Gov Palin Electrifies NRA Convention

Video retrieved from PalinTV

Proud to be NRA

Governor Palin electrified the NRA Annual Convention on Friday, May 14, 2010, opening by saying she was proud to be NRA, and proud to be a clinger to guns and to religion, and to our Constitution. She called upon those serving in the military to stand and thanked them for their service to our country. Gov. Palin said that in Alaska, the final frontier, men and women proudly use their firearms; however, "anti-Second Amendment and anti-hunting groups have chosen to use that state as their fund-raising gimmick."

Gov. Palin is a lifetime member of the NRA with an A+ rating and she described the first of the anti-Second Amendment attacks, which came in the form of an interview. The reporter asked the Governor if "gun violence is a health issue," because of the money spent treating gunshot victims. Gov. Palin had responded that money is spent on treating car accident victims and that more people die in car accidents than by gunshot wounds, but no one is making driving a health issue. She described how her response was cut and immediately followed by footage of a shot person on a gurney in a naked attempt at emotionalizing the issue.



Anti-Second Amendment Groups Emotionalize

"Criminals, the bad guys are to blame for crime, not the piece of metal," Gov. Palin said. "Criminals by definition don't follow the law. Anti-Second Amendment gun laws don't affect them. They don't care what kind of gun laws are passed. Thus gun laws, those gun ban attempts: they affect us," she said. "When politicians try to ban guns, all they do is take them away from law-abiding citizens, who use them responsibly. They're making sure only criminals have guns."

Gov. Palin related how she was writing a speech for a gun collector's club in the spring of 2009. Her daughter, Piper was present while the speech was being written, so she asked Piper, "What do you think if government were to take away guns and only the bad guys would have the guns." Piper responded, "Ugh...we'd be losers because we would be left with just the bow and arrow!" Gov. Palin thought, "all the wisdom of a child." Gov. Palin said that in countries where private gun ownership was banned or severely restricted, violent crime increased. Nationwide, gun-ownership is at an all-time high and crime is at a 30-year low.

Gov. Palin said that those who want to destroy our Second Amendment routinely traffic in lies. "They go on the bully pulpit every time a lunatic goes on a shooting spree, which is always tragic, but never tell about how many shooting sprees are stopped by law abiding citizens exercising their Second Amendment rights."

Second Amendment the Equalizer for Women and Minorities

"Wayne LaPierre (President of the NRA) says it best: the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun."

Gov. Palin said that the Second Amendment is especially important to women and minorities, because they are perceived as being weaker. "It's like the old saying, 'God made men and women, and Col. Colt made them equal.'"

"The fear of a strong, armed law-abiding citizen is often enough to stop a crime. Criminals don't target people who can defend themselves," she said.



Hollywood Hypocrisy

Gov. Palin slammed the double hypocrisy of Hollywood celebrities who hate guns but have no problem hiring armed body guards and starring in "shoot 'em up movies complete with cute starlets blasting off AK47s." But, these same celebrities do not want us to have guns to protect our families and property.

She also spoke about the news media's lack of subject matter knowledge. When Gov. Palin was pregnant with Piper, a friend threw a baby shower at the Grouse Ridge Shooting Grounds in Wasilla, AK. She wrote about this baby shower in Going Rogue, on page 77. Gov. Palin was photographed carrying an over/under double-barrel shotgun over her shoulder unloaded with the breech open. An LA Times fashion editor tried to portray Gov. Palin as being an "idiot" saying a "rifle" should not be carried that way, because she might blow her foot off. The editor obviously did not know the difference between a rifle and a shotgun.

Proud Redneck

Gov. Palin spoke about the negative portrayal of the TEA Party movement by liberal reporters, though she said the "redneck" part does not bother her. Gov. Palin recited a list of several "you might be a redneck if" jokes and how she fit into every one. She said the jokes were written as if her diaries had been opened.

Gov. Palin spoke about the purposeful misinterpretation of "targeting districts" and "Don't retreat! Reload!" by liberal reporters and reiterated that politically speaking our weapons are the votes cast at the ballot box. "I can't wait till the November 2, 2010...then we can tell them what we think of this fundamental transformation of America...and tell them we don't like it."

On Animal Rights Extremists...

Gov. Palin said that animal rights extremists - like Obama's buddy who wants to give animals rights in the courts - have targeted Alaska and are coming for other states. She said these animal rights extremists are crazy. One of them condemned Obama for killing a fly during a national TV interview. "I have a lot of issues with our current President, but killing a fly is not one of them, and I say swat away Mr. President. That's fine."

