imported post
Grass Roots North Carolina, P.O. Box 10684, Raleigh, NC 27605
919-664-8565, http://www.grnc.org, GRNC Alert Hotline: (919) 562-4137
GRNC Alert 05-23-10:
Marriott Posting - Charlotte Hostility?
Read Paul Valone's column for more information and other history on this issue:
http://bit.ly/MarriottCharlotte
Does Marriott gun posting represent Charlotte's hostility toward NRA?
May 23, 11:59 AM · Paul Valone - Charlotte Gun Rights Examiner
Marriott International feels pressure, begins apologizing to "Rewards" members. Are substantive changes in the offing?
When the Charlotte, NC Marriott City Center took gun owners' money and then posted "no firearms" signs during the NRA convention and Grass Roots North Carolina's "Gala for Gun Rights," making inadvertent criminals of otherwise law-abiding gun owners, Marriott International delivered an egregious insult to gun owners everywhere.
Unfortunately, it was not the only insult delivered that weekend to NRA conventioneers. The Charlotte Convention Center itself - while hosting the world's biggest gun show - is a "gun free zone" because Charlotte politicians exploited a loophole in the state's preemption law under which "units of local government" may prohibit firearms "on local government buildings, their appurtenant premises, and parks."
Helpful fliers placed by unknown parties in hotel lobbies advised conventioneers how they could check guns before going to the show. Unfortunately, they were wrong: Gun check-in was reportedly provided only for exhibitors.
On the convention's first day, The Charlotte Observer welcomed NRA members with an editorial entitled: "Welcome, NRA - and please don't shoot!" The equally helpful subtitle made convention-goers feel right at home: "We hope you enjoy your stay here, and nothing ticks you off." Further insisting, "....we don't want to sound churlish in our welcome," the ever-appreciative Observer went on to berate the NRA over its unwillingness to embrace the usual gun control wish list.
EVEN $26 MILLION DOESN'T BUY YOU LOVE
Ironically, the litany of insults was delivered to the biggest convention Charlotte has ever hosted - bringing what was then estimated to be 70,000 conventioneers and a much-needed $20 million into the Charlotte economy. In fact, more recent estimates put the figure near 85,000, meaning the estimates below should be closer to $26 million injected into Charlotte.
Said United Press International:
"The National Rifle Association's convention is coming to Charlotte, N.C., bringing an estimated $20 million with it, city officials say.
"The NRA's annual convention, expected to draw 70,000 attendees to Charlotte and pump $20 million in the local economy, is being called the city's biggest-ever convention, The Charlotte Observer reported Wednesday.
"'It's bigger than anything we've had,' Moira Quinn of Charlotte Center City Partners said of the gathering where 400 firearms manufacturers, collectors and other vendors will set up in 300,000 square feet of the Charlotte Convention Center.
Said News Channel 36, WCNC:
"Any city would love to have a convention the size of the National Rifle Association that opens today in uptown Charlotte with big name speakers including Sarah Palin..." Said Tim Newman, CEO of the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority: 'If the average person who came spent $300 and you have 65 or 70,000 -- that is a $20 million hit right there...'"
The News 36 piece then went on to celebrate the number of "gun free" zones which would prevent the city from becoming "an armed camp." In sum, like the Charlotte Marriott, the city wants your money, but you can leave your guns at home. In return, it promises not to insult you too much.
CONVENTION MADE CHARLOTTE NOT ONLY RICHER, BUT SAFER
Best of all was a piece in the Observer entitled "Events last week attracted 85,000 visitors" which included the following:
"Estimates from Charlotte-Mecklenburg police are that 80,000 visitors were in the uptown area Friday and 85,000 Saturday...
"It also was very safe. Captain Jeff Estes, commander of CMPD's Central Division, said crime for the week was 45 percent lower than the same week a year ago."
