[lbo-talk] Larry Pratt speaks for the gun owner

Doug Henwood dhenwood at panix.com
Tue Aug 18 12:54:58 PDT 2009


[This is from the right-wing PR shop Special Guests. Alex Cockburn wrote a glowing profile of Pratt in Counterpunch about 10 years ago.]

WEARING THEIR RIGHTS ON THEIR HIPS; Gun Advocates Attend Town Halls Openly Armed (Pratt is in DC)

CONTACT: For an interview call: Amy Reis or Lynne Campbell of Special Guests at: 630-848-0750. TV inquiries: Jerry McGlothlin, 212-699-2518, jerry at specialguests.com

Already fuming from the idea of being forced into a government run healthcare system, gun owners in several states across the country are taking the healthcare opposition stance to another level—seizing the opportunity at President Obama’s town hall meetings to also wide openly express their 2nd Amendment rights.

Last week, a man outside Obama’s town hall in New Hampshire joined the socialized healthcare protestors with a pistol on his hip. Perhaps inspired by this man, more gun owners arrived armed at the President’s healthcare town hall in Phoenix, Arizona, just this past Monday. One of them was even carrying a semi-automatic rifle slung over his shoulder.

Larry Pratt, Executive Director of the Gun Owners of America (GOA), says there is a subtle, but significant, obser vation to glean from these incidents—a fact that lies somewhere underneath the obvious statement these individuals were making.

True, it was an opportunity for Americans to push back a little harder against the tide of big government by taking part in the healthcare opposition and tagging on a bold reassertion of another freedom that left-wing radicals in Congress threaten.

But, according to Pratt, in the face of such a volatile issue, with tensions about Obama’s idea of healthcare reform rising at town halls across the country, it is quite telling of the gun rights movement that these protestors arrived as law abiding citizens and, when the town hall was over, departed as law-abiding citizens—with no arrests made and no special Secret Service plans in action at either event.

For a deeper look into the mindset of common American gun owners like these, and how their recent political moves reflect the grassroots landscape in the nation right now, call Special Guests today to schedule an interview with the GOA’s Larry Pratt.

ABOUT YOUR EXPERT GUEST, LARRY PRATT:

Larry Pratt has been Executive Director of Gun Owners of America for 30 years. GOA is a national membership organization of 300,000 Americans dedicated to promoting their second amendment freedom to keep and bear arms.

GOA lobbies for the pro-gun position in Washington and is involved in firearm issues in the states. GOA’s work includes providing legal assistance to those involved in lawsuits with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the federal firearms law enforcement agency.

Pratt has appeared on numerous national radio and TV programs such as NBC’s Today Show, CBS’ Good Morning America, CNN’s Crossfire and Larry King Live, Fox’s Hannity & Colmes, MSNBC’s Phil Donahue and Dan Abrams show and many others.

Larry Pratt has debated Congressmen James Traficant, Jr. (D-OH), Ch arles Rangel (D-NY), Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), and Vice President Al Gore, among others.

Larry’s columns have appeared in newspapers across the country.

Pratt published a book, Armed People Victorious, in 1990 and was editor of a book, Safeguarding Liberty: The Constitution & Militias, 1995.

Pratt’s latest book is “On the Firing Line: Essays in the Defense of Liberty.”

Pratt has held elective office in the state legislature of Virginia, serving in the House of Delegates. Pratt directs a number of other public interest organizations and serves as the Vice-Chairman of the American Institute for Cancer Research.

To schedule an interview with LARRY PRATT, call: 630-848-0750 or fill out the Do-It-Yourself Booking Form. Return to the Special Guests homepage

For other topics by LARRY PRATT, please click here to search



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