Gun Appreciation Day at War Memorial Plaza

[Wheelgunner]

Today I celebrated Gun Appreciation Day like several hundred other Tennesseans - by driving into Nashville and attending the pro-Second Amendment rally that took place at War Memorial Plaza.  I know many of our members don't live within easy driving distance of Nashville and have busy schedules, so I thought I would describe what went on for those who were unable to attend.

 

When I arrived at noon there was a surprisingly large crowd already gathered on the Plaza.  The turnout was inspiring.  There were Liberty Riders (bikers), veterans and representatives from veterans' groups, whole families, and single people.  The crowd was not heavily skewed by one age group - I would say about a quarter of those in attendance were over 60.  The best was seeing how many people brought their whole family, and especially their kids.

 

There were numerous "Don't Tread on Me" flags, American flags, and some great homemade signs - my favorite was a simple white poster with the following words in black: "Fear the Government that Fears Your Guns."  There were certainly some "amens" throughout, and some clearly riled up people, but the whole bunch was well mannered and respectful throughout.  There were no opposition protesters that I saw.

 

A man was addressing the crowd by PA system when I showed up.  He shortly introduced John Harris, who I understand is in charge of the Tennessee Firearms Association.  Mr. Harris spoke several times throughout the event and struck me as a confident, capable leader.  The other speakers included State Senator Bill Ketron, and State Representative Joe Carr (who proposed the bill to nullify any new firearm-related promulgation from the Obama administration).  Representative Carr had some very good things to say about the Second Amendment, as well as some stirring remarks on Tennessee and its duty to stand up to federal tyranny.

 

Perhaps the most moving speaker was a lady Tennessean (I believe her name was Nikki Gosser) whose husband was murdered right in front of her.  She is a HCP holder but was unarmed at the time of the murder because she and her husband were working in a bar (this was several years ago before carry in bars was legal).  Her story obviously drove home the point that the kind of restrictions proposed in Washington only really hurt the good folks who follow the letter of the law.  I really liked that she called out the bias of the media and lamented how unfairly we are treated in the court of public opinion today.

 

As the event concluded we joined hands and sang a patriotic song.  Standing there looking out over the crowd I actually choked up and couldn't sing.  It was an amazing experience and one I won't soon forget.  I made some new friends today and look forward to attending the next similar rally next month and seeing some familiar faces.  What I saw and heard today reaffirmed my commitment to standing up for our rights and enjoying liberty to the fullest, and it's comforting to know that there are so many others out there who feel the same way.  

[OngoingFreedom]

Nikki Goeser. Wish I could have attended!

[Oh Shoot]

Thanks for the report.

 

Nikki Goeser, just for the correct spelling. Long-timers here know Nikki well, and she's a TGOer.

 

Also, I understand Hickock45 also spoke, a TGOer as well.

 

Even though the rallies weren't really an official part of the Gun Appreciation Day thang, they have become associated in the press coverage, and I'm soooo glad the TN one seems to have gone off very well indeed, and hope none of the other nationwide ones had any problems either. Except for a couple reports of ADs, haven't heard about anything untoward happening anywhere across the country, and of course those weren't at the rallies.

 

Additional reporting and pix from the Nashville meet here:

http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/topic/58456-whos-going-to-the-state-capital-on-the-19th/

 

- OS

Edited January 20, 2013 by Oh Shoot

[RED333]

I spent Gun Appreciation Day educating My Mom, Brothers and their wife's on firearms.

My Mom a retired Nurse, asked why do I need large capacity magazines.

My answer, A LEO will miss a few times in the heat of a shoot out

A everyday firearm owner will miss a bit more in the heat of a shoot out.

With a limit on the number of rounds the everyday owner will be at

a disadvantage when there is more than one or two bad guys.

My Mom liked the answer, sad part my brothers are just now looking for firearms.