DELIVER MESSAGE TO MARRIOTT VIA THE CHARLOTTE CHAMBER
This year was the second time the NRA held its annual meeting convention in Charlotte, the first time being in 2000. Not only have there been no problems with tens of thousands of gun owners converging in the city, but it actually made Charlotte safer. Can any other convention say the same? Yet Charlotte's business community - exemplified most graphically by the Marriott City Center - continues to treat Second Amendment supporters as pariahs.
In response, perhaps Charlotte should consider another massive gun show: The Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show, organized by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF). Held in past years in Atlanta and New Orleans until the cities either joined or threatened to join cities trying to litigate gun manufacturers out of business, the NSSF moved the show back to its traditional (and gun-friendly) venue in Las Vegas.
In like fashion, gun owners should contact the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce and let them know they won't attend another convention - especially an NRA convention - in a city that takes their money while disrespecting them. In particular, contact chamber president Bob Morgan at: morgan@charlottechamber.com, or 704-378-1330.
Let him know that with gun rights supporters come guns, and that businesses like the Charlotte City Center which post against lawful carry apparently don't really want your business after all.
KEEP THE PRESSURE ON MARRIOTT
NEW CONTACT INFO
Here is new contact information for top-level Marriott International executives. By calling back their favored customers and apologizing for the "confusion" (their word) in Charlotte, they just blinked.
Turn up the heat: Let them know you aren't buying the lies put out in their canned responses - namely, that hotels are required to post and that Marriott is just "following orders." As previously noted, nothing in NC law requires a hotel or other business to post, even in restaurants where alcohol is sold and consumed. Moreover, as confirmed last week by the NC Attorney General's office, the lobby of a hotel is not a place where alcohol is sold and consumed, even if such restaurants exist in the hotel. The posting of a given Marriott - and casual inspections indicate not all are posted - is entirely at the discretion of the hotel.
IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED
CONTACT MARRIOTT IMMEDIATELY
* Keith Thomas: Reports directly to JW Marriott, Jr. himself. Thomas can be reached at Mr. Marriott's office at either keith.thomas@marriott.com or 800-621-0999.
* Kathleen Matthews, Executive Vice President, Global Communications and Public Affairs: Kathleen.Matthews@marriott.com, 301-380-7770. Also include her assistant, Marilyn Cole at: marilyn.cole@marriott.com or 301-380-7525.
* Chad Callaghan, Vice President of Loss Prevention: chad.callaghan@marriott.com. Also call his assistant Pat Murphy at 301-380-7814 and presuming he ignores your call, feel free to page him at: 800-313-9391.
* Jim Diehl: Don't forget the General Manager (and reportedly regional executive) who started this mess:, jim.diehl
----------------------
You may find your NC representative by going here:
http://www.grnc.org/contact_reps.htm
You may write your federal congressman by going here:
http://www.house.gov/writerep/
-------------------
Support these PRO RKBA merchants who, as GRNC sponsors, are supporting your Second Amendment rights:
Hyatt Coin & Gun Shop, 3332 Wilkinson Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28208, 704-663-5656, http://www.hyattguns.com
Duncan Gun & Pawn, 414 Second St., North Wilkesboro, NC 28659, 336-667-6303, http://www.duncangun.com
Shooter's Express, 2 Caldwell Dr., Belmont, NC 28012, 800-358-GUNS, http://www.shootersexpress.com
The Aisle Pawn Shop, 216 N. Main St., Mooresville, NC 28115, 704-663-5656
Gunner's Alley, LLC, 203 N. Harrison Ave., Ste. 130, Cary, NC 27513, http://www.gunnersalley.com, 919-388-1991, contact: Ed Guerriero, ed@gunnersalley.com
C & E Gun Shows, 4225 Fortress Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24060; Phone 540-953-0016 or 888-715-0606; http://www.cegunshows.com/
Ryan & Nina Leonard, Down South Ammo, Home of "SOUTHERN THUNDER" Exploding Targets, http://downsouthammo.com/
Grass Roots North Carolina, P.O. Box 10684, Raleigh, NC 27605
919-664-8565, http://www.grnc.org, GRNC Alert Hotline: (919) 562-4137
GRNC Alert 05-23-10:
Marriott Posting - Charlotte Hostility?
