Washington, DC –-(Ammoland.com)- I had a chance to film and chat with many of the speakers at the 2A Rally held on November 2nd in Washington DC. Over the next few weeks, AmmoLand will be releasing profiles of the speeches along with the speeches themselves.
Eric Blandford – IV8888, Combat Veteran
Eric Blandford is the star of the YouTube Channel iraqveteran8888.
He is a combat veteran who saw action in Iraq. The 8888 comes from his favorite race driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr. He started recording videos about guns with his friend Chad just for fun, but his YouTube channel started to grow quickly.
Eric started working in gun sales at Moss Pawn and Gun, where he met Barry. The two would begin producing a segment for the IV8888 YouTube channel called Gun Gripes. This series would make the channel skyrocket. Barry and Eric had specific chemistry that fans loved. The two would continue making videos until Barry’s unexpected passing in April 2014.
Chad and Eric would carry on in making videos in Barry’s honor. The video would take up more and more time. The pair would leave their jobs at Moss Pawn and Gun to focus on just making videos. Eric’s wife, Brandy, would also leave her career to focus on their YouTube channel.
The IV8888 channel would become one of the first 50 channels invited to be a part of the YouTube Partner Program. Today they have 2.25 million subscribers and over 1/2 a billion views making it one of the largest channels on the platform.
Eric has always been a strong supporter of the Second Amendment. He flew to Washington to speak at the rally because he felt it was essential to unite the gun world to fight back against unjust laws.
“The crowd was electrifying,” Eric told AmmoLand. “I cannot be happier. You can feel the energy! We need to show the people in the Capitol who we are.”
Rob Pincus introduced Eric as the first speaker of the rally. The crowd cheered loudly for the YouTube star as he took the stage. His speech was concise and to point. He talked about losing our way as a nation and the need to get back to the roots set by our founding fathers.
Dianna Muller – DC Project, 3 Gun Competitor, Former Police Officer
Dianna Muller is the founding member of the DC Project, a professional 3-gun competitor, and a former police officer.
The DC Project is a group of 50 women from 50 states that makes a trip to DC every year to educate legislators on gun rights. The group is non-partisan and covers every aspect of gun ownership, from hunting to self-defense. The group’s motto is “gun rights are women’s rights.”
Dianna rose into the national spotlight when she told members of Congress that she would “not comply” with any laws that would ban the ownership or possession of semi-automatic guns. She drew a line in the sand not only for her but for gun owners across the country. She has been on media outlets such as Fox News and featured in media everywhere.
“I didn’t plan on telling them that I wouldn’t comply,” Dianna said of speaking in front of Congress. “I just felt I need to take a stand. It is no different than what the people out in the crowd are doing today.”
Dianna is a true believer in the Second Amendment and electrified the crowd with her fiery speech. She chanted, “I will,” and the crowd shouted back, “not comply.”
About John Crump
John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. He is the former CEO of Veritas Firearms, LLC and is the co-host of The Patriot News Podcast which can be found at www.blogtalkradio.com/patriotnews. John has written extensively on the patriot movement including 3%’ers, Oath Keepers, and Militias. In addition to the Patriot movement, John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and is currently working on a book on leftist deplatforming methods and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, on Facebook at realjohncrump, or at www.crumpy.com.
Poorly organized and very short notice in winter. Looks like about 200 folks from the pictures posted. No rally will change the minds of the communist democrats. They demand a totalitarian America with them at the helm. These people would have been better off taking liberals and kids shooting. I converted 4 libs in my karate class to pro-gun Americans. Most liberals suffer from the lies of their propagandists. When they actually shoot a .22 then a .38 or 9MM with target loads, they have a great time. How many times have I seen women turned fervent anti-gun when their… Read more »
Pics dont show too well.
I was there, light guess was over 600.
And contrary to what you think, it was not winter.
Temps were in low 60 all day with no clouds.
Probably the nicest day in weeks.
@TJ – Thank you for your gun outreach efforts. If each of us turn a half dozen from anti-gun to pro-gun, or even neutral — it will go a long way toward peacefully preserving our rights.