Ladies & gentlemen, for a number of years now I have been publicly speechifying about Second Amendment and law enforcement issues, and it's never been something that I had any trouble with. When someone contacted me and asked me to give an address of some kind to some group or another, I never had any trouble coming up with some at least halfway intelligent sounding remarks. There was always some battle we were fighting, always some new bill threatening us, always an enemy, a Metzenbaum or a Schumer or a Clinton, and there were always things going on that a pro-gun crowd wanted to hear about or needed information on. And, since I'm just a retired flatfoot, it's always been a humbling experience for me personally to know that there are at least a few people out there who are interested in what I have to say about these things.

When Joe Tartaro called me and asked me if I would do this I said sure. And I went to the computer and started the Word program, and I sat there. That computer monitor stared back at me like a big eyeball. I didn't know what to say and I still don't.

The events of September 11th in terms of savagery and barbarity, stand alone in the history of the world. People from over 80 nations were killed in this attack; this was an assault not just on us; it was an assault on civilization itself. I can think of nothing that approaches it. This country has fought in a number of wars. We fought a war of independence from England. Our enemy then was King George III. We were a colony, rich with natural resources and with potential revenue. We wanted to be free to determine our own destiny; King George wanted to maintain control over us. King George's viewpoint on this matter was perfectly logical and rational. America was his and he wanted to keep it. We didn't agree with his viewpoint and we fought him over it, but we understood it.

The defenders of the Alamo were rebels. They were in rebellion against the legally constituted government of their country. When old Generalisimo Santa Ana showed up he warned them. Come out of there or I'm coming in after you. They didn't and he did. The Alamo defenders lost. Santa Ana's viewpoint on this matter was perfectly logical and rational, and no different from King George's. Texas was his and he wanted to keep it. The Alamo defenders didn't agree with his viewpoint and they fought him over it, but they understood it. Santa Ana was neither a mystery nor an enigma to them. By our standards he was wrong, but his behavior was perfectly normal for a dictator.

Pearl Harbor…the Japanese wanted to be in control of all of Asia, they saw us as interfering in their designs, and they attacked us. Their attack was treacherous, it was reprehensible, it was immoral, but we understand why they did it and what they hoped to gain from it.

Now, I am a fairly intelligent and well-read man. I was a command officer in a major law enforcement organization. I serve on the board of directors of the National Rifle Association, a multi-million dollar corporation, and I flatter myself that I have from time to time contributed something to the running of that organization. What I'm trying to convey here folks is that although I'm somewhat less than a genius, I'm also somewhat more than a moron. It has now been about a week and a half since the commission of this unparalleled crime, and I will be damned if I understand what these people were hoping to accomplish.

I've done some reading; I've learned more about this character, Osama bin Laden, and the Taliban than I really want to know. And all I can see is people terrified of freedom. These people don't want freedom of speech or freedom of information. They've outlawed television and suppressed knowledge so effectively that intelligence sources say they have no idea how outraged the rest of the world is over what happened last week. They don't want to know. Freedom of information means responsibility to act. They don't want responsibility. They don't want freedom. And they don't want anyone else to have it.

They shroud their women like the dead and hide them in houses with painted windows. They don't even want the light of day in their homes. They don't want to be responsible. They don't want freedom. And they don't want anyone else to have it.

In the wake of their own terrorist attack upon defenseless men, women, and children they have scurried about in the dark, moving from hiding place to hiding place - like cockroaches. Facing those upon whom they have declared war might require of them the responsibility to face their own cruelty. They don't want to be responsible for their actions. They don't want freedom. And they don't want anyone else to have it.

And where is the United States in all this? What are we doing in the face of attack even as our enemies scurry about for their next hiding place? Within hours of the attacks upon our nation, our leaders stood side by side on the steps of the Capitol in Washington D.C. and sang "God Bless America." Right there for all the world to see. Right there in the open. Right where anyone could see them, walk up to them, join them in song if they chose. This is what this nation is all about. This is freedom.

Make no mistake, my friends; there are those in this nation who are waving the flag now and singing patriotic songs who have no idea what America means, who have no idea what our flag symbolizes. A recent AOL poll - maybe not purely scientific, but when I read it it had a quarter of a million respondents, asked this question: Do you support tighter terrorism laws in the U.S. even if it limits your freedoms? 72% of our fellow citizens said yes. 15% said they're not sure. Ladies and Gentlemen, giving up freedom does not make anyone safe.

Ask the people of Afghanistan. They have no freedom whatsoever. Are they safe? No…they are starving. Their women are committing suicide in record numbers. And now they have the entire free world breathing down their necks in search of the slavemasters to whom they gave their freedom.

An armed citizen is a free citizen. Now is not the time to give up any of our freedoms. Now is the time to defend them more fiercely than ever before. Terrorists aren't the only people who are afraid of freedom. Freedom carries responsibility, and lots of folks are afraid of that. Fear is the enemy of freedom. If we give up any of our liberties, we give our enemies exactly what they want. They fear freedom, all freedom. That's reason enough to stand up for liberty.

