Amid controversy, Gun Appreciation Day set for Jan. 19

A conservative coalition rallies support as clouds gather.

By Rich_Maloof Jan 10, 2013 6:42PM

“Americans love their guns and their Second Amendment right to bear arms. On Jan. 19, 2013, gun owners and tea party activists across the country will demonstrate their passions…Chick-fil-A style!”

So reads the flyer from a conservative coalition calling for the first national Gun Appreciation Day. Activists are urged to demonstrate their support for gun ownership next Saturday by “turning out en masse at gun stores, ranges, and shows from coast to coast.”

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In the online banner for GAD, a handgun stands in for the “r” in Appreciation, just like the logo for the mafioso series The Sopranos (Bing: See the logo).

Early commenters on the GAD site have said that the demonstrations would be better held at state capitals and in D.C. than in gun shops and ranges, where pro-gun advocates would be preaching to the choir. But the coalition is hoping to induce the same kind of turnout and media coverage as there was for Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day.

The protest is timed to coincide with Obama’s inauguration the following day, which is understandable, politically, but still unsettling. Gun Appreciation Day is also scheduled within 48 hours of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

But the coalition, sponsored by more than 50 organizations (including the Committee to Draft Judge Andrew Napolitano, Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership, and Women Warriors PAC), is pressed to gather support while forces are rallying against their causes.

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In a second day of meetings to prevent gun violence, Vice President Joe Biden meets today with the NRA and other groups. Biden told reporters, “I want to make it clear that we are not going to get caught up in the notion that unless we can do everything, we are going to do nothing.”

In a speech yesterday exclaiming that his state should lead the nation in curbing gun violence, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo roared that we must “End the madness now!”

To provide added backdrop that conservatives don’t need right now, a judge is deciding whether James Holmes is fit to stand trial for the shootings in Aurora, Colo. The best news gun advocates have had lately is that an Atlanta mom shot an intruder five times in the face.

Photo: Rich Legg/Getty Images

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502Comments

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Arthur Konyak (Arthur Konyak)

Jan 10, 2013 7:31PM

People had better wake up and realize what Obama and the hoplophobes like Feinstein, Schumer, Bloomberg and most of the liberal Democrats are doing to this country. They will keep banning guns, ammo, knives, etc. until they turn this nation into another Great Britan or Australia. We will eventually lose more and more of our freedoms supposedly for our own protection until we are once again subjects of the government. Everyone needs to email and write their Senators and Congressmen and tell them to stop this foolishness that in no way will stop crime or save lives. I plan to attend a protest and all gun owners should also.

Previous replies

USmike777

Jan 10, 2013 7:34PM

Cuomo and his party are a bunch of hypocrites'. They can easily trample on individual Rights & Freedoms but then put the perpetrators of these horrible crimes on a pedestal and protect them from justice.

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Datbemymoney

Jan 10, 2013 7:38PM

This country has been taken over by fairies, especially in the news media. I'm glad I'll be gone when someone like Cuba will be able to walk in and take this country without a fight. There won't be one person left with actual real balls to do anything but wave a rainbow handkerchief at them.

Previous replies

TLX421

Jan 10, 2013 7:38PM

This is the exact motivation I needed to go for a range day!!! But one must conserve ammo...in case Tyrant Obama strips us of our rights and makes us peasants

Previous replies

Leo Anderson

Jan 10, 2013 7:35PM

the enforcement of drug and firearm prohibition has allowed governments of the world to create pig powered police states. even the u(s)sa is becoming more and more like the ussr everyday. you might like living in this kind of pig feces where sheeple are easily controlled by the pigs (because they are disarmed and unable to defend themselves) but i don't. if you do then do the rest of us a favor and move to china, n korea, or iran.