National Gun Appreciation Day Seeks National Attention
A coalition of conservative and gun rights groups are launching a celebratory occasion aimed at the love of guns and right to bear arms. National Gun Appreciation Day is loaded, cocked, and ready to fire off Jan.19th 2013 at gun stores, gun ranges, and gun shows all over the country.
If all goes accordingly, gun enthusiasts will be crowding local gun shops, ranges and gun shows on Jan.19th. National Gun Appreciation Day is set to take place the day before California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein is assumed to propose legislation for an assault weapon ban. This is also two days before President Barack Obama's inauguration for his second term. National Gun Appreciation Day chairman and president of Republican new media consulting firm Political Media, Inc., Larry Ward had this to say: "We felt that there needed to be a swift, strong statement, Chick-fil-A style, to show that we're not only here but we're vocal."
This event is in comparison with the Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day that took place at all Chick-fil-A stores in August to support the chain after some anti-gay comments were spoken by a company president. Ladd Everitt, spokesman for the gun control group the Coalition To Stop Gun Violence, says he supports National Gun Appreciation Day because it is part of a healthy and long overdue conversation on gun rights and gun control in our country. Everitt also added: "I think for the Chick-fil-A day, there was a sense that people saw we were turning the corner on gay rights, because when those comments became national, people were offended. It's a sense that the old way is now going the way of the highway. I don't recall seeing a national gun appreciation day [in the past]. So now there's a sense that the political dynamic on [the gun] issue is changing rapidly."
Fourteen groups are currently participating in the Gun Appreciation Day. These groups include the Conservative Action Fund, a Republican super PAC, the Second Amendment Foundation, a prominent gun rights group, and Special Operations Speaks, a PAC made up of former service members who oppose Obama. More groups are expected to come on board in the coming days.