http://omaha.com/article/20100718/NEWS01/707189889Nebraska gun rights proponents left the Hilton Garden Inn on Saturday feeling better armed to protect their cause after attending a conference led by influential gun rights activist Alan Gottlieb.
Gottlieb instructed a one-day seminar on grass-roots organization for gun rights groups, which those in attendance said will help grow their base and keep Nebraska gun rights intact.
Gottlieb said people who attend his seminars have a passion for preserving gun rights but often lack the needed legal, media and organizational expertise.
?It's really fun to train them,? Gottlieb said. ?Many people are naive about how that works, but people are hungry and thirsty for the knowledge.?
The Second Amendment Foundation, an organization Gottlieb founded that promotes individual gun rights, helped get the U.S. Supreme Court last month to overturn a ban on handguns in Chicago and was instrumental in the high court's 2008 decision that personal ownership of firearms for private use superseded state and city law.
The conference was co-sponsored by the Nebraska Firearms Owners Association, Second Amendment Foundation and Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
Rod Moeller, 42, of Omaha said he learned valuable lessons about public relations, fundraising and membership recruiting. He said the Nebraska firearms group will be better able to press legislators to maintain gun rights.
?We ... have a lot of untapped opportunities,? he said.
Gary Tupper, 68, of Omaha said he was impressed by Gottlieb.
?I'm amazed at his depth of knowledge on legal issues, practical background and how to operate communications,? he said. Nebraska Firearms Owners Association ?is a very grass-roots organization that's still learning how to reach the public.?
Gottlieb said the organization he founded in 1974 aimed to be heard at the Supreme Court level. He urged attendees to be persistent, adding that it took many smaller cases to build the groundwork that led Gottlieb to the Supreme Court.
?It's exciting times for us,? Gottlieb said. ?It's sort of like we're driving the train for the first time instead of being in the caboose.?