hard to say 100% for sure who in the state of KY should be taking the lead on protecting Gun Owners Rights? Is it KYSRPA, FNRA, KC3, or LKS?

In the case of this rally, I have no idea who, if anyone, Jim Franklin the rally coordinator was ‘officially representing"?

Also not sure what agency is taking the lead for the Feb rally if any?

Personally, I am going to shift some of my letter/email writing from going to the politicians to going to the NRA and asking them where they are at in terms of the local level, and IMHO they need to be stepping up to the plate!

Progress is being made, and thanks to those who are making it happen!

Hope to see some folks at the Feb rally,
M Richardson

I have to make a quick point about the NRA and organizing things in Ky.

We are a very pro gun state.  While a few states do a few things I like differently (constitutional carry, campus carry) I think we may well be the most pro gun on a cultural level.

Why in the world would we want the NRA to put time and money into organizing here that could be spent in states where the fight is desperate or on the Fed level?

On the state level we are not in danger here.  Put the resources where they are needed.


I also have a quick side note about organizing things in Ky.  We notice it a lot in relation to shooting events and things like this rally here but it is not just gun owners in Ky who are like that.  Kentuckian's tend to not want to join groups and organize events.  I have read a little bit about it and no one really knows why.  We have one of, if not the lowest, rates in the nations of people joining things like volunteer fire departments and charity groups.  We tend to give to charity generously for how broke a lot of people here are but not join into groups for the same purpose.

It is a weird quirk of the Kentucky mindset that runs through a wide spectrum of things.

That was great by the way - nice rifle, thanks for letting us take a pic.

AGREED!!!

While you do make some valid points, I don't know that I fully agree with your assessment?

Yes, Kentucky is a very pro-gun state and we are not likely to see any new 2nd Amendment infringements come from Frankfort anytime soon. So in that sense yes, there are other states that are in more need of their help. That said... What are they doing for NY? Where were they for Heller vs DC? I know they showed up at the end but where were they at the beginning? What have they done for CA, NJ, CT or any other state with blatantly unconstitutional firearms laws? Maybe it's just me but it seems like the NRA focuses all of it's attention on the Federal level and not enough on the state level.

But even forgetting all of that and getting back on topic, what are we really talking about here resource wise? How many of their resources would it take for them to setup a coordinated nation wide protest on a state by state level? They already have "Field Reps" for each state who coordinate local fund raising events in their area. Would it will be that hard to have those same people shift gears for a few weeks and work together to organize a state level protest? The NRA already has a huge contact list that they have no problem using to ask for more money. Would it be that hard to use that same system to help get the word out about an upcoming march or protest? I don't think anyone is expecting Wayne Lapierre to personally coordinate and attend every rally but I think they can be doing a lot more then they are.

I can see your point.  I don't know what they are doing in the states where it rough for our guys.  I would have to ask someone more familiar.  I also think they should have been helping with Heller sooner as well.

There is a Friends of the NRA meeting this week in my area that I plan to attend.  I'll see what I can find out about any plans they have to organize anything on a state level here.  If nothing else it may present an opportunity to get more people to go to next month's rally out of the attendees.

Honestly it shouldn't cost them anything.  The event that we just went to was nationwide and cost nothing at all.  The NRA has a Facebook page, a huge website an even larger email, postal mail and call list.  None of that would cost any money or time at all.  Just with those things they would easily double attendance or more.  Also a quick letter from them to some congressmen to speak would also not hurt.

The NRA has a rep for every state.  What are they doing for CA, NJ, CT?  They have an entire website devoted to that information.  Just because you haven't kept yourself informed doesn't mean the NRA isn't doing anything at the state level and focusing only on the Federal level.  Those states in fact have a ton of NRA involvement just in 2013.  

NRA in Kentucky http://nraila.org/legislation/state-legislation.aspx?s=&st=10481

NRA in CT http://nraila.org/legislation/state-legislation.aspx?s=&st=10471

NRA in CA http://nraila.org/legislation/state-legislation.aspx?s=&st=10469

NRA in NJ http://nraila.org/legislation/state-legislation.aspx?s=&st=10494

The NRA isn't going to put on any rally.  You see how the media blames them for everything.  Calling them terrorists, baby killers, publishing death threats to the NRA leaders.  All it would take is one anti-gun person with a starter pistol at an NRA rally to get a headline like "NRA puts people in danger as shots fired at rally".  The anti-gunners would target them that way and the bad press would be a very negative blow.  If the NRA did anything, they would work through a state level organization.  They might help them sponsor the rally but that is all you will get from the NRA.  I'm fine with that.  I rather have the NRA focused on influencing the legislators inside the capitol then spamming Facebook and Twitter with messages that only get read by people already on their side.

The culture here is definitely different but I still think there is a way to work with it.  People might not like officially joining a group but as you pointed out that doesn't mean they aren't involved or won't contribute in some way.  Having grown up elsewhere and moved here, what I notice the most is that people here do not like others or the government telling them what to do.  If you join a group, that group will have rules and tell you what to do.  However, we have many different well attended organized events every year.  Take a look at the Derby.  It is an expensive organized event.  The infield is a perfect example of "Don't tell me what to do".  Everyone goes and does their own thing while participating in the event.  Look at tailgating in the UK parking lot.  Tailgating at Keeneland.  Everyone is together, doing the same thing, but they are all doing it there way.  Together it creates a great event and atmosphere.  The key is finding a way to get people involved like that when it comes to things like guns and rallies.  I think it is possible.

I agree the shouldnt put on the rally, but a small advertisment spot on their website or in their e-mail flyer would go a long long way.  In fact since they frequently publish gun related news thats all it would really be.

I agree with that.  They could do something to publicize it without putting their name on it.  But if the rally turns into a gay marriage religious rally, as apparently the Frankfort one did I could see why the NRA doesn't publicize it.  I could see the headlines now "NRA Sponsors Gay Bashing Rally".   With some of the recent NRA headlines that wouldn't even be stretching the levels the media has stooped to.  Most recently the NRA had a shooting app approved with Apple.  Apple allowed it under the category of no inappropriate content, which Apple's guidelines says is for kids age 4 and up.  The headline was "NRA releases shooting game targeted at 4 year olds".  Complete BS but the media got away with it.

AZ has a Civil Defense League, as does VA and several more.  Why don't we have one in KY?

http://www.azcdl.org/

I know that was pretty big in VA even when bush was in office.

We coducted several studies of this behavior from 96-00 and discovered in a nutshell Kentuckian's are very sketical of anything including groups and organized events. This sketicism stems from being screwed over in the past by various industries/government entities. Like all surveys and sociological studies the results we gathered could be interepted many different ways (some a little more off the wall than others) but that was the general belief from the majority interepting the results.

Just one of the many weird quirks we have.

Folks are asking me questions about the rally on Feb. 8. I don't have the time to read all the posts. I need some quick answers!

Who is organizing the Feb. 8 rally and what is it called?
What are the times?
Who is speaking?
Can they carry their unload AR15's?
Will this event be in all 50 states on the same day?


(the last rally and the Feb.8 rally are blending together it seems in every topic/thread started)