[c.a.willard]

Went to the rally today as well.  Had an interesting conversation with my wife right before I left the house.  Her family is in town to visit our new little girl.  Anyways she would have much prefered i stayed home with them today instead, but told me that she wasnt going to ask me to because she had already had the conversation in her head.  I asked her how it went and she said well i thought "are you really going to choose going to do a gun thing over spending time with your family".  And then she said my reply woud be that "my guns protect my family".  She's pretty smart for a registered democrat. 

[Seabeejason]

Thanks for attending the rally today fellas.  

Edited January 20, 2013 by Seabeejason

[Guest Baron]

It was a wonderful day. I want to see even more next time.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBMACCu4n9Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMm4LZdrhrs

 

Best coverage of speakers here - http://www.youtube.com/user/Mystic9mm/videos?view=0

[TGO David]

I spent Gun Appreciation Day educating My Mom, Brothers and their wife's on firearms.

My Mom a retired Nurse, asked why do I need large capacity magazines.

My answer, A LEO will miss a few times in the heat of a shoot out

A everyday firearm owner will miss a bit more in the heat of a shoot out.

With a limit on the number of rounds the everyday owner will be at

a disadvantage when there is more than one or two bad guys.

My Mom liked the answer, sad part my brothers are just now looking for firearms.

 

I just don't agree with the highlighted statements and think they make a horrible rebuttal for the question because it opens the door for the antis to start screaming about liability and collateral damage.  And for once, they're right.  The reason we carry more than 10 rounds in a defensive weapon is because 10 rounds kept on target doesn't always do the job. 

 

Let's consider several statements so that you can be better at this the next time someone asks you why you need more than 10 rounds in your magazines:

 

1.)  The purpose of a handgun carried defensively is to stop a threat on your life.  We carry handguns because carrying rifles is not convenient and not legal in some jurisdictions.  Handguns do not have the same efficiency in terms of ballistics as rifles do.  Shorter muzzles and lower muzzle velocities reduce the effectiveness of a handgun-fired bullet significantly.  More on that subject here: 

http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/topic/32380-read-this-before-posting-nonsense-about-the-efficiency-of-handgun-calibers/

 

2.)  Recognizing that the purpose of a defensive handgun is to stop a threat on your life, and recognizing that a handgun-fired projectile is less effective at stopping that threat than the same projectile fired from a rifle, we now see the need to put MORE rounds on target as fast as we can ACCURATELY do so.  But we'll get to that in a minute.  The idea here is that if I can't have tremendous terminal ballistics, I want more of a lesser grade to make up for the deficiency.

 

3.)  Bad guys, like wolves, tend to travel in packs.  It may take nine rounds to stop the threat presented by one guy jacked up on adrenaline or narcotics or just generally determined to kill you.  Now add his pissed-off accomplices into the mix.  Do you have nine more rounds for each of them also?  The goal here is to have enough ammo in your firearm to ensure that you go home alive.  Most of us carry at least one spare magazine on our person as well.  If you're not doing that, you should consider taking a good defensive pistol class so that you can sort out reality from what you've imagined it might be like being in a fight for your life.  It's eye opening.

 

 

 

Now to address the statements you made about missing, and how more accurate LEO's are than civilians:

 

"My answer, A LEO will miss a few times in the heat of a shoot out

A everyday firearm owner will miss a bit more in the heat of a shoot out."

 

1.) Each and every bullet you fire or a cop fires has a lawyer attached to it.  Your misses go somewhere and hit something or someone.  If you're missing, you need remedial training.  A lot of it.

 

2.) Most LEOs don't qualify on their duty sidearm except once a year.  Many of them don't practice on their own the other 364 days a year.  A citizen with a carry permit statistically shoots more rounds in practice per year than the average cop.

 

 

 

Please don't continue using your original answer to your mom as your answer for why you need more than 10 rounds.  It's just a bad argument all the way around.

[RED333]

Thanks for input David, now to relearn my answers.

More homework, just like school, but this has greater value.

WE HAVE TO STAND AS ONE

Edited January 20, 2013 by RED333

[Worriedman]

Ken Marrero was the MC, he is associated with various Tea Party functions, and writes a blog as "The Blue Collar Muse".  He had called and asked me to attend and speak, as the organizers had not heard from any legislators except Joe Carr.  It should be noted that Ken was highly upset that we went after Maggart last year, they are great friends. 

