Fall Freedom Fest - Celebrating the 2nd Amendment

The Fall Freedom Festival in Fredericksburg this weekend was a timely celebration of the 2nd Amendment. Freedom, and especially the right to bear arms, are under attack in Virginia. New York mayor Bloomberg is diverting some of his fortune, and his lies, towards our state in an attempt to buy tomorrow's gubernatorial election for Democrat Terry McAuliffe. The issue was a common theme with folks I spoke to at the event.

The event was sponsored by a local gun shop, SSG Tactical. and brought together a variety of vendors and advocacy groups. I spent some time talking with Emily Miller, author of Emily Gets Her Gun: ...But Obama Wants to Take Yours. Her book is an excellent accounting of her struggle to exercise her natural and Constitutional rights in the District of Columbia. If you haven't read it, do so. Even if you aren't a gun owner, her report of government attacks on the Constitutional are mind-boggling. (And yes, I did ask Emily to sign my book.)

One of my favorite displays was the table of guns set out by the SIG Sauer representative. I almost walked by the table at first, as he had no sign out, but my "SIG-sense" caused me to stop in my tracks. I was able to fondle the new P227 and bunch of other pistols from my favorite gun manufacturer. I went back to the table several times! I even managed to score a SIG Sauer hat and a deck of playing cards featuring the gun maker's products — although it was actually the local radio station that was passing out the SIG schwag!

At the NRA booth the focus was on the Virginia elections. I grabbed a stack of paper targets and the person there also gave me a handout on Ken Cuccinelli's 2nd Amendment platform. I turned it over and saw a photograph of Terry McAuliffe as well as an exposé on his plans against freedom. In my best non-PC voice, I exclaimed, "Oh boy, more targets!"

Also in attendance was Top Shot contestant, William Bethards. We rooted for him on the show since he's a Fredericksburg resident, but I admit he wasn't my pick as my favorite to win in both seasons in which he appeared. I did get to spend some time chatting with William, and in juxtaposition to his on-air personality, he's a friendly and quiet guy. He shared the "trials" of juggling being a professional shooter and an FBI agent. It seems sometimes there's more shooting to do than he has time for. Such problems we all should have.

I did purchase a few raffle tickets for the Friends of NRA "Wall of Guns" raffle. Alas, my phone hasn't rung, so I guess there are no new guns in my immediate future. The leading Virginia guns rights organization, Virginia Citizens Defense League, also had a strong presence. The orange "Guns Save Lives" stickers were everywhere. Although at the festival they were preaching to the choir, hopefully folks kept the stickers on display as they travelled home from the event.

Again and again, the conversation during the afternoon turned to the threat to freedom in Virginia from Terry McCauliffe and out of state intruder Michael Bloomberg. While the focus of Bloomberg's money in Virginia had been on taking away self-defense right from law-abiding citizens, any intelligent person knows he won't stop there. Do you like your salt, your large soft drinks, your health insurance? They are in jeopardy when Bloomberg calls in the favors he's owed by McAuliffe should the democrat be the next Virginia Governor.

The election is Tuesday, so if you haven't already done so, quickly, do some research on Ken Cuccinelli. You don't have to dig very deep to expose the lies being spread by McAuliffe, Bloomberg, as well as the liar-in-chief, who has been seen in Virginia campaigning on the anti-freedom side. This race will undoubtably be close, so if you are a Virginian, be sure to vote to protect your rights so that we may celebrate a second Fall Freedom Festival next year.