The number is in, and it’s big. While not an all-time record for an NRA Annual Meeting, the total attendance for the Phoenix NRA Meeting was 64,324.

Phoenix may have fallen just short of the annual NRA Meeting attendance record which was set last year, but there was no shortage of records set this past weekend. The following records have already been recorded for the 2009 NRA Annual Meeting and Exhibits:

The biggest convention in Phoenix EVER

The largest dinner ever held in the state of Arizona – Over 6,000 paid attendees for the Banquet held on Saturday featuring speakers Oliver North and John Stossel (both were incredible).

The largest attendance for the NRA-ILA Grassroots Workshop – 375 attendees.

We’re sure this list will continue to grow as the numbers come in. Tune in later, as we’ll be posting some more records and interesting statistics that we are working on confirming now.

UPDATE: We’ve found the video of Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North’s speech at NRA Annual Meeting in Phoenix, AZ on Armed Forces Day, May 16, 2009. Please enjoy Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North’s tribute to our troops.

We have to offer a hat tip to Ballistic Deanimation for pointing out this great article by Patrik Jonsson in the Christian Science Monitor titled:
A rifle in one hand, a laptop in the other. Behind the scene with pro-gun bloggers. Jonsson’s article covers the rise of “new media” bloggers covering the 2009 NRA Annual Meeting and Exhibits, and does it without the elitist condescension commonly found in the “old media” (does anyone remember Dan Rather?). Its an even handed portrayal of citizens who are active in the shooting sports, who also happen to write about their interests on the internet. The article features several of the participants from the 2nd Amendment Blog Bash. Have a look and let us know what you think.

Speaking of citizens utilizing their first amendment rights to express views that are not represented by many of the mainstream news journalists, it just so happens that the Days of Our Trailers blog debuted their new Unorganized Militia patches at the NRA Convention today. Thanks to the generosity of ThirdPower, we were fortunate enough to receive the full assortment of patches, stickers, and even a pin.

Cruise on over to Days of Our Trailers site to see the new designs. We’ll also post more photos of the new patches, once we have time to sew them on our shooting jackets.

The 2009 NRA Annual Meeting and Exhibits kicked off on Friday Phoenix. The theme of the NRA convention is a “Celebration of American Values“ and the concept really shines through. The crowds were huge, but polite, and included people from all walks of life. The lines to get into the hall were long, with turnout appearing to be much higher than expected. If you plan on going, be prepared to wait in line, I can assure you its worth it. Although grumbling about waiting in line could be heard from some in the crowd, my fellow gun owners were polite and courteous to each other. I’m sure that anyone who hasn’t been around gun culture would be shocked to find out that law abiding gun owners treat each other with a great deal of respect, far more than you get walking through a mall, stadium, or airport.

Once inside the exhibit hall, the massive scale of the convention becomes apparent. The vendor exhibits and various shooting association displays covered a full six acres of floor space. The guns on display ranged from antique muzzle loading flintlocks to the latest in tactical firearms. The NRA Store features an extensive range of NRA merchandise that is far too long to list here. DPMS brought a semi-trailer inside the convention center, the walls covered with various calibers and configurations of AR-15 based rifles. If fact, virtually all AR-15 manufacturers were represented at the show. Ruger officially joined the AR-15 market with their introduction a piston driven AR, the Ruger SR-556. Checkout NUGUNS site for photos, videos, and additional information about the Ruger SR-556.

My time walking around the exhibit hall was cut short by the need to get to the Celebration of American Values Leadership Forum at U.S. Airways Arena. The Leadership Forum will be covered in greater detail in another post, until then, check out the Snowflakes in Hell live blogging of the NRA Leadership Forum to get a feel for what the speakers had to say.

The day was capped off by mixer at Majerley’s in downtown Phoenix with The Outdoor Channel’s star of the popular show the Shooting Gallery, Mr. Michael Bane (he is a hoot to hang out with). A big thank you to Tactical Solutions and Insight Tech Gear for providing attendees with some great swag.

Photo courtesy City of Phoenix Convention Center website

There is still plenty of time to attend the 2009 Convention/NRA Meetings and Exhibits in Phoenix this weekend (May 16th and 17th). Here’s some information to help you enjoy the event:

• Admission is $10 for non-NRA members, and the price includes a one year NRA associate membership.

