Gun-toting activists refuse to comply with new laws while demanding four more years of president
Chris Riotta Richmond, Virginia @chrisriotta
Tensions flared as activists carried semi-automatic weapons through the streets of Virginia’s capital city during a major gun rights demonstration, calling for a repeal of newly-passed gun control measures – and four more years of Donald Trump.
The annual Lobby Day event attracts Virginians from all over the state, who spend the day “lobbying” for a range of causes just outside of the legislative capitol building, bringing colourful signs and a tangible energy that fill the streets of Richmond.
This year saw its biggest turnout of gun rights demonstrators in recent history, after Democrats – who took over both houses in the state legislature for the first time in nearly 25 years – successfully passed a series of bills establishing mandatory background checks and limiting the purchasing and carrying of firearms. Rather than a joyful day of activism, many feared the event would turn into a possible second Charlottesville, the deadly white supremacist rally in 2017. There have been no reports of a violent clash at Monday’s rally, however.
Still, protesters appeared ready for a battle, chanting “We will not comply!” and chiding Virginia governor Ralph Northam after he declared a state of emergency over the Lobby Day rallies, citing “credible intelligence from our law enforcement agencies of threats of violence surrounding the demonstration” in a statement. Militia members were seen wearing masks and carrying semi-automatic rifles during the protest.
The Virginia Citizens Defence League (VCDL), which organised the gun rights demonstrations, blamed the governor for the heightened anxiety ahead of the rally in an interview with The Independent.
Gun rights rally in Virginia THIS IS WHAT WHITE PRIVILEGE LOOKS LIKE
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“The governor has declared war on law-abiding gun owners,” said Philip Van Cleave, president of the VCDL. “We’re protecting our right for people to protect themselves.”
He also lambasted the billionaire 2020 hopeful Mike Bloomberg and the Democratic Party, adding: “We shouldn’t have to be protecting civil rights from either party, but the Democrats – because Bloomberg is paying them off – they’re all marching with money in their pockets to go against the constitution.”
Other demonstrators described the state of emergency as unnecessary, despite the FBI arresting three suspected neo-Nazis days before the event who had reportedly discussed opening fire at the demonstrations and were anticipating a possible race war to begin.
Thomas Speciale, one of the demonstrators attending the event, described the official designation as “BS”, adding: “There was no threat ... It wasn’t a state [of] emergency, Northam created this emergency.”
The decision by Democrats to pass the relatively minor gun laws would have a resounding effect at the ballot box in 2020, said Mr Speciale, who is running for US Senate against the Virginia Democratic incumbent, Mark Warner.
“In November, ultimately what happened was we got complacent,” he said, referring to the Democratic takeover in 2018, as demonstrators carrying Glock handguns and other weapons stopped to cheer and listen. “But the best members of our team right now are the Democrats, because they continue to poke the bear. We could not have done this without them.”
Perhaps the hottest commodity at the event – besides the guns themselves – was merchandise and clothing supporting the president’s 2020 re-election campaign. One vendor who asked not to be identified said his table of Trump gear sold like “hot cakes” while noting the overlap of gun rights activists and supporters of the Republican president.
Mr Trump tweeted his support for the event as the demonstrations were underway, writing: “I will NEVER allow our great Second Amendment to go unprotected, not even a little bit!”
The president also said the new gun laws in Virginia were the result of the Democratic Party “working hard to take away your 2nd Amendment rights” in a tweet leading up to the rally, adding: “This is just the beginning. Don’t let it happen, VOTE REPUBLICAN in 2020!”
Josh Hawthorne, a demonstrator who attended the event on Monday, also suggested Republicans would show up in droves to vote out Democrats for implementing new gun laws.
“This has organised and brought people together,” he said. “If they continue trying to take away our guns, there’s going to be chaos.”
Gun control activists meanwhile called for calm during the event, and many said they stayed home to avoid a potential clash with the thousands of armed demonstrators convening outside of the capitol grounds on Martin Luther King Jr Day.
In a statement to The Independent, Amnesty International said Lobby Day was “creating a climate of fear”, adding: “The vile decision to hold such a rally on a day when our country recognises the life of Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jr, a peaceful civil rights leader whose life ended in gun violence, is particularly troubling.”
But not all gun control activists stayed home. Thomas Freeman said he attended the event because “people are dying” and “it’s time to fix that”.
Holding a sign that read “gun laws save lives”, Mr Freeman said: “Traditionally on this day a lot of folks come to lobby, including gun rights activists, but they don’t feel safe.”
Mr Freeman added: “Since I look like most people here, I feel it might be easier for me to come and represent the other side ... We’re not trying to say ‘no guns’, we’re trying to say that some gun laws might be helpful.”
But not all gun control activists stayed home. Thomas Freeman said he attended the event because “people are dying” and “it’s time to fix that”.
