NRA Convention Day 1: Grassroots and Scouting
Friday was the first official day of the NRAAM, and first on my agenda for Day 1 was the Grassroots Workshop at the Sheraton. I arrived a bit late and missed Dick Heller’s speech. Wayne LaPierre and Chris Cox spoke, but the stars of the show were the NRA Grassroots Coordinators. They covered topics such as contacting your elected representatives, writing letters to the editor, election activism, and getting involved in the community as a pro-Second Amendment activist. They asked each attendee to join the NRA FrontLines, a group of volunteers who work with their local Election Volunteer Coordinator “to advance ILA’s legislative and political agenda.”
After the workshop I headed over to the convention center, where I was greeted by this line. As Sebastian says, the line was much worse than it looks in the photo. Registration for the meeting is below street level, and the escalators were unable to keep up with the traffic, so their use was rationed to prevent them from breaking down under the strain. This is the new Phoenix Convention Center’s first big con, so I suspect that this was simply a case where someone forgot the five Ps: Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance. Words to live by.
Avoiding the line, which seemed to be nearly static, I hung out in the press room with the other bloggers. Most of us hadn’t eaten all day, so as soon as TD showed up we headed to lunch at Kincaids. After lunch (which was excellent) I headed down to the exhibit floor to check things out. The line had subsided and the downstairs area was readily accessible again. My good friend Mike will be here this afternoon to wander the floor with me, so Friday was mostly a scouting expedition. I did see Todd Jarrett give an impressive demonstration on gun safety, laser grip use, and drawing and reloading from his Serpa Blackhawk! holster. He was able to complete a draw, fire, reload, and fire sequence in 1.60 seconds. I spotted a lot of “tacticool” weapons out there, it seems like everything this year has rails, lights, and lasers attached to it.
I was travelling light yesterday, so I won’t have pictures until tomorrow.
Edited to add: This is my first post from my new EeePC. So far it’s pretty awesome, but tomorrow I will definitely remember to bring my full-size mouse with me. The touch pad est no bueno for long-term use.