Second Amendment Sisters SAFER Rally, After Action Report 5/09/04

Sunday, May 9, 2004 | Kristinn

[kristinn]

The Second Amendment Sisters, some of whom here may remember were born on Free Republic, held their second national rally to counter the Million Mom March in Washington, D.C. today.

While both gatherings had fewer participants than expected, the turnout for the anti-gun MMMs had to be disappointing.

Four years ago, with a White House send off by President and Mr. Clinton, the MMMs claimed 750,000 people attended their Mothers Day rally in D.C. A year later, a few hundred returned to the nation's capital for the MMMs. This year, only 2,000 people made the Mothers Day trek to call for more gun control laws.

With the pro-choice march two weeks ago having drawn hundreds of thousands of supporters, it would seem that the liberal body politic has chosen abortion as its do-or-die issue this year, leaving the fight for more anti-gun laws on the back burner.

The Second Amendment Sisters also saw a sharp dropoff in attendance figures from four years ago. In 2000, about 5,000 people attended their pro-gun rights Mothers Day counter-rally in D.C. This year, about 300 supporters attended their SAFER Rally (Second Amendment Freedoms for Everyone Rally.)

In a strange twist, both organizations had their rally headquarters in the same hotel: The J.W. Marriott. Yesterday afternoon, dueling merchandise and information tables were set up forty feet apart in the lobby.

With the exception of a MMM t-shirt wearing woman who got on an elevator with a SASter and told her she wished she had a gun so she could shoot the SASter, things were pretty calm between the two camps.

MMM leader Donna Dees Thomases later apologized on behalf of MMM to SAS for the death threat.

The weather was perfect for rallies and marches in D.C. The SASters started setting up at Freedom Plaza, located at 14th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, around 6 a.m.

The MMMs started their set up at the West Lawn of the Capitol around midnight.

By 11 a.m., it was apparent to the SASters that they would be drawing a small crowd. They had planned for up to 5,000, the same as four years ago, but that was not to be.

However, the 300 or so people there stayed until the rally ended around 2:30 p.m. The speakers were excellent--the kind who don't make you want to start looking for a museum to escape to.

Shemane Nugent, Kay Daly, Niger Innis, John Lott, Jr., Re-Joyce Smith, and Sarah Roush (Miss Teen New Mexico, 2003) were among the many interesting and passionate speakers.

The rally was emceed by the very funny comedienne, Julie Gorin, from New York City.

Media interest was about what one could expect: The Washington Post and New York Times were there, as were WTOP-AM, WRC-TV, CNN, NRA-TV and ABC News.

There about two dozen FReepers in attendance, along with a few LPers.

FReepers I can remember seeing there include (chime in if I miss you): Angelwood, tgslTakoma, daughterofTgsl, Doctor Raoul, rabidralph, Scholastic, leadpenny, BufordP, stand watie, Badray, basil, pistolpknmama, dbwz, Pro2Amom, BruceFromMtVernon, Exit148, SaundraDuffy, gunsareOK and a few more whose screen names I can't recall.

LPers there were Fred Mertz and Cal.

Besides the rally, the SASters had meetings with their state coordinators and an awards reception the night before. Monday, they have a meeting scheduled on Capitol Hill.

The SASters would of course have liked to see more people attend their rally, but they still consider the entire effort a success. They got their name and message out in the media, their organizational meetings went well and they're primed to expand this year.

The MMMs, on the other hand, have been in freefall since after their first rally and are being propped up by liberal politicians, a sympathetic media and the Brady Campaign.

The SASters have been doing this on their own. The fact that a true grassroots group started on FR by five lady FReepers is still alive and kicking four years later is great news.

[kristinn]

EAGLES UP!!!

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

Text of the Second Amendment
"A well regulated Militia
being necessary to the security of a free State,
the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed."

Anyone who actually reads AND understands the 2nd Amendment will see that there is no need or authority for any type of gun registration and there is no need for anyone to have to apply for a license to carry a gun.
Any political party, politician, judge (etc), organization or individual who trys to convince you that:
1) you must register a firearm
2) you must pass a background check
3) you must wait (x) amount of days before you can get your firearm
4) you need to have a license to carry a gun
is either uneducated about OUR rights as citizens
OR is actively working to undermine OUR country.

How Did the Founders Understand the Second Amendment?

CONGRESS in 1866, 1941 and 1986 REAFFIRMS THE SECOND AMENDMENT
The Bill of Rights, including the Second Amendment right to keep and bear firearms,
originated in the United States Congress in 1789 before being ratified by the States.
On three occasions since then--in 1866, 1941, and 1986--
Congress enacted statutes to reaffirm this guarantee of personal freedom
and to adopt specific safeguards to enforce it.

ON THE DAY BEFORE Thanksgiving 1993,
the 103d US Congress brought forth a constitutional turkey.
The 103d Congress decided that the Second Amendment did not mean what it said
("...shall not be infringed") and passed the Brady bill.
How the Brady Bill Passed (and subsequently - "Instant Check")
When the Brady Bill was passed into law on November 24, 1993,
the Senate voted on the Conference Report
and passed the Brady Bill by UNANIMOUS CONSENT.

[tet68]

Eagle bump.

[DoctorMichael]

C-SPAN Sunday Morning Show mentioned they would NOT be covering the event LIVE, although they said they would show a tape at 2 AM (EST).

[shezza]

With the exception of a [gun-control advocate] MMM t-shirt wearing woman who got on an elevator with a SASter and told her she wished she had a gun so she could shoot the SASter, things were pretty calm between the two camps.

ROFLOL!

[kcar]

Soooo, that would make them the two-tenths of one percent of the million moms march. Quite impressive.

[G L Tirebiter]

More proof - as if it were needed - that the AWB is DOE (Dead On Expiration).

There is absolutely no strength left in this particular variant of the gun grabber agenda.

[COBOL2Java]

Sorry I couldn't be there - had two mothers in the homefront to take care of and treat.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

See, the SAS is making a difference. Now they have a rabid anti gun nut admitting that there are times when she might need a gun. Her premise just got blown out of the water.

[shezza]

Boy, I'll bet she felt real conflicted about it, too. (NOT!!!)

[CounterCounterCulture]

Bump Dat

[kristinn]

Better to hide the embarrassment and let their friends in the media spin the evaporation of their 'movement.'

[kristinn]

Mothers Day should be a day to honor mothers. The damned liberals had to go and politicize it.

Hope you had an enjoyable day.

[kristinn]

Yep. Two-tenths of one percent of a million moms. That's funny.

[Ken H]

Anyone who actually reads AND understands the 2nd Amendment will see that there is no need or authority for any type of gun registration and there is no need for anyone to have to apply for a license to carry a gun.

Well said. I'd like to add that the Second Amendment enumerates an individual right that NO level of government may infringe. This includes Federal, State, and local.

[Ken H]

The Million Mom March that wasn't.

[kcar]

If I were a politician counting noses, I might think that the fact that 99.8% of the media-touted original number of marching moms decided to stay home in the year that the AWB sunsets, while the number of SAS members keeps going up each year, is telling me something...

[kristinn]

Even Tom Daschle can see over the heads of this crowd to all the gun rights voters in the country.

[tgslTakoma]

And don't forget to tell everyone that stand watie hand delivered a carnation (and a kiss) to the moms at SAFER today.

[Angelwood]

Only if little Tommy is standing on a box!

Thanks for writing a terrific after-action report for the SAS rally. Everything went well, it was an absolutely beautiful day and the speakers did an awesome job. I can't wait to see the video and pictures.