2/17/2016 – Dunwoody, GA
On February 17, more than 100 Breitbart News readers gathered in Wild Wings Cafe to hear AWR Hawkins talk about the 2nd Amendment and the fight to control the Supreme Court of the United States in the wake of Antonin Scalia’s death. His brief comments were followed by a question and answer session on guns, the Supreme Court, and the upcoming election.
Hawkins began by talking about Thomas Jefferson and other Founding Fathers and their views on the importance of private gun ownership. He then pointed to recent instances where individuals were able to survive because they had a gun with which to defend themselves. Those instances included a 92-year-old WWII veteran who used a .45 pistol to stop an ax attack at his home in California, a barber and his customer who thwarted an armed robbery because both had their concealed carry weapons on them in South Carolina, and a Logansville, Georgia, mother who was able to fend off a home intruder, protecting herself and her 9-year-old twins by using a .38 revolver in self-defense.
Hawkins asked, “Where would these individuals be without a gun?” How could could the WWII vet have stopped the ax attack otherwise? What would have happened to the barbershop full of customers–including children–if the two good guys with guns had not been present? What horrible things could have befallen the Logansville mother and her children if she had not been in possession of a firearm?
Discussion of the importance of preserving SCOTUS decisions like District of Columbia v. Heller and McDonald v Chicago ensued. Breitbart readers questioned Democratic attempts to broaden “mental health” and use that label as as justification to ban gun ownership. A military veteran confined to a wheelchair, expressed his concerns about how PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome) can be used to strip veterans of their gun rights.
Others asked if there are any cases coming before the Supreme Court that could rise to the level of Heller and McDonald–regarding gun rights–and Hawkins explained that a case on “assault weapons” bans around the country seems most likely, considering appeals circuit splits on the issue.
One Breitbart New reader brought up a great point about state-level action to protect banks and gun stores from federal actions like Operation Choke Point. Under Attorney General Eric Holder, Choke Point pressured some banks sufficiently to get them to cut ties with gun stores. Hawkins relayed the story of Spirit Arms–Scottsdale, Arizona–and how their bank severed ties with them as a result of Chokepoint.
Following the question and answer session Breitbart News readers, Hawkins, and Greider mingled and talked about upcoming Breitbart events and ways to get more deeply involved in the fight to defend freedom. One attendee summed up the evening this way: “Thanks Breitbart and Andrew Greider for organizing this event. AWR – GREAT JOB , very informative and motivating talk. Let’s keep the momentum going and organize more of these events!”
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