Gov. Palin said that the venison sold in Whole Foods and in fancy restaurants did not come from deer that died of natural causes or that was hit by a car on the road. It came from deer harvested by hunters. "These left wingers are so interested in healthy, organic food. So am I. I just happen to have to shoot the food, before I eat the organic food," Gov. Palin said. She chided these animal rights groups intolerance of Alaskans and her indigenous peoples' subsistence lifestyle.

Predator Control is Right and it Works

Gov. Palin defended Alaska's predator control program as a scientifically proven method of preserving the state's wildlife. These anti-hunting groups love animals more than people, she said and they don't care that rural Alaskans depend on wild game for their sustenance. These Alaskans live hundreds of miles away from any grocery store. "These anti-hunting groups have more love for predatory wolf packs than hungry human beings," she said.

Animal rights groups routinely traffic in distorted imagery of Gov. Palin herself "aerial hunting," using PhotoShopped images of her hanging off a helicopter skid with one hand massacring wolf packs with an AK47 in the other, she said. Predator control is not hunting. It is a permit-regulated activity at the federal and state levels. She said the program has saved entire herds of caribou and other wild game by eradicating just one wolf pack. "The alternative methods don't work and our state Constitution instructs us to manage for abundance," she said.

Gov. Palin spoke about how these activists are targeting the TLC documentary series she is working on, with their petition to boycott her series. "We've got a message for them," she said. "Bring it on! We're not going to be intimidated!" The Sarah Palin support blogosphere united and is operating a counter-petition to support her series. On US 4 Palin, the you can access that petition from our upper left sidebar.

Speaking of AK47s...



It is rather Providential that Gov. Palin twice referenced AK47s in her speech. To honor its inventor Mikhil Timofeyevich Kalashnikov's 90th birthday, the NRA featured an Arsenal Arms, limited edition of his later rifle - the AK74 - at Booth 2237, as documented on page 29 of the May 2010 issue of the American Rifleman. While the AK47 fires the 7.62 x 39 mm round, the later AK74 fires the 5.45x39mm. The more powerful and proflific AK47 is what Gov. Palin referenced in her speech.

Second Amendment Part of Who We Are...

"Whether it comes to protecting our families, our nation, or filling our freezers, our Second Amendment rights are part of who we are and we will never apologize for proudly clinging to them," Gov. Palin said.

Elections Have Consequences

She briefly discussed the Heller decision, "which said the Second Amendment means what it says." She added that the Supreme Court will soon decide if the Second Amendment applies to states when it hears the case about the Chicago gun ban, and predicted that it too would be a one-vote majority. "This should remind us of two things. First: that our rights hang in the balance, and we have to fight for them diligently, and second: elections have consequences." She continued, "If John McCain and I were in office now, that one vote margin would turn into a two-vote margin, which would turn into a three-vote margin, so yes elections do matter."

Gov. Palin noted that the DC City Council to this day still refuses to accept the Heller decision, and persists with its unconstitutional gun bans. She said that "John McCain introduced legislation to force DC to respect the Constitutional rights of its residents."

"President Obama and his allies like Nancy Pelosi have been relatively quiet on the gun control front, not because they don't want to limit your rights, but because they are afraid of the political consequences. Don't doubt for a minute that if they thought they could get away with it they would ban guns, and ban ammunition and gut the Second Amendment - it's the job of the NRA and their allies and all of us to stop them in their tracks," Gov. Palin said.



Our Second Amendment Rights Not to be Taken Away

Justice Scalia wrote in the Heller case, "It is not the role of this court to pronounce the Second Amendment extinct....let me add this to his words - it is not the role of anyone to pronounce the Second Amendment extinct. No president, no senator, no congressman, no judge and certainly no anti-gun activist will ever be able to take away our guaranteed individual right to keep and bear arms if we keep up the fight."



We Are the Exceptional Nation...



"We are America, God shed His grace on thee. We are the exceptional nation; we shall protect her; we will love her; we will follow her Constitution and will shall not apologize for being so proud of our country," she concluded to the thunderous applause of the thousands present.



Standing Guard

The very first photo I ever saw of Gov. Palin was her holding the M4 during her 2007 Kuwait trip. That photo became my avatar, and the logo photo for all my blog accounts. I have written numerous times that Gov. Palin is the Second Amendment's Guardian Angel, and that I would give her the spare keys to my gun closet without compunction. While Obama's image often adorns gun shops as the ironic "Salesman of the Month (or Year)," I have seen accounts of Gov. Palin's image being present in gun shops and in gun closets across our land. Whether it's a photo, a bobblehead, or a cardboard cutout, her image is there, because she stands guard.