Photo: Wall Street Journal
By: Chris Carvlin On Monday, January 20, there was a massive pro-second amendment rally in Richmond, Virginia. An estimated crowd of 22,000 people rallied around the Virginia State Capitol building to protest recent promises of gun control made by Governor Ralph Northam. Contrary to national and popular predictions, the protest was peaceful, and only one arrest was made. Fearing violence, The sea of people was met by heavily armed police and helicopters overhead. Several members of the crowd were interviewed by The Washington Post. They just wanted to send a powerful message. Violence was the last thing that the protestors wanted. The Post also noted that most of the protestors were from out of state, saying that they wanted to show their support here to show lawmakers in other states the consequences of proposing similar legislation in their states. I have to say that I’m surprised with how significant the protest was in hindsight, more so than I Initially realized. There were no violent encounters or heated altercations, The President’s tweet regarding the protest was not abrasive, and most interestingly, there was no counter protest. The Washington Post, who was there covering the protest, noted only one incident: “There were almost no signs of counter protesters. In a rare clash, a man who said he was a shooting survivor confronted a teen carrying an oversized long gun. “Why do you need to have that gun?” the man demanded. A small contingent watched the two argue; they eventually shook hands and walked off peacefully.” Other protestors, whether they do or do not agree with the protestors in Richmond, have something to learn from what those people did on Monday. They sent their message peacefully, they gave the police no issue, they respected the security rules of the capitol building, they even made peace with those who disagreed with them. I don’t know what you, the reader, think about this, but they certainly have my respect.
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