US gun law protests hotting up
THOUSANDS of armed pro-gun activists from across the US rallied outside Virginia’s capitol building yesterday – a day before US President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial was to begin – protesting at new restrictions proposed by state lawmakers, with authorities bracing for violence.
It was also the day the nation marked the legacy of US civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr, with the federal holiday named after him.
Many in the crowds were dressed in camouflage or tactical gear and carrying weapons. Some browsed vendors’ pro-gun T-shirts and other merchandise, much of it carrying slogans supporting Trump.
Those backing tougher gun restrictions see Democrats taking control of the Virginia legislature for the first time in a generation on campaign promises of tougher access to arms as offering a model for other traditionally gun-friendly states.
Activists at the rally argued that Virginia was stomping on their constitutional right to bear arms and vowed that yesterday’s event will help citizens understand how quickly they can lose the ability to carry guns, based on who wins at the ballot box.
“What’s going on here, if not stopped, will spread to other states,” said Teri Horne, who had travelled to Virginia from her home in Texas with her Smith & Wesson rifle and .40-caliber handgun.
“They will come for our guns in other states if we don’t stop them in Virginia.”
Security was tight with a large police presence. Those wanting to enter Capitol Square to hear the morning’s speakers had to pass through a single entrance for security screening, leaving their guns outside.
Tension rose before the rally after the FBI last week arrested three members of a small neo-Nazi group, who authorities said hoped to ignite a race war.
People across the US were focused on the Virginia gun issue, said Philip Van Cleave, leader of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, which is organising Monday’s rally. Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, a Democrat, has vowed to push through new gun control laws and is backing a package of eight bills, including background checks, a “red flag” law, an assault rifle ban and a limit of one handguna-month purchase.
The state’s gun owners responded with a movement to create “sanctuary cities” for gun rights, with local government bodies passing declarations not to enforce new gun laws. The idea has quickly spread across the US, with over 200 local governments in 16 states passing such measures.
The NRA (National Rifle Association) blasted Virginia’s Democrats, who got campaign contributions last year of more than $2.5 million (R36.2m) from Everytown for Gun Safety, started by former New York mayor and Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg.
Meanwhile, across the US, there were tributes to civil rights activist King, recalling his past struggles for racial equality. In an early tribute to
King, US Vice President Mike Pence spoke on Sunday in Memphis, Tennessee, at a church service recalling the King’s achievements.
Before the service, Pence toured the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, where King was shot on April 4, 1968, while standing on a balcony.
Acknowledging the nation’s divisions, Pence said that if Americans rededicated themselves to the ideals that King advanced while striving to open opportunities for everyone, “we’ll see our way through these divided times and we’ll do our part in our time to form a more perfect union”.
As a presidential election looms, divisions rankle, according to opinion polls. Among black Americans, more than 80% said last year that Trump’s actions in office have made things worse for people like them.
It also found about two-thirds of Americans disapprove of how Trump handles race relations.
Trump is seeking to woo black voters.