Read Paul Valone's column for more information and other history on this issue:
http://bit.ly/MarriottCharlotte
Does Marriott gun posting represent Charlotte's hostility toward NRA?
May 23, 11:59 AM · Paul Valone - Charlotte Gun Rights Examiner
Marriott International feels pressure, begins apologizing to "Rewards" members. Are substantive changes in the offing?
When the Charlotte, NC Marriott City Center took gun owners' money and then posted "no firearms" signs during the NRA convention and Grass Roots North Carolina's "Gala for Gun Rights," making inadvertent criminals of otherwise law-abiding gun owners, Marriott International delivered an egregious insult to gun owners everywhere.
Unfortunately, it was not the only insult delivered that weekend to NRA conventioneers. The Charlotte Convention Center itself - while hosting the world's biggest gun show - is a "gun free zone" because Charlotte politicians exploited a loophole in the state's preemption law under which "units of local government" may prohibit firearms "on local government buildings, their appurtenant premises, and parks."
Helpful fliers placed by unknown parties in hotel lobbies advised conventioneers how they could check guns before going to the show. Unfortunately, they were wrong: Gun check-in was reportedly provided only for exhibitors.
On the convention's first day, The Charlotte Observer welcomed NRA members with an editorial entitled: "Welcome, NRA - and please don't shoot!" The equally helpful subtitle made convention-goers feel right at home: "We hope you enjoy your stay here, and nothing ticks you off." Further insisting, "....we don't want to sound churlish in our welcome," the ever-appreciative Observer went on to berate the NRA over its unwillingness to embrace the usual gun control wish list.
EVEN $26 MILLION DOESN'T BUY YOU LOVE
Ironically, the litany of insults was delivered to the biggest convention Charlotte has ever hosted - bringing what was then estimated to be 70,000 conventioneers and a much-needed $20 million into the Charlotte economy. In fact, more recent estimates put the figure near 85,000, meaning the estimates below should be closer to $26 million injected into Charlotte.
Said United Press International:
"The National Rifle Association's convention is coming to Charlotte, N.C., bringing an estimated $20 million with it, city officials say.
"The NRA's annual convention, expected to draw 70,000 attendees to Charlotte and pump $20 million in the local economy, is being called the city's biggest-ever convention, The Charlotte Observer reported Wednesday.
"'It's bigger than anything we've had,' Moira Quinn of Charlotte Center City Partners said of the gathering where 400 firearms manufacturers, collectors and other vendors will set up in 300,000 square feet of the Charlotte Convention Center.
Said News Channel 36, WCNC:
"Any city would love to have a convention the size of the National Rifle Association that opens today in uptown Charlotte with big name speakers including Sarah Palin..." Said Tim Newman, CEO of the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority: 'If the average person who came spent $300 and you have 65 or 70,000 -- that is a $20 million hit right there...'"
The News 36 piece then went on to celebrate the number of "gun free" zones which would prevent the city from becoming "an armed camp." In sum, like the Charlotte Marriott, the city wants your money, but you can leave your guns at home. In return, it promises not to insult you too much.
CONVENTION MADE CHARLOTTE NOT ONLY RICHER, BUT SAFER
Best of all was a piece in the Observer entitled "Events last week attracted 85,000 visitors" which included the following:
"Estimates from Charlotte-Mecklenburg police are that 80,000 visitors were in the uptown area Friday and 85,000 Saturday...
"It also was very safe. Captain Jeff Estes, commander of CMPD's Central Division, said crime for the week was 45 percent lower than the same week a year ago."