Holding a sign that read “gun laws save lives”, Mr Freeman said: “Traditionally on this day a lot of folks come to lobby, including gun rights activists, but they don’t feel safe.”
Mr Freeman added: “Since I look like most people here, I feel it might be easier for me to come and represent the other side ... We’re not trying to say ‘no guns’, we’re trying to say that some gun laws might be helpful.”
Thousands attend pro-gun rally in Virginia, protest peaceful despite tensions
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Several thousand gun rights supporters rallied peacefully Monday near the Virginia state Capitol under heavy security to protest new proposed gun control legislation.
The rally took place without incident under a state of emergency declared by the governor over fears of violence by far-right groups.
Dressed in hunting jackets and caps, rally-goers were checked for weapons as they passed through tight security before entering a fenced off area of Richmond's Capitol Square for the so-called "Lobby Day" event.
Many more gathered in the streets surrounding the Capitol building, some bearing sidearms or long guns, which was permitted outside the designated rally area.
They carried US and Virginia state flags and a huge banner emblazoned with the image of an assault rifle and the legend: "Come and Take It."
Brooks, a 24-year-old Richmond resident who would not give his full name, came with a group of friends, including one with an AR-15 assault rifle, "to support the Second Amendment."
"It's our constitutional God-given right to arm ourselves. Having a gun is for peace of mind. It's a protection thing," he told AFP.
The rally was organized by the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL), which opposes gun control laws proposed by state Democrats who control the Virginia government.
The VCDL has condemned what it considers a breach of the Second Amendment of the US Constitution, which states that "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." The amendment has proved controversial over the years and has been subject to many different interpretations.
The Supreme Court has ruled that individuals have the right to keep firearms in their households, but left it to states to determine how the weapons could be transported.
President Donald Trump, a major ally of the pro-gun lobby, sent words of encouragement to the protesters via Twitter on Monday.
"The Democrat Party in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia are working hard to take away your 2nd Amendment rights," he said. "This is just the beginning. Don't let it happen, VOTE REPUBLICAN in 2020!"
Many of those massing near Capitol Square wore "Trump 2020" or "Make America Great Again" hats in support of the conservative president. Some chanted "four more years" or "USA, USA."
Richmond was a capital of the pro-slavery Confederacy, and Virginia has traditionally leaned conservative.
But the state, which borders the capital Washington, flipped in November and passed into Democratic hands. State Democrats promised to tackle what they considered the laxity surrounding firearms carrying laws, particularly after a May 2019 shooting in Virginia Beach that left 12 dead.
The new laws under consideration would prohibit magazines with more than 10 rounds, the purchase of more than one weapon per month, and permit judges to seize weapons from individuals deemed dangerous.
A backlash to the restrictions has spread throughout the state, and more than 100 counties and localities have declared themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries, threatening not to apply the new laws.
Justin Dorton, a 38 year old from North Carolina who was dressed in military camo attire, showed off an AR-15 rifle and said, "there should be nothing wrong with this. Nothing to be scared of. It's just a tool."
"This is just exercising my rights," he told AFP.
"Everybody in the crowd is armed and no crime is being committed. Gun laws are not going to affect criminals."
Far-right, paramilitaries
At the end of last week, the FBI arrested seven alleged members of the white extremist group "The Base" suspected of trying to create trouble at the rally.
Democratic Governor Ralph Northam on Wednesday declared a state of emergency for the rally site, which has been in effect since Friday and will continue through Tuesday evening.
Carrying firearms, normally allowed in the streets, is prohibited, as are dangerous objects such as baseball bats and chains.
"The VCDL (organisers) have intended this to be a peaceful event, but they have unleashed something much larger that they might not be able to control," Northam said.
The governor said they have seen "credible and serious threats" of "violence, armed confrontation and assault on our Capitol (from) groups with action plans."
The groups include out-of-state militias and hate groups, he said.
"No one wants to see an incident like the one we saw in Charlottesville," Northam said, referring to another Virginia city where clashes between white supremacists and anti-racist demonstrators in August 2017 resulted in one dead and dozens wounded.
(AFP)
Inside the Virginia pro-gun rally, I saw a perfect reflection of modern America
Demonstrations like this show just how far we are from achieving the 'American dream' — and how willing we are to continue fighting for our respective visions of it
Chris Riotta New York @chrisriotta
Two signs were hanging at the entrance of the Sam Miller oyster bar in Richmond, Virginia as thousands of guns rights activists descended on the state capitol for a major demonstration. One, placed above a rainbow flag, read: “Everyone is welcome here.” The other, featuring a cartoon handgun that had been struck through in a bold, red circle, stated: “No firearms allowed on premises.” Both felt necessary.