• Admission is free for NRA members and their families, military and law enforcement personnel,  and organized youth groups.

• To enter and register for the event, go to the Phoenix Convention Center North building, hop on the escalator, and take it down to the exhibit hall level.

• The easiest way to find the escalator is to enter the Convention Center through the main doors, which are on the West side of the building. Hang a left when you hit the area that splits into four directions, and the escalators will be almost immediately on your left. If you hit the food court, you’ve gone too far.

• There are several public parking garages downtown, and most are running a flat $12.00 per day. There are a few metered spaces here and there, but you are not likely to find an available meter this weekend.

• The Metro light rail runs a short block from the Convention Center, and at $2.50 for an all-day pass, it could be your best bet for getting down there on the cheap. There are several park and ride facilities on the rail line, if you want to get most of the way there and use the rail as a shuttle in to the downtown area

The first event of the 2009 NRA Annual Meeting and Exhibits, held in Phoenix, Arizona, was the Grassroots Workshop put on by the NRA Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) at the Sheraton. The grassroots activists were seated by state, so that they could begin networking with other politically active members.

The workshop started with a rousing speech by Dick Heller of the Heller vs. D.C. Supreme Court case. Mr. Heller made history recently when he won his case and the Supreme Court, for the first time ever, affirmed that the 2nd Amendment protects an individual’s right to keep and bear arms. Mr. Heller continues to fight for gun rights and encouraged attendees to fight for their rights by recruiting new NRA members and actively supporting political candidates who support gun rights.

The Powerful Gun Lobby (Voters)

The grassroots attendees are what the media and anti-gun activists refer to as “the powerful gun lobby.” Looking around the room, it was obvious that the media’s bogeyman was a room filled with 375 average, politically conscious, neighborhood housewives, fathers, sons and daughters – all ordinary Americans.

Various NRA staff gave moving speeches and highlighted current legislative initiatives that either help protect the rights of gun owners, or threaten those rights. President Obama was praised several times for his stimulus of the gun industry and bolstering the NRA’s membership roster.

I'm a bitter gun owner and I vote.

Attendees at the workshop were encouraged to write, or call, their congressmen in opposition or support of gun related legislation. The get-out-the-vote message was also very clear. The message – encourage other gun owners to register to vote, vote in all available elections, and to join the NRA.  Attendees were encouraged to exercise their rights to speak out, to peacefully assemble, to petition our government, to vote, and to keep and bear arms.  American exceptionalism at its finest!  We live in the only country in the world where these rights are enshrined.  The NRA wants people to exercise all of their rights in order to protect their freedoms and insure liberty for all.

For additional information on legislative issues, or how you can become involved, please go to the NRA-ILA webpage.

We’ve decided to take the plunge and join the hep and cool world of Twitter.  We got us some new fangled, fancy phones with a thing-a-majig that slides out so we can text to our heart’s content (which has been about once a century to this point), and keep you updated on all of the going-ons at the NRA Convention in Phoenix this weekend.

So far, we only have two people following us, but wow, what a list so far – exurbanjon and Karl Rove.  How awesome is that?

Feel free to follow us at GreatSatanInc, and become part of our illustrious list.

We’ll be adding our tweets to the site very soon so you can follow allong with our oh, so exciting lives.  I just have to figure out how to send this, wait, I think I press this button, no – oops, I just deleted that whole message.  Uh, I’ll get this thing up and running as soon.

The NRA’s 138th Annual Meeting and Exhibits opens to public on Friday May 15, 2009 at the Phoenix Civic Plaza and Convention Center. The NRA Celebration of American Values exhibit halls will provide you with a cool respite from the scorching Arizona sun. Thanks to Bitter for hooking us up with the 2nd Amendment Blog Bash, so that we could help bring you the inside track on the happenings this weekend. Take a peek at the Exurban League to see some of the fun that has already happened!

If you are planning on attending the NRA Meeting and Exhibits, you are in for a treat! The schedule is jammed full with everything from an indoor air rifle range and manufacturer and dealer exhibits, to book signings with Uncle Ted (Ted Nugent) and Colonel Oliver North. The Civic Plaza is decked out for the event and you can comfortably spend time around fellow shooters and hunters.

Admission to the NRA Convention is free for NRA members and for nonmembers its only $10 and includes a free NRA Associate Membership!

Come check out the NRA Celebration of American Values!