The Oath Keepers crew has been recovering from our blitz of activity to get to Lexington on the 19th, and we are now scrambling to catch up with many things, including posting pictures and videos from the Lexington gathering as well as other gatherings around the country- such as the one at Gonzales, the photos for which we now post below (still waiting on videos, and will post when those are online).
Yep, it was not just at Lexington that Americans gathered to pay tribute to the patriots who stood at Lexington on April 19, 1775. And it was not just at Lexington that modern patriots renewed their oaths - or took the oath for the first time - to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. As is fitting for Americans, many fine folks across this land used their own initiative to conduct their own local oath ceremonies wherever they were. Many folks took the oath at home, among family and friends. And many others took the oath as part of an Appleseed shoot. We are still hearing back from folks across the country (and if you have stories and/or photos of your own oath ceremony, please email them to us), but we can at least tell you about the following:
OATH KEEPER CEREMONIES AT APPLESEED SHOOTS!
At many an Appleseed rifle shoot across this land folks took a few minutes out of their time on the range to gather together and conduct an oath ceremony. We Oath Keepers are enthusiastic supporters of the
Appleseed Program, where volunteer instructors travel all over America and teach rifle clinics to pass on both the heritage and the skills of a rifleman to all who are willing to show up, for the paltry sum of $80.00 for two days of instruction (and women and all under the age of 20 shoot free!).
Oath Ceremony at Appleseed Shoot in Sacramento California, April 19, 2009
This year, Appleseed conducted special shoots all over the nation on the weekend of April 18 and 19th, to honor the heroes who stood their ground so long a go. And the good folks at Appleseed likewise support Oath Keepers and were more than happy to accommodate any shooters who wanted to conduct an oath ceremony that day. In fact, Oath Keepers crew member (and supreme disciplinarian of the comments) Capt. Gooch helped run the Appleseed shoot in Corpus Christi, Texas, and conducted an oath ceremony there, but was unable to get any pics (everyone was busy taking the oath). However, some folks did manage to get pics, and as we get those in from various Appleseed Shoot oath ceremonies, we will post them. Above is a photo of the oath ceremony at the Sacramento, California Appleseed shoot.
GONZALES TEXAS: COME AND TAKE IT!
And there was also a gathering of patriots in Gonzales, Texas. The October 2, 1835
Battle of Gonzales is known as the "Lexington of Texas" where Texans resisted an attempt by troops of Santa Anna to seize their cannon. And so these modern Texans spent Sunday, April 19, 2009 together in honor of the men who came before them, both at Lexington and at Gonzales, and conducted their own oath ceremony.
The Battle Flag of Gonzales Texas, Commemorating the Defiance of the Texans in 1835. ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ! Texas style!
This is precisely the kind of grass-roots initiative and patriotism that will drive this movement forward and fulfill our mission of spreading the Oath Keeper message. We salute the patriot Oath Keepers of Gonzales, and wish them Godspeed in all their future endeavors to spread the word in the fine state of Texas.
Below is the report on the Gonzales gathering by the man who organized and lead that effort, Jesse (aka
YeOldFurt). We were waiting to post the pics when we also had the video, but we'll go ahead and repost YeOldFurt's post about the event, and just as soon as the video is up online, we will post it as well. Also, we will post Jesse's personal testimonial about his oath. - Stewart Rhodes
(by YeOldFurt)
The day was almost totally cloudless with a slight breeze:
Once everyone arrived we spent a few minutes getting acquainted and passing out copies of pamphlets containing the Declaration, Constitution and Amendments (Bill of Rights) as well as copies of the Petition:
Then we moved over to some covered bleachers and I quit worrying about not having a bullhorn.
We started out with a benediction led by HermitJim
And then moved on to the Pledge of Allegiance led by my Sister-in-Law, Michelle Rudis
Next I gave a summary of the events that occurred on Lexington Green on April 19th, 1775 and events surrounding it as well as a summary of events of what occurred in Gonzales Texas on October 2, 1835.
Then "Oath Keeper" read off the "Orders We Will Not Obey" from the Oath Keepers website.
Then Mayberry read the Declaration of Independence.
Mark then read the Constitution, parts of which surprised some of us as we all weren't real steeped in it. There was some discussion about it because of that.
Then Cygnus read the Bill of Rights (First 10 Amendments). Again causing a bit of discussion.
After that, I gave a little talk about the responsibilities of the Oath.
We then took the Oath to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic."
(At this point, even our camera man took the Oath)
Then Mayberry gave his speech (I wish he'd put it up on his site -- hint - hint).
Finally we closed with a prayer given by HermitJim.
(Again, no picture because of circumstances).
It was a down to earth moving experience and a BIG THANKS to everyone.
In the coming days, I hope everyone keeps their head down and stay off the ridgelines.
YeOldFurt
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