On the 235th anniversary of the battles of Lexington and Concord, gun rights advocates took up arms against the government, gathering outside Washington, D.C., in order to voice support for their right to bear arms.
About 50 individuals arrived at Ford Hunt National Park and Gravelly Point National Park in Virginia for the “Restore the Constitution Rally,” with unloaded assault rifles strapped to their backs. These areas are close to Washington, D.C., where it is legal to carry weapons. Rally organizers made sure all firearms had their safeties activated and took other precautions mandated by the Virginia state government, according to The Washington Post.
Restore the Constitution, the group hosting the rally, said that it did not believe that the presence of firearms made its demonstration especially dangerous.
“What we’re doing is not nearly as scary as how citizens inside Washington, D.C., are denied their God-given, constitutional right to keep and bear arms while armed and lawless thugs roam free,” Daniel Almond, a member of Muster Outside DC, said on his Web site.
Pro-gun speakers from across the nation addressed the various groups present at the rally.
The second rally, called the “Second Amendment March,” began at the Washington Monument. Because this protest took place within the bounds of the District, the protesters were not allowed to carry firearms. Rally organizers strongly discouraged protesters from bringing firearms, requesting that they have “a peaceful march,” and requesting those who would not comply not to attend the march.
Kevin Preskenis (COL ’12), the chief of staff of the College Republicans, recognized the importance of their cause, even if he found the method of protest jarring.
“It goes without saying that brandishing a loaded firearm is a dramatic demonstration, but this sort of activity tends to arise when individual privileges are marginalized or vilified by our elected officials. Americans are frustrated. Some are angry. Instead of turning a blind eye, government should listen,” Preskenis said in an e-mail.
Bryan Woll (COL ’12), the president of the College Democrats, was shocked by the nature of the protests, however.
“This demonstration and [those] similar to it are disturbing on a number of levels. . [The protesters] are essentially using these weapons as props of fear and anger, meant to very clearly threaten those who support the policies that these demonstrators disagree with. . This brazen flaunting of guns shows the ignorance of many to the plight of violence-plagued cities and neighborhoods throughout the nation,” Woll wrote in an e-mail.
Jacob Clark (SFS ’13) said he saw both sides of the issue.
“On the one hand, the protesters are fully within their rights, and they’ve done nothing wrong. On the other, though, almost 90 percent of the country have already made up their minds [about gun control] and won’t change their minds because of this. Indeed, they might have managed to scare some supporters off by taking such a radical route,” Clark said.
