ARLINGTON, Va. – Carrying loaded pistols and unloaded rifles, dozens of gun-rights activists got as close as they could Monday to the nation's capital while still bearing arms and delivered what they said was a simple message: Don't tread on me.
Hundreds of like-minded but unarmed counterparts carried out a separate rally in the nation's capital.
The gun-carrying protesters in Virginia rallied on national park land, which is legal thanks to a new law signed by President Barack Obama that allows guns in national parks. Organizers said it's the first armed rally in a national park since the law passed.
The District of Columbia's strict gun laws, however, generally make it illegal to carry a handgun, so rally participants there were unarmed.
Daniel Almond, who organized the "Restore the Constitution" rally in Virginia, said he wanted to convene in a place where "we can exercise our rights." He pointed in the direction of Washington and said, "Over there, the Constitution is being violated in that we cannot bear arms."
Among the speakers in Virginia was former Alabama Minuteman leader Mike Vanderboegh, who has been denounced in recent weeks after calling for citizens to throw bricks through the windows of local Democratic party headquarters across the country. Several such incidents occurred after Vanderboegh issued his call.
Vanderboegh said the broken windows are a wake-up call that many people feel threatened by an expanding federal government.
"We are done backing up. Not one more inch," Vanderboegh said to cheers, after telling the crowd that for too long Americans have acquiesced at the loss of liberty.
In an interview, Vanderboegh said he considers armed resistance justified only "when they send people to our doors and kill us."
But he suggested that an arrest at the hand of federal government is tantamount to a death sentence and that he would fight back in such a case. Specifically, he outlined a scenario in which people who refuse to buy health insurance under the new health reform law would be subject to arrest and that such confrontations could turn violent.
"If I know I'm not going to get a fair trial in federal court ... I at least have the right to an unfair gunfight," Vanderboegh said.
After his speech, gun control advocate Martina Leinz confronted Vanderboegh and called him a "small, little bully" and said the rally was designed to intimidate.
"If they wanted to have dialogue, they don't need to bring a big weapon with them," she said of the protesters.
The rally began in Fort Hunt Park and moved to Gravelly Point in Arlington, next to Reagan National Airport and just south of the nation's capital, with the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol in the backdrop. Departing planes frequently drowned out speakers, and reporters nearly outnumbered rally participants.
Ken Garvin of Newville, Pa., said he had never before attended such a rally but came Monday because he believes the government is out of control. He stressed that the people attending the rally "are not a bunch of crazed thugs. ... They're just people." He said all sides need to listen to each other's viewpoints.
"I don't hate the left. I just don't understand where they're coming from," he said.
Wes Wdzieczny of Essex, Md., said people are unduly alarmed if they see rallies like these as promoting violence.
"I don't think anyone here has delusions of storming the Capitol. ... People are just basically fed up," he said.
In Washington, signs reading "Which part of 'shall not be infringed' confuses you?" and bright orange stickers saying "Guns save lives" dotted the crowd at the Washington Monument.
Organizer Skip Coryell said he chose the date to mark the anniversary of the Revolutionary War battles of Lexington and Concord, and dismissed any associations with the actions of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. The bombing occurred on April 19, 1995.
"I think there are some people out there who have an agenda and they want to paint us as gun-toting, lunatic, militia types, and we're not that way," Coryell said.
The event also attracted 78-year-old Audrey Smith of Clearfield, Pa., who said she and a group of local Tea Party activists traveled to show their solidarity.
"We'll support anything that is in jeopardy of being taken out of our Constitution," Smith said.
U.S. Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., said in a statement that armed protests in national parks were a public safety concern. He also said that while the Second Amendment has become a rallying point for gun rights activists, "virtually every action the federal government has taken in the past decade has weakened commonsense gun laws already on the books."
17 comments:
This is outrageous. If you bring loaded weapons to a peaceful protest it ceases to be a peaceful protest. I mean one of the leaders is actively encouraging the perpetrartion of violent acts, and people are listening to him. How long is it going to be before Vanderboegh decides that he has had enough and urges his followers to use their guns to actively fight the government. Now I know it's not a large movement, but it does'nt need to be in order to pose a threat to the safety fo the American people. This movement must be watched vigilantly and I would go as far as to ban the carrying of weapons in future rallies.
f they wanted to have dialogue, they don't need to bring a big weapon with them.