DELIVER MESSAGE TO MARRIOTT VIA THE CHARLOTTE CHAMBER
This year was the second time the NRA held its annual meeting convention in Charlotte, the first time being in 2000. Not only have there been no problems with tens of thousands of gun owners converging in the city, but it actually made Charlotte safer. Can any other convention say the same? Yet Charlotte's business community - exemplified most graphically by the Marriott City Center - continues to treat Second Amendment supporters as pariahs.
In response, perhaps Charlotte should consider another massive gun show: The Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show, organized by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF). Held in past years in Atlanta and New Orleans until the cities either joined or threatened to join cities trying to litigate gun manufacturers out of business, the NSSF moved the show back to its traditional (and gun-friendly) venue in Las Vegas.
In like fashion, gun owners should contact the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce and let them know they won't attend another convention - especially an NRA convention - in a city that takes their money while disrespecting them. In particular, contact chamber president Bob Morgan at: morgan@charlottechamber.com, or 704-378-1330.
Let him know that with gun rights supporters come guns, and that businesses like the Charlotte City Center which post against lawful carry apparently don't really want your business after all.
KEEP THE PRESSURE ON MARRIOTT
NEW CONTACT INFO
Here is new contact information for top-level Marriott International executives. By calling back their favored customers and apologizing for the "confusion" (their word) in Charlotte, they just blinked.
Turn up the heat: Let them know you aren't buying the lies put out in their canned responses - namely, that hotels are required to post and that Marriott is just "following orders." As previously noted, nothing in NC law requires a hotel or other business to post, even in restaurants where alcohol is sold and consumed. Moreover, as confirmed last week by the NC Attorney General's office, the lobby of a hotel is not a place where alcohol is sold and consumed, even if such restaurants exist in the hotel. The posting of a given Marriott - and casual inspections indicate not all are posted - is entirely at the discretion of the hotel.
IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED
CONTACT MARRIOTT IMMEDIATELY
* Keith Thomas: Reports directly to JW Marriott, Jr. himself. Thomas can be reached at Mr. Marriott's office at either keith.thomas@marriott.com or 800-621-0999.
* Kathleen Matthews, Executive Vice President, Global Communications and Public Affairs: Kathleen.Matthews@marriott.com, 301-380-7770. Also include her assistant, Marilyn Cole at: marilyn.cole@marriott.com or 301-380-7525.
* Chad Callaghan, Vice President of Loss Prevention: chad.callaghan@marriott.com. Also call his assistant Pat Murphy at 301-380-7814 and presuming he ignores your call, feel free to page him at: 800-313-9391.
* Jim Diehl: Don't forget the General Manager (and reportedly regional executive) who started this mess:, jim.diehl
----------------------
You may find your NC representative by going here:
http://www.grnc.org/contact_reps.htm
You may write your federal congressman by going here:
http://www.house.gov/writerep/
-------------------
Support these PRO RKBA merchants who, as GRNC sponsors, are supporting your Second Amendment rights:
Hyatt Coin & Gun Shop, 3332 Wilkinson Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28208, 704-663-5656, http://www.hyattguns.com
Duncan Gun & Pawn, 414 Second St., North Wilkesboro, NC 28659, 336-667-6303, http://www.duncangun.com
Shooter's Express, 2 Caldwell Dr., Belmont, NC 28012, 800-358-GUNS, http://www.shootersexpress.com
The Aisle Pawn Shop, 216 N. Main St., Mooresville, NC 28115, 704-663-5656
Gunner's Alley, LLC, 203 N. Harrison Ave., Ste. 130, Cary, NC 27513, http://www.gunnersalley.com, 919-388-1991, contact: Ed Guerriero, ed@gunnersalley.com
C & E Gun Shows, 4225 Fortress Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24060; Phone 540-953-0016 or 888-715-0606; http://www.cegunshows.com/
Ryan & Nina Leonard, Down South Ammo, Home of "SOUTHERN THUNDER" Exploding Targets, http://downsouthammo.com/
