Sarah Palin To Headline Gun Rights Convention

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin recently announced plans to deliver a keynote speech later this month at a marquee gun rights event in Reno, Nevada.

Palin is set to speak at a Safari Club International convention on January 29, a gathering put on by a group that calls itself "the leader in protecting the freedom to hunt and promoting wildlife conservation worldwide."

Politico reports that Palin will address a sold-out crowd of 20,000 attendees from around the world with a speech based on "her past hunting experiences and how politics affect the current state of hunting and fishing," according to a Safari Club website.

With the recent rise of criticism of Palin's rhetoric and imagery in the wake of the shootings in Arizona, the timing of her appearance at the function wouldn't appear to be ideal, though Palin has certainly made an effort to prove herself an unabashed Second Amendment advocate. She even displayed her hunting talents on her TLC reality show, "Sarah Palin's Alaska," an activity that spurred at least one angry response.

As The Hill points out, "Palin's speech will likely be watched to see if she references the Arizona shooting, which left six dead and 14 wounded, including Giffords." In her first lengthy statement about the incident, Palin spurred more controversy by branding the media's treatment of her as a "blood libel."

Quick Poll

Is it appropriate for Palin to headline this conference?

Yes, it has nothing to do with the Arizona shooting.

Yes, but only if she makes a statement about gun safety and the Arizona shooting.

No, it's insensitive, she should cancel her appearance.

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Comments

[CarolNC]

11:07 AM on 01/30/2011

Gun totin' males are the perfect audience for Palin. They are there to cheer on their hot mama.
And she said that she sacrificed a caribou for wildlife preservation? Excuse me, Mz. Palin, but you did it to earn money for your reality show.

[speckitis]

07:07 PM on 01/22/2011

Promoting wildlife conservation through their slaughter.....?

[Ogre Plimpton]

01:42 PM on 01/22/2011

And the trip-ups just keep on coming. Brilliant choice given the recent events in Arizona. She's getting bad advice from somewhere..... maybe the little voices in her head. Whatever, it is fun to watch Her Royal Smugness go down hard.

[CarolNC]

11:12 AM on 01/30/2011

Anything that comes directly out of Palin's head without being edited is a disaster.

[gottanuf]

12:09 PM on 01/21/2011

In light of current events, I think Todd sould stay home!

[Kevin Danjou]

08:38 AM on 01/19/2011

I want the reality show video of her hunt to be running at the event so people can see what a sham she is. If you can't even load your own weapon, you don't have the right to shoot it. Period. Understanding the operation, loading, dismantling and cleaning of the weapon is part of the respect for that weapon that all owners should have. That respect keeps the operator and others around them safe during use, and the owner safe while cleaning and storing it for future use.

[Alaska Resident]

10:55 AM on 01/22/2011

You are absolutely right! Everyone down there in the 48 states believed her lies, but they should have seen the truth like you--she didn't know how to hunt! She didn't know how to use the gun! And she's supposed to speak to the Sierra Club! What's wrong in the head with those folks!

[PosiVista]

02:27 PM on 01/18/2011

Sarah called them "bullseyes" and now "cross hairs", but more is telegraphed.

They resemble rifle cross hairs, but true cross hairs do not extend beyond the circle representing the scope lens. Guess what does?
The hyper white supremacist "Celtic Cross" Stormfront logo:

http://www.stormfront.org/images/header_p1-uc.jpg

They are dog whistles to the racists.

[KATE1230]

04:20 AM on 01/17/2011

This is Sarah's big middle finger to those who have spoken out against her violent rhetoric, the same rhetoric which she has been using for over two years. She doesn't care what people think about her, she believes she is always right. I challenge anyone to find a statement from her in which she admits to having made a mistake in her past and promises not to do so again. I'm talking about in her status as Mayor, Governor and V.P. candidate and also as her newly found "just a housewife from Wasilla" position. When she was confronted with a $50k bill for redecorating the Mayor's office in her first month as Mayor, her response was "I'm the Mayor and I'll do what I want until the courts tell me I can't". Obviously $50k is not the sign of a fiscal conservative, especially when you add the cost of the new SUV she charged to the city to be used in her duties as mayor. The topping to the trifecta was when the people of Wasilla demanded council hire an administrator because Palin was unable to handle the day to day duties of running the city. The cost was another $60k for the city! To this day, Palin talks about how she was the mayor and city manager of Wasilla which is an outright lie. If she doesn't like the truth, it's simple, she replaces it with a lie that she thinks makes her look good.

[CarolNC]

11:10 AM on 01/30/2011

She bragged to the Safari Club that being president would be good for someone who had been a mayor, governor, etc., but fails to address that she was a failure in all of those attempts.

[ProChoiceGrandma]

03:33 AM on 01/17/2011

Will she clean under her fingernail­s before this speech?

[Scott Berfield]

03:24 AM on 01/17/2011

Lately, she seems to be on a determined march toward irrelevance.

[JDZSB]

01:24 AM on 01/17/2011

Wouldn't it be funny if she actually had a rational set of arguments regarding the pros and cons of gun ownership and they made sense? What would the Palin haters of the world do then? You know that she grew up in Alaska where hunting Caribou and other animals for food is part of their lifestyle, and has been for centuries? Maybe she has some good ideas on gun control based on her life experiences? How many Americans and politicians grew up with guns as a normal part of their lives? The best decisions happen when you have the best information on which to make the decisions.

[Joseph Zelinski]

08:20 PM on 01/25/2011

She has alread had time to state her ideas yet none have erupted.

[indy girl]

11:47 PM on 01/16/2011

"a speech based on "her past hunting experiences'"

Once I shot me a moose! I broke a nail but luckily I had my stylist with me and she was able to fix it right away! I just can't stand to have a broken nail! Then we saw a big flippin' mama grizzly bear! Grizzly bears is scary you know! I got so scared my jiffy-pop hair deflated! Well, gotta go pretend to climb a mountain! bye bye!
Love, Sarah

[4dogmama]

05:04 PM on 01/16/2011

Well of course she is...Now what do you think she will say? Suggestions?

My bet is something stupid.

[earthandwater]

12:51 PM on 01/16/2011

Think positive. If she makes this appearance, it will show exactly where she stands and, perhaps, alienate even more against her. She should not change her schedule and keep aligning herself with the gun people. If the current mood of the country doesn't change, that just could be her demise . . . we can hope, anyway.

[sus2222]

01:44 PM on 01/16/2011

Hey , Don't hold back EFS.
fanned

[thepulse33]

12:25 PM on 01/16/2011

But there's money to be made!