Approaching the demonstration, the first chants I heard were attacks against media personnel as they set up television shots on a patch of grass near the capitol grounds, where Virginia Governor Ralph Northam had declared a state of emergency. Armed activists screamed: “Fake news! Fake news!” I quickly tucked away my reporting gear as I got closer to the crowd. It felt like a justified precaution, being as I was unarmed in a sea of semi-automatic weapons attached to unsympathetic owners.
Nevertheless, for the most part, I found folks were happy to speak with reporters like myself, who had come from all over the country to document a potentially historic day.
The Virginia state legislature — which, for the first time in nearly 25 years, has been taken over by the Democratic Party — just passed a series of “controversial” gun laws. In reality, the more contentious bills were killed before they ever came up for a vote in the Virginia Senate, while three bills typically considered “common sense gun reforms” were passed. Those bills — SB70, SB 69 and SB 35, to give them their official categorizations — establish statewide mandatory background checks, limit the purchasing of firearms to once a month, and provide local governments the ability to ban firearms from public events, respectively. But none of that mattered by Monday, when demonstrators were already riled up by what they described as a “declaration of war against law-abiding gun owners.”
A lot of the activists who arrived to demonstrate in opposition to gun control on Martin Luther King Jr Day were angry — some of them would say “pissed off” — and weren’t afraid to show it. I was happy to discuss their cause with those who agreed to speak civilly with me — but not everyone was keen for a chat.
As I snapped photos of a line of armed demonstrators, I could hear a group of men with thick southern accents behind me.
“Another journalist,” one said.
“Fake news f****t,” his buddy replied.
It wasn’t the only time I heard the phrase “fake news f****t” directed at me: As I walked past the state’s court of appeals, which faces the capitol grounds, an older man smoking a cigar said it as well. I forgot I had taken out my reporters' notepad — a thin, blue pad that almost anyone would assume belongs to a journalist — a while earlier to interview a Republican running for US Senate in Virginia against Democratic incumbent Mark Warner.
I slipped the notepad back into my jacket, feeling a sense of both dread and shame. I couldn’t be sure if that shame came from being gay, or a being a journalist — or a combination of them both. Regardless, I felt too seen for my own good, and aimed to slip back into obscurity. As a cisgender white male, I knew I was privileged to be able to do just that at an event like this, which was dominated by cisgender, straight white folks: Folks who look like me on the surface.
Gun control activists who come from all walks of life expressed concern to me about attending the events ahead of time, with many of them saying they would stay away out of fear of a possible clash with the heavily armed demonstrators at Virginia’s capitol.
Thomas Freeman, one gun control activist I spoke to at the event, told me: “Traditionally on this day a lot of folks come to lobby, including guns rights activists, but [today] they don’t feel safe."
In many ways, the demonstrations perfectly reflected modern America: We are one of the most complicated and divided countries in the world right now, and more so over gun rights than any other issue. From the nationwide gun control protests in the wake of the Parkland school shootings to the Black Lives Matter marches and the Lobby Day demonstrations held on Monday in Virginia, it’s clear that our ideological views on guns and their place in society run the gamut. Those who take to the streets don’t always have the answers — but they certainly want to be heard.
While Lobby Day proved to be a mostly peaceful event, the rally could have erupted into a second Charlottesville at any given moment. And yet thousands of Americans were provided the space and ability to practice their First and Second Amendment rights. There is so much work to be done until we’re all given a seat at the table and figure out how to move forward as a united front. But sometimes, in the thick of such difficult challenges, it’s helpful to remember that America has always been an idea, and remains something to fight and strive for.
Virginia will soon implement tougher gun restrictions as the law of the land. Perhaps gun owners will continue to protest in opposition to those measures, and, in some cases, they may very well be successful in their fight. The other side will undoubtedly continue to fight as well. At the end of it all, I cling to hope: Hope that we will find a common middle ground, where each citizen is given the space, freedom and safety to voice their own opinions without fear of retribution. That is, after all, the American dream.
While Lobby Day proved to be a mostly peaceful event, the rally could have erupted into a second Charlottesville at any given moment. And yet thousands of Americans were provided the space and ability to practice their First and Second Amendment rights. There is so much work to be done until we’re all given a seat at the table and figure out how to move forward as a united front. But sometimes, in the thick of such difficult challenges, it’s helpful to remember that America has always been an idea, and remains something to fight and strive for.
Virginia will soon implement tougher gun restrictions as the law of the land. Perhaps gun owners will continue to protest in opposition to those measures, and, in some cases, they may very well be successful in their fight. The other side will undoubtedly continue to fight as well. At the end of it all, I cling to hope: Hope that we will find a common middle ground, where each citizen is given the space, freedom and safety to voice their own opinions without fear of retribution. That is, after all, the American dream.
The Independent
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