Summary: Audio in this episode was recorded live September 29, 2012 at the Gun Rights Policy Conference in Orlando Florida. The Federal Affairs Briefing panel started at 8:45 AM that morning and there are a total of 4 speakers. Biographical information of each speaker is below. It was supplied to us from the Second Amendment Foundation. Mark Barnes is a lawyer with 30 years of experience in government and the private sector. He is the principal of Mark Barnes & Associates, a Washington, D.C. based law firm whose sole practice area is firearms, weapons and explosives law, including both import and export control, registration and licensing issues. Mr. Barnes received his Juris Doctor degree from the UCLA School of Law in 1981 and his Bachelor of Science degree in political science from Arizona State University in 1978 where he graduated summa cum laude and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He is admitted to practice before several state and federal courts, including the Supreme Court of the United States. Mr. Barnes and his team represent numerous members of the firearms trade, as well as firearms public policy and trade groups on transactional, regulatory, administrative and pubic policy matters in the United States and abroad. Jeff Knox is a second generation rights activist, son of gun rights legend Neal Knox, and is Managing Director of The Firearms Coalition, a group of grass roots organizations, gun clubs, and individuals committed to protection and broader recognition of the fundamental right to arms. Jeff, along with his brother Chris, writes a weekly gun rights column for World Net Daily (WND.com) and regular columns for Shotgun News and Front Sight Magazine. They also maintain the web sites www.FirearmsCoalition.org,  www.NealKnox.com, and www.GunVoter.org along with corresponding pages on Facebook and publish a semi-monthly newsletter, the Hard Corps Report. Jeff was the recipient of the Grass Roots Activist of the Year award at the Gun Rights Policy Conference in 2007.  He and his wife, Janet, live near Phoenix, Arizona where Jeff is enjoying introducing his 6-year old grandson Ty to shooting. Larry Pratt has been for many years the executive director of Gun Owners of America and a frequent spokesman for firearms civil rights on television and radio, as well as the author of a number of Op Ed columns which have appeared in newspaper nationwide as well as several magazines. Joe Waldron Following a 28-year career in the Marine Corps, Lt Col Joe Waldron USMC(ret) embarked on a second vocation as a gun rights activist. In 1998 he was appointed Executive Director of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, a position he held for nearly ten years. In 2007 he "retired" to Pensacola, Florida with his wife Caterina. Not content to remain on the sidelines, he was elected a board member of CCRKBA and appointed Legislative Director of that organization. In January 2009 was elected Legislative Director of the Florida Sport Shooting Association (that state's NRA affiliate). He has also served on the board of the WSR&PA, a trustee of the Wildlife Committee of Washington/Kenmore Ranges, and a board member and president of the Washington Arms Collectors. In addition to his gun rights advocacy, he is involved with several veterans groups.