They will take advantage of their rights and the passing of the law to have guns in a national park. They weren't doing anything wrong and they took precaution before anything. They are just doing what our founding fathers gave us: freedom of speech, and right to bear arms.
I agree with the activists. I believe the government is getting out of control and arent listening to the people. The government works for us, not the other way around. They should fear us. If they continue to disobey the American people, then they will pay. Americans like their freedom and have been known to stand up and fight before. I honestly believe, that if the government continues to annihlate our rights, they will get a fight they cannot win.
Owningguns and carrying them anywhere you please is an american right, and as this is America, Americans should be able to carry guns anywhere we want.
I am with the people who rallied.... I don't, by any means, want to go around shooting random people! However, I DO NOT believe that guns kill people.... people kill people! For those of us who are responsible gun owners, we want to keep our firearms to protect ourselves from the ones who aren't responsible.... not to mention for the sport! Also, if politicians think that they can take away ALL guns, they are wrong! They may get them away from the people who don't harm others with them, but they won't get them away from the people who are actually using them to harm others! I think that we would have a HUGE problem on our hands if that happend! In fact, this hits home particularlly hard with me, because I personally know of several families who have had to protect themselves against others who were trying to harm them in their own homes!!! And yes, they had to use guns! So, no, I do not like for people to be killed by guns, but if you stop and think about it people get killed by SO many other things other than guns, and I believe that we have the right to protect ourselves equally against anyone threatening our safety!
Even though we have a right to bear arms, the public safety is first and most important. So coming to the captial with loaded guns doesnt seem to be the way to handle the situtiation.
I understand the safety concerns regarding the protests, because this really could turn dangerous. But as long as the protestors don't get violent, I don't see a huge problem. As an American, it is definitely their right, and our country is going through huge changes right now. Opionions need to be heard.
Weapons are always going to be a part of life, be they guns or knives. Yes, some criminals carry guns, but so do heroes! "I don't think anyone here has delusions of storming the Capitol. ... People are just basically fed up," - this quote sums up my entire take on the subject. They are protesters using empty guns as their posters. Carrying a gun does not make you a criminal. For most gun owners it means assurance of personal safety. If my home is robbed or broken into while i'm still in the house, I want and deserve the right to defend myself and my family. They want to limit someone's rights? I believe that they should start with the people that have used these weapons maliciously in the past, not law-abiding citizens.
just because people are'nt allowed to carry around guns and shoot each other, it doesn't mean that there rights were taken away. Besides if the same people who want no gun control laws think is ok to throw bricks through windows, what makes them think they can control themselves with a gun? I would be afraid that if they disagreed with me that i would get shot.
By arming themselves and storming the capital, these "patriots" display exactly why gun control needs to happen.
If anything these people are just proving why gun control is so important. it is dangerous to have loose cannons such as these walking around with guns as they please. I once heard of a man in texas who shot and killed what he thought was a hijacker trying to steal his car but was actually just odered to repossess it. Guns destroy liberty just as much as they protect it.
I don't think it's a good idea for guys to be brandishing their weapons to make a point. I understand they're doing it to gain attention but it's negative publicity for their cause. People are going to see them as wild and uncvilized gunslingers who are just showng off their guns.
OK I understand everyone's feeling about the governments ability to control guns but there's a fine line when a demonstration goes over the line and I think this is one of those times
I don't see how these rally's were intimidating. The protesters were well within their rights, and come on, they have yellow ribbon tied though the chambers. Maybe if they were shooting into the air and waving torches, but someone holding a gun is not intimidating.
I don't really understand what the group carrying loaded pistols were trying to gain through this rally.
im not gonna pick sides on this one. They both make just arguments, the guns carriers have the right to bear arms as it says in the constitution. The other side gives them this right but just wants everybody to be secure everywhere including national parks.The carriers should at least just not wave them around in public is all i ask for.
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