Concealed carry has been for many years an important issue for the attendees of this conference. These events have added a whole new dimension to this issue. For practically this country's entire existence, the motivation for carrying a concealed weapon, whether gun, knife or non-lethal device, was personal defense. When an enemy from beyond our shores was the threat, Uncle Sam handed you a Springfield, or a Garand, or a Thompson, or an M-16. And when you came home, you gave Uncle Sam his gun back. Your Smith & Wesson was reserved for protecting you and yours from personal threats. That is something else which has changed forever. Concealed carry is no longer an issue solely of personal defense. It has become a matter of national security.

In recent years, one state after another has realized that concealed carry is a good idea and good public policy. Unfortunately for about 5,000 people and their loved ones, the FAA still has its head buried deeply in the sand where this issue is concerned. Has their ever been a time when the presence of a handgun in the hands of a free citizen of the United States could have had a more profound effect on history? These murdering bastards killed upwards of 5,000 Americans with a handful of box cutters. If there had been on just one of those airplanes one lousy chiefs special 5 shot .38 special revolver in a pocket or purse, the death toll could have been reduced by two or three thousand souls. If there had been handguns in the hands of responsible American citizens on all four airliners, the death toll would have been reduced to about eighteen…and we all know which eighteen. And what is the FAA's response to this? Now you not only can't take guns on planes, you can't take a boy scout knife either. There's talk of arming pilots on commercial aircraft. That's great and I'm all for it. But that will still mean that the passengers are left to fend for themselves.

I stopped flying on commercial airlines several years ago, not because I'm afraid to fly but because I got tired of jumping through hoops. I got tired of being asked a lot of stupid questions when I checked my bags. I got tired of having to empty my pockets like a criminal before I got on a plane. And I got tired of wondering whether my bags with my guns in them were going to end up in the same place that I did. But I'm willing to cut a deal with the FAA, one that I'm sure a lot of you would be happy to get in on. You let me fly on your airplanes with my guns, not in the belly of the plane, but on my person. In return, if some nutcase jumps up with a box cutter, or a gun, or a sharpened popsicle stick and announces that he's taking over the plane, I will bestow upon him, on behalf of that airline and the people of the United States, a one-way, non-refundable ticket that will take him on a flight straight to hell.

I want to read you something that was e-mailed to my wife by a friend of hers. All of you are no doubt familiar with what is probably Dr. Seuss' most famous story, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." The following adaptation of that story was written by a gentleman named Rob Suggs, a children's author and illustrator, to try to explain the tragedy to children.

Every U down in Uville liked U.S. a lot,
But the Binch, who lived Far East of Uville, did not.
The Binch hated U.S! the whole U.S. way!
Now don't ask me why, for nobody can say,
It could be his turban was screwed on too tight.
Or the sun from the desert had beaten too bright
But I think that the most likely reason of all
May have been that his heart was two sizes too small.

But, Whatever the reason, his heart or his turban,
He stood facing Uville, the part that was urban.
"They're doing their business," he snarled from his perch.
"They're raising their families! They're going to church!
They're leading the world, and their empire is thriving,
I MUST keep the S's and U's from surviving!"

Tomorrow, he knew, all the U's and the S's,
Would put on their pants and their shirts and their dresses,
They'd go to their offices, playgrounds and schools,
And abide by their U and S values and rules,

And then they'd do something he liked least of all,
Every U down in U-ville, the tall and the small,
Would stand all united, each U and each S,
And they'd sing Uville's anthem, "God bless us! God bless!"
All around their Twin Towers of Uville, they'd stand,
and their voices would drown every sound in the land.

"I must stop that singing," Binch said with a smirk,
And he had an idea--an idea that might work!
The Binch stole some U airplanes in U morning hours,
And crashed them right into the Uville Twin Towers.
"They'll wake to disaster!" he snickered, so sour,
"And how can they sing when they can't find a tower?"

The Binch cocked his ear as they woke from their sleeping,
All set to enjoy their U-wailing and weeping,
Instead he heard something that started quite low,
And it built up quite slow, but it started to grow--
And the Binch heard the most unpredictable thing...
And he couldn't believe it--they started to sing!

He stared down at U-ville, not trusting his eyes,
What he saw was a shocking, disgusting surprise!
Every U down in U-ville, the tall and the small,
Was singing! Without any towers at all!
He HADN'T stopped U-Ville from singing! It sung!
For down deep in the hearts of the old and the young,
Those Twin Towers were standing, called Hope and called Pride,
And you can't smash the towers we hold deep inside.

So we circle the sites where our heroes did fall,
With a hand in each hand of the tall and the small,
And we mourn for our losses while knowing we'll cope,
For we still have inside that U-Pride and U-Hope.

For America means a bit more than tall towers,
It means more than wealth or political powers,
It's more than our enemies ever could guess,
So may God bless America! Bless us! God bless!