Judge Roger Benitez Announced as GRPC 2026 Keynote Speaker

BELLEVUE, Wash. — July 13, 2026 — The Gun Rights Policy Conference (GRPC) planning committee announced today that the Honorable Roger T. Benitez (Ret.) will give the keynote address during the 41st annual event set for Sept. 25 – 27 in Dallas at the Westin Dallas Fort Worth Airport hotel.

Judge Benitez served as a United States District Judge for the Southern District of California from 2004 until his retirement in April 2026. Appointed by President George W. Bush, he previously practiced law in Imperial County, served as a California Superior Court judge, and was also a U.S. Magistrate Judge.

He earned national recognition as one of the most consequential judicial defenders of the Second Amendment in the post-Heller era. Applying the Supreme Court’s decisions in Heller and Bruen, he issued rulings striking down California’s ban on large-capacity magazines (Duncan v. Bonta), another ban on so-called “assault weapons” (Miller v. Bonta), and the state’s error-prone ammunition background check (Rhode v. Bonta). 

A Cuban-born immigrant, Judge Benitez’s principled rulings on the Second Amendment continue to shape the national debate over the right to keep and bear arms as the cases continue on appeal in the Ninth Circuit and the Supreme Court. 

Co-hosted by the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA), other notable GRPC 2026 speakers scheduled to speak include:

• Robert Cekada, Director of the ATF
• Robert Leider, ATF Chief Counsel, Office of Chief Counsel
• Brandon Herrera, Second Amendment advocate and Congressional candidate
• Jared Yanis, host of Guns & Gadgets YouTube channel
• Joseph Greenlee, Director of the Office of Litigation Counsel at the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action
• Kenyon Gleason, president of National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers
• Shermichael Singleton, political consultant, television anchor, CNN analyst
• Jeff Folloder, Executive Director, NFA Trade and Collectors Association 
• Chris Boeck, General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer at Silencer Shop
• Fernando Nava, Second Amendment advocate and owner of Rusty Wheel Ranch
• Cam Edwards, editor of BearingArms.com and the host of the Cam & Company podcast
• John Petrolino, writer, firearms instructor, and author of Decoding Firearms: An Easy to Read Guide on Basic Gun Safety & Use
• And many more!

In addition to GRPC, registrants also have the unique opportunity to further their Second Amendment advocacy efforts during Friday’s pre-conference event, AMM-Con. This special event is a gathering of some of the top Second Amendment media members and influencers who provide educational presentations about all things related to our right to keep and bear arms.

Click here to reserve your spot and book your hotel room for this year’s event!

GRPC 2026 is sponsored by USCCA, Silencer Shop, Vortex, Credova, U.S. Law Shield, Volquartsen, Trijicon, Colt, NSSF and Taurus.

The Second Amendment Foundation (saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group dedicated to safeguarding and promoting the fundamental rights of individuals enshrined in the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. SAF engages in aggressive legal action to ensure the principles of armed self-defense, personal liberty, and the ownership of arms are defended, secured, and restored. Through public education initiatives, SAF teaches the importance of the Second Amendment to promote a society that values and exercises the right to keep and bear arms.