Debian conference in the US?

["Aaron M. Ucko" <ucko@debian.org>]

[I've already asked a few relevant individuals about this, but am
opening it up to the list at their suggestion.]

I've recently been in touch with somebody (a lawyer and professor
concerned with government open source policy) who is interested in
sponsoring a Debian conference here in Washington, DC, next spring, in
conjunction with an international conference on open source in
government.

I understand that there has been historical opposition to holding
events in this country, due in large part to our lovely political
climate.  While I can certainly sympathize -- I'm no fan of the DMCA
and its ilk either -- I would like to offer some counterarguments:

* Although I am unfortunately in no position to guarantee anyone's
  safety, I would estimate the risk of being arrested for DMCA
  violations or the like as extremely low unless you've managed to
  offend somebody important; the government really has better things
  to do, especially given the potential bad PR.

* Quite a few of us already live in the US, and find the lack of local
  conferences rather inconvenient.

* As mentioned, we have an enthusiastic sponsor lined up, which is a
  definite plus.

What are other developers' feelings on the matter these days?

-- 
Aaron M. Ucko, KB1CJC (amu at alum.mit.edu, ucko at debian.org)
Finger amu@monk.mit.edu (NOT a valid e-mail address) for more info.