 

Once the crowd started gathering, the Politicos showed up, Ken scheduled me for last.  After John Harris called out Leadership, the powers that be decided one speaker from the TFA was enough, even though they knew my 5 minute talk was about effective advocacy and teaching our children the values of the Bill of Rights.

 

Is OK with me, hearing Rep. Mike Sparks kiss Beth and Bill Haslam's hinney more than makes up for the gas and the disrespect to not even bother saying how they appreciated the drive up, but hey...

Edited January 21, 2013 by Worriedman

[TGO David]

Ken Marrero was the MC, he is associated with various Tea Party functions, and writes a blog as "The Blue Collar Muse".  He had called and asked me to attend and speak, as the organizers had not heard from any legislators except Joe Carr.  It should be noted that Ken was highly upset that we went after Maggart last year, they are great friends. 

 

Once the crowd started gathering, the Politicos showed up, Ken scheduled me for last.  After John Harris called out Leadership, the powers that be decided one speaker from the TFA was enough, even though they knew my 5 minute talk was about effective advocacy and teaching our children the values of the Bill of Rights.

 

Is OK with me, hearing Rep. Mike Sparks kiss Beth and Bill Haslam's hinney more than makes up for the gas and the disrespect to not even bother saying how they appreciated the drive up, but hey...

 

They pretty well screwed you on this.  Wow.

[Worriedman]

I got to see Nikki (as usual she did a great job), Bombdog and Miss Hannah, Senator Beavers and some other friends, got complimented on my singing voice by a couple of cute ladies when we did "God Bless America", then went to the Hendersonville Gun Show, got to meet dlm37015 and 6.8 AR, picked up some powder and primers.

 

Overall, a pretty good day.  Was there to add my voice to the debate, and being I am a fairly wide individual, made the news shots that much bigger.

[1gewehr]

Yeah, but you didn't wear your TFA hat.   :usa:  I saw a lot of NRA hats, which is good.  But when it comes to Tennessee, it's the TFA that the politicians recognize as the powerhouse.

 

Still, it was an excellent event.  My guesstimate of attendance was 700, and the media said over 1000, so I was pleased with that. 

 

Rep. Mike Carr was adamant that Haslam, Ramsey, and Harwell are 'good' people and friends of his.  I have to wonder why he thinks that the voters give a rat's @ss about that?  My $.02 is that I could care less whether he likes them or not.  The only thing that matters to me is whether his votes agree with me.  I have Liberal friends.  But that doesn't mean that I would ever trust them to vote for me!

[Worriedman]

Here is a point to ponder, did any of the pols who spoke vote FOR a 2nd Amendment issue in the last General Assembly, either year?  Seems convenient to be all about it now while the collective dander is raised.

 

I say we count our friends after Leadership decides where it is going to fall out regarding support, and see who the Champions are, if any.

[ttocswob]

Gun Appreciation Day/Guns Across America - Thanx for all that y'all did. Amazing that TN turns out 1,000+ while NY, much larger and under direct assault, only managed 2,000 or so.

 

We made plans locally before this morphed into a state capital march, complicated further by sick kids/grandkids; so no Nashvegas for us. My son and I still wore our, "DONT TREAD ON ME" tees to 2 local gun shops, plus wally and a hardware store. (son needed screws to mount a new evil black grip, doncha know!)

 

Spent my last three hours shooting a couple of "new" milsurps, et al.

 

After church yesterday morning, ran into the pastor and family at wally - at the ammo counter. :)

[10ecwhiskey]

It was certainly good to see that turnout.  I saw a lot of plates from all around Tennessee.  We have to make our voices heard!

[Guest macmonkey]

I don't know how I missed the assembly.  I drove out to the closest gun shop and spent some money I shouldn't have.  The place was packed and I asked the clerk if it was all for "gun appreciation day" and got kind of a dismissive response that ultimately meant "no".

 

I didn't see where the happening at War Memorial was going on. Will be there next time hopefully.