On March 16th and 17th, the COS Vermont team headed to the Lamoille Valley Fish & Game Gun Show to educate attendees about Article V and Convention of States.
With the amazing help of Haley Shaw (Regional Director), Wade Holt (Volunteer Activist), Denver Wilson (District Captain), Dorothy Pratt (Volunteer Activist), Gene Gruner (Volunteer Activist), Tim Hanlon (Volunteer Activist), and Gerald Malloy (Veterans Coalition Director), nearly 100 petitions were signed. Thanks to all of the help, the event went extremely well and was a great time of team building and encouraging conversations with like-minded individuals. In addition to the nearly 100 petition signatures, the team positively influenced many other attendees.
One consideration that stuck out from the show is how important our right to keep and bear arms is to protecting freedom. A disarmed public is far easier for the government to trample under its feet. A disarmed public allows the federal government to grow more and more powerful. Tying this understanding to the mission of COS was very valuable.
Due to the traditionally pro-American, freedom-loving attitude of gun owners, there was wide support for the three points of COS: term limits, fiscal restraints, and the limiting of the federal government's jurisdiction. The team began many of their conversations by asking if people supported term limits, for example, and then explained that there is a way we the people can implement them: Article V and COS!
This sparked amazing conversations that got people thinking about how we have a way to take back our country. There is wide consensus that something needs to be done about our federal government; an Article V convention is the best way to do so. Learning about this option gave hope to many people in attendance and will no doubt continue to be spread by the incredible Vermont team.
The team's time revolved mostly around educating attendees on what an Article V convention is and what COS is doing. There were some attendees who were unsure about the process, whether or not it would work, and the always present concern of a runaway convention. Much energy was focused on dispelling myths, addressing concerns, and explaining the process of a convention. Because of this, the team was successful in turning several people who were afraid of a runaway convention into petition signers. For those not quite convinced there was a pebble placed in their shoe.
All attendees, whether they signed the petition or not received valuable education on COS, Article V, and the Constitution. The team's presence was one felt by countless patriotic Vermonters.
