CPAC 2017 - Chris Cox, NRA-ILA

Hey Ralph, hello. How's everybody doing? Everybody having a good time? Let me ask you a question. How many of you came to CPAC last year? That's great. Now how many of you remember what happened six days before CPAC started last year? It was February 16th and American freedom suffered a devastating loss when Justice Scalia unexpectedly passed away. That day, the stakes of the 2016 elections fundamentally changed. This was no longer a fight for the next four years. This was going to be a fight for the next 40 years. As you all remember, the Republican primary was still, let's just say, interesting. But we knew Hillary Clinton was either going to win or steal the Democrat nomination. And we knew exactly what Hillary's Supreme Court would look like. For those of us who support the Second Amendment, we knew our gun rights would be gone. Our right to keep and bear arms survived the Supreme Court by just one vote and he had just passed away. Think about that. The court said we have a right to keep a gun in our homes to protect ourselves if, God forbid, some criminal breaks in and wants to murder us. That's it. That's all they said. But Hillary's view? She said it was a terrible decision, that the Supreme Court was wrong on the Second Amendment. So we decided that freedom could not afford for us to wait. The NRA hasn't backed down from a fight in 146 years and we sure as hell weren't scared of Hillary Clinton. So we made the earliest endorsement in our history when we endorsed Donald Trump for president in May. You're happy now, but let me tell you, it was a lonely summer. We were criticized, we were ridiculed by the mainstream media, and you know what? We didn't care and we didn't flinch. We spent more human resources and more financial resources than ever before. We were going door-to-door and running TV ads when no other group in America was fighting because NRA members knew the soul of our country was at stake. It wasn't an easy ride, but there were moments last year when you knew we could win. When Hillary turned her back on law enforcement, you knew Americans across this country weren't with her. When she embraced an open borders philosophy that favored sanctuary cities over the rule of law, you knew in your heart it was wrong. And when she said you were all deplorable and even worse, even worse, irredeemable, you thought maybe this time we the people would fight back and Donald Trump did just that. Sanctuary cities? No thanks, I'll take a wall. Turn our backs on law enforcement? Absolutely not. They deserve our respect and our thanks just like the brave men and women in the military. And while CNN serenaded Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump's fingers got to talking on Twitter. But for all the moments when you felt like we had a chance, you know what that moment was for me when I knew we could win? The moment Donald Trump picked Mike Pence to serve as his running mate. I have the honor tonight of introducing and presenting an award to the Vice President, and I couldn't be more proud to do so. The Charlton Heston Courage Under Fire Award is the highest award presented at CPAC. It's not presented annually. It's only given when a worthy recipient is a parent. It is designated to recognize individuals who have demonstrated courage, strength of character, and backbone in defending conservative values and principles. The award is a flintlock rifle. It's what the mainstream media calls a high-powered weapon of war, so he left it out back. But in reality, it represents the strength of American freedom, and so does this year's award winner. Throughout his life, Mike Pence has stood on faith and stood on principle. He remains grateful for the grace of God, the love and support of his family, and the blessings of liberty that are every American's birthright. That sums up the man, and I can't think of a better recipient of this award. Ladies and gentlemen, the 48th Vice President of the United States and his wife, Karen, Mike Pence. Thank you.