Back in 2021, Paul Lathrop was still with the Second Amendment Foundation and he essentially bullied me into attending the Second Amendment Freedom Fest in Summerville, Florida. Paul was going to be the MC and a few other folks I knew via the internet would be in attendance, including our own John Petrolino.

In 2024, I returned and then I did it again this year.

And folks, if you didn't make it, you missed out on a great event.

See, it's easy to get together in online chat rooms, social media groups, and threads on sites like X to discuss the Second Amendment. Yet people are social creatures. We're tribal animals and we crave community, even if you're a step below being a hermit like I am.

For a lot of people, gun shows are really the only physical connection to other gun rights advocates. They can be social, but they're not always great ways to really understand the issues and challenges being faced by the Second Amendment community.

Plus, to be frank, that's not what they're intended to do. They exist to sell guns and firearm accessories.

The Second Amendment Freedom Fest is different. As organizer Kevin Sona put it, his goal is to turn gun owners into gun rights advocates, correctly noting that there is a profound difference.

I talked about the event earlier this year, including naming the guests which included myself, but also people like Erich Pratt from Gun Owners of America, Jared Yanis of Gun & Gear on YouTube, Mike Piwowarski of Arms Room Radio, Amanda Suffecool of Eye on the Target Radio and an NRA Board Member, 2A News's Craig DeLuz, the Loaded Mic's Dan Wos, and many others.

Each year features speakers talking about the right to keep and bear arms, and this year was no different, but 2025 included panel discussions of different things. I was honored to be asked to speak on the Second Amendment Media panel with many of the names listed above.

There, we were joined by Braden Langley of Langley Outdoor Academy on YouTube, who decided to attend the event and was sort of thrust into the limelight here.

Yet there were many, many other panels, including one I helped to moderate with gun rights groups such as Florida Carry, Georgia Second Amendment, and Gun Owners of America.

Also, there were a lot of various vendors. All were pro-Second Amendment to some degree or another, but not all of them were related to the gun industry. You could buy ammo and body armor, but also fresh bread, lemonade, and printed drinking tumblers. All the gun rights groups present also had booths, as well as other entities that support the right to keep and bear arms.

Last year, I noted how there was a food drive as well, and it got a lot of food for the needy. Well, they were at it again, and Sona tells me that it was even bigger this year, especially with the drive also including baby products, which they got a pile of.

At the end of the day, I was completely exhausted, but about as joyful for the future of our gun rights as I've ever been, especially as one of the common conversation threads was learning that Kash Patel would be running the ATF. I also enjoyed meeting many of you and hope you'll all come next year.

Put it on your calendars now as it's always the weekend after President's Day.

I intend to be there. I hope you will, too.