I know, and I struggled with that very thing while I was writing that. There is no easy answer, I'm just offering another perspective.
I guess it comes down to how much of a 2A statement do you want to make vs. how comfortable do you want to make the "guests of honor". The truth is not EVERY person that will/would attend is going to be cool with seeing a bunch of folks they don't know with guns. However, if we were to subtly show them that yes, we are gun owners and supporters of the constitution, and we are ALSO normal people. Not the right wing radicals that we are often portrayed to be, I think that will be better received by the masses.
Maybe I misunderstood the point of the event, but I thought it was to thank this group of people, not convert them. And the hard reality is this, with all the media attention surrounding guns right now, it WILL APPEAR to be politically motivated if we all strap up.