Yes, the annual love fest that is the NRA’s meet n’ greet for the firearms faithful is coming up again this April, this time in Beautiful, Downtown Pittsburgh. (!) And TTAG will be there, in force to cover the event.
Last year, your faithful correspondent went stag to the event. This year, the exponentially larger TTAG is sending no fewer than four warm bodies to cover the event: Fearless Leader and Mrs. Fearless Leader will be there to soak in the Pittsburgh ambience, along with intrepid writer/editor/art director/bon vivant and man-about-town, Brad Kozak (that would be me) and rookie photog, Ed Posey, who is a long-time shooter, firearms enthusiast, experienced photographer, and fellow-NRA Life Member.
We’ll be covering the trade show (natch), ferreting out all the new goodies, handling the merchandise, asking the tough questions to the execs that nobody else seems to ask, and bargaining for some eval units to review. In the evenings, we’ll be reporting on the keynotes. This year’s scheduled roster includes former Arkansas Governor (and current talk show maven) Mike Huckabee, fellow talk show guru (and son of the late President) Mike Reagan, blue collar commedian Jeff Foxworthy, and a host of other luminaries, including guitar god/bow hunter/wildman, Ted Nugent.
If you are an NRA member, admission to the exhibits is free. (Admission to the keynotes and such is decidedly not.) But your intrepid TTAG team of seasoned reporters will bring back the scoops demanded by the TTAG Armed Intelligencia.
So mark your calendars – April 29 through May 1 are the dates. We invite you to live vicariously through us for the duration, and come up with whatever kinds of questions you’d like us to pose, and get ’em too us. Got a gear question? Wanna ask a certain manufacturer why they haven’t come out with your dream gun in .45 ACP, or why the hi-tech sights you want don’t fit your model pistol? We’ll do our best to get the answers, but only if you let us know what’s on your mind.
Planning any “meet and greet” events for those TTAG members that will be there?
Sure. Any suggestions for a venue?
The Map Room on Braddock ave is nice.
Primadonna in McKees Rocks. It’s worth the trip from downtown PB.
I will ask a friend who lives in Pittsburgh for suggestions as well. But any of the ones listed already would work for me. I would just like to meet some of the people that make TTAG in person.
Dear NRA: Why aren’t you guys working your butts off to repeal the onerous Sullivan laws New Yorkers have to suffer with?
Corollary: Why is that you seem to have written off NY, NJ, IL, and HI? Also, I think that if they could get their hands on at least demographic and political donation information about CCW holders in may issue states like CA and MD, they should have a pretty strong equal protection case.
The instructor giving the mandatory NRA safety class told me that during a “friends of the NRA dinner” that raises a LOT of money for them, he asked one of their reps why they aren’t doing anything about the onerous restrictions in NY State. The rep gave him a dismissive shrug, even after being reminded that there are a LOT of NRA members in the area and that there’s a fair amount of “word of mouth” recruiting of members.
The FNRA is a non profit and therefore non political. the money it raises is NOT used for legal action. Can’t or it would jeopardize its 503(c) status. If your looking for legal info, you’ll need to ask a NRA-ILA representative.
As far as the Sullivan laws are concerned, consider a couple of things. 1) The low hanging fruit is being challenged 1st. 2) Why attack NY directly when the federal circuit is huge. Attack in friendly states, right? We’ll get there but federal courts move slow and/or the strategy may not be to attack where the enemy expects. The NRA is pushing carry through DC for instance. DC is a federal territory so any ruling gets shared nationally (awaiting decision). Google Calguns wiki Palmer v. District of Columbia for more.
Hey, NRA, let NY and NJ stew in their own juices. The people there have exactly the government they deserve.
Thanks for your support, Ralph, but my juices have been stewed enough by my anti-gun neighbors.
Of which state are you a prisoner?
Ralph, that would be NY State. I have a lot of things keeping me here but believe me, the top criteria for my next state of residence is “gun friendly” and just a bit below that would be “warm climate.”