Gun Appreciation Day Was 'Phenomenal Success,' Says SAF

BELLEVUE, Wash., Jan. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Saturday's observance of "Gun Appreciation Day" was as phenomenal success, the Second Amendment Foundation said today after analyzing reports from across the country.

"More than a million American citizens attended rallies at their state capitols and other places, visited gun shows or gun shops, or went hunting or shooting at a local range," noted SAF Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb. "These were patriotic, law-abiding people exercising their First Amendment rights to protect their Second Amendment rights."

Huge crowds gathered at capitol campuses from New England to Hawaii, while millions of other Americans celebrated the event on-line via social media and gun-related websites.

"America's gun owners stood united in the exercise of our Second Amendment rights, because the right to keep and bear arms belongs to all of us," Gottlieb observed. "State lawmakers may not have been at these rallies, but I guarantee they heard our message and understand our resolve.

"Contrary to what the gun prohibition extremists have said," he continued, "the events on Saturday were not designed to insult or intimidate but to educate. Firearms owners exercising their constitutionally-protected civil rights once again have shown they are the cornerstone of the community, representing diverse backgrounds and beliefs, with one exception.

"They are all united in the belief that their rights must not be sacrificed on the altar of political correctness nor should they be victims of political expediency," Gottlieb said. "Gun Appreciation Day proved that armed citizens will not meekly submit to demagoguery that punishes innocent people for crimes they did not commit.

"The actions by lawmakers in New York and the threats from Capitol Hill and the White House have clearly rekindled gun rights activism in the United States," he concluded. "Gun owners who showed up Saturday are prepared to show up at public hearings and at the polls. They are out there in every neighborhood and every political precinct, and they will not go quietly into the night."

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation's oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms.  Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. 

SOURCE Second Amendment Foundation