There were a few familiar faces for Second Amendment supporters among the crowd of invitees at the White House on Thursday evening as Donald Trump delivered his speech accepting the nomination of the Republican Party, including the Second Amendment Foundation’s founder and executive director Alan Gottlieb.

On today’s Bearing Arms’ Cam & Co, Alan joins me from Washington, D.C. to talk about what it was like to watch history being made, as well as the chaos and unrest that ensued as the invitees were subjected to harassment and abuse (both verbal and physical) from demonstrators and agitators who accosted the RNC guests as they left the White House after the president’s acceptance speech.

“On the way out, the gate that we left by had significant Secret Service personnel and D.C. riot police, but also a number of protesters,” explained Gottlieb, who said one of the demonstrators followed him and his wife for several blocks as they tried to make their way back to their hotel.

“On some of those streets it was a little scary,” he continued, “and frankly, being licensed to carry concealed, this is one place where I would have liked to have been able to do it, but of course the law doesn’t let you.”

Washington, D.C. does allow for concealed carry, but not on federal property, so even if Gottlieb had been able to acquire a non-resident concealed carry license in time for his trip to our nation’s capital, he still would have been left unarmed on his journey back to his hotel.

As for the president’s speech, Gottlieb said he was thrilled to hear the president bring up the Second Amendment several times during his acceptance speech. That led to a discussion about the impact that new gun owners might have on this year’s election, and with more than 5-million Americans purchasing firearms for the very first time since January, the head of the Second Amendment Foundation believes that they could play a key role in this year’s elections, particularly in swing states and battleground districts.

One of those races where new gun owners could have an outsized impact is Oregon’s 4th Congressional District, which has been represented by Democrat Peter DeFazio for more than 30 years. While DeFazio has regularly won re-election handily, the district itself is split almost evenly between registered Republicans and Democrats, and this year the GOP has nominated a fresh face with a great story.

Alek Skarlatos made international headlines back in 2015 when he and two friends were on a Paris-bound train when a gunman pulled out a rifle and prepared to open fire in the crowded car. Skarlatos and his pals Spencer Stone and Anthony Sadler helped to take down and disarm the would-be terrorist. Now Skarlatos is running for Congress against DeFazio, and he also joins me on today’s show to talk about why he decided to run for office, his long-held support for the Second Amendment, and why he believes that Oregon’s 4th Congressional District is ripe for a Republican takeover.

Be sure to check out both interview in the video window above, and as always, thanks for watching, listening, and spreading the word!