Mark Robinson never expected to be in the spotlight. He never expected to be a voice of reason. But he was that voice as a guest speaker at the NRA-ILA Leadership Forum on May 4, part of the NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits.
Robinson, known for speaking up for the Second Amendment during a city council meeting in North Carolina, drew on historical references during his speech at the Leadership Forum because “[h]istory is something that can teach us about our past. That’s a definite. But history can also be a guide to the future. And it can also serve as an inspiration to the present.”
Citing the brave souls who fought at the battles of Lexington and Concord in 1775, Robinson articulated the importance of remembering their sacrifice. “[The British soldiers] came here to take our guns because they knew with our guns we could defend ourselves against their tyranny, and that’s what they came to do. But they got a big surprise because of the farmers and the blacksmiths and the cowboys and everybody else [who] came out of the woodwork.”
Those ordinary men, Robinson said, defended themselves to keep the rights endowed by their creator. “They stood up and they did it with courage, and, folks, that’s what we’ve got to do,” he said.
He said that classic liberalism has been hijacked by Marxists and socialists. Robinson, citing Josef Stalin and Mao Zedong as examples, described how socialists operate. “They all created a climate of fear and that’s what the Left in this country is doing now. And the reason why they want that is to silence all of you. They want to make you feel less than, and if you speak up you’ll get attacked.”
It is with courage, like those at Lexington and Concord showed, that we as Americans and as gun owners can and must stand up, Robinson said. To hear more from his passionate speech, click here.
