Despite inflammatory suggestions that the rally would be a flashpoint for violence, tens of thousands of 2nd Amendment Rights Supporters protested peacefully in Virginia recently at the rally organised by the Virginia Citizens Defense League.
The League holds a rally each year where up to one thousand people attend but with the unprecedented attack on 2nd Amendment Rights with proposed law changes from Democratic Gov Ralph Northam and the states Democratic Leadership, this year’s rally attracted gun rights activists from across the country.
Democratic Lawmakers had tried to smear the audience as being full of white supremacists and fringe militia groups. They had insinuated that there could possibly be violence similar to what happened in Charlottesville in 2017.
Despite this, the protest was peaceful and somewhat festive. There were chants of “USA” and the event even drew positive support from President Trump in a tweet. He tweeted “The Democrat Party in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia are working hard to take away your 2nd Amendment rights. This is just the beginning. Don’t let it happen, VOTE REPUBLICAN in 2020!”
The Governor had designated a weapons-free rally zone so many protestors chose to take their rally to surrounding streets, advocating for their 2nd Amendment Rights whilst dressed in camouflage gear and carrying rifles.
One of the biggest concerns of rally goers was the proposed red flag laws which allowed citizens to be stripped of their weapons for somewhat subjective reasoning. Universal background checks are also disliked as Government overreach.
House Republican Leader Todd Gilbert praised the behaviour of rally attendees. He released a statement that included the following “I want to thank the tens of thousands of Virginians who came out to make their voices heard at today’s Second Amendment Lobby Day. The crowd was exactly as it had been in years past — peaceful, respectful, and orderly — except much, much larger. More than 20,000 people gathered with no arrests and no injuries. They even picked up their own trash.” He ended his statement “The law-abiding gun owners in attendance today are the ones who would bear the brunt of their anti-gun proposals, which would have little to no impact on crime or criminals.”
