BELLEVUE, WA – More than 650 gun rights activists have already pre-registered for the 26th annual Gun Rights Policy Conference, which is being held Sept. 23-25 at the Chicago O’Hare airport Hyatt Regency.
SAF Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb said this year’s GRPC will attract gun rights leaders and grassroots activists from across the country. It is being held in Chicago in recognition of the landmark Supreme Court ruling last year in McDonald v. City of Chicago that saw the Second Amendment incorporated to the states, thus applying to state and local gun laws and regulations as well as federal statutes. SAF brought that lawsuit in cooperation with the Illinois State Rifle Association and four Chicago residents.
“We are coming to the political ‘belly of the beast’ next week,” Gottlieb explained. “Our victory in the McDonald case deserves a celebration, and what better way to do that than to hold a national forum on firearm civil rights in the Windy City?
“We take this annual conference around the country,” he continued, “to areas where our rights might be threatened. Chicago, like Washington D.C. was for the Heller case, has been ‘ground zero’ for gun rights litigation. We are still engaged in court battles over gun rights in Illinois, and in a separate case over the city’s deliberately restrictive gun ordinance.”
SAF is also currently engaged in federal court challenges to restrictive gun regulations and statutes in New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Maryland, California, Massachusetts and elsewhere.
This year’s agenda is loaded with panel discussions about lawsuits and the courts, gun politics, legislative challenges and more. Experts from virtually all corners of the gun rights movement will be on hand, and the annual awards luncheon on Saturday promises to be a crowd pleaser.
“We anticipate an exciting, intense weekend of discussion and interaction,” Gottlieb stated. “As always, attendance at the GRPC is free. Registration is still open at www.saf.org.”