{"id":5235,"date":"2020-01-22T05:21:05","date_gmt":"2020-01-22T05:21:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/?p=5235"},"modified":"2023-03-15T14:18:59","modified_gmt":"2023-03-15T14:18:59","slug":"first-hand-account-of-the-virginia-second-amendment-rally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/first-hand-account-of-the-virginia-second-amendment-rally\/","title":{"rendered":"First-Hand Account of the Virginia Second Amendment Rally"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you aren\u2019t aware of what\u2019s been happening in Virginia, there are a ton of lessons for 2nd Amendment supporters to take from those supporting gun rights in Virginia. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For those just waking up to current events, here is a brief run-down of what has happened in the Virginia Commonwealth over just the past three months.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Summary of Events Leading to January 2020<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the November election, Democrats secured a majority in the Virginia State Senate and the House of Delegates. Prior to the election, Democrats already controlled the Governor\u2019s Office, Lieutenant Governor\u2019s Office, and the Attorney General\u2019s Office.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Governor Ralph Northam <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/wset.com\/news\/at-the-capitol\/gov-northam-plans-to-reintroduce-gun-control-measures-after-election-night\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">immediately promised<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to reintroduce gun control measures he first attempted following a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wavy.com\/news\/breaking-news\/potential-active-shooter-reported-vb-municipal-center\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Virginia Beach shooting<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that occurred in May 2019 that resulted in 12 deaths and five injuries.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Virginia legislators began pre-filing a barrage of gun control bills scheduled to hit the House and Senate floors in January. Some of the most concerning for Virginia gun owners were so called \u201cred flag\u201d laws, legislation that would close many indoor and outdoor gun ranges, and a limit on how many handguns you can purchase in a month. However, the most concerning legislation (<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lis.virginia.gov\/cgi-bin\/legp604.exe?201+sum+SB16\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Senate Bill 16<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) was a sweeping redefinition and ban of \u201cassault firearms\u201d that originally had no \u201cgrandfather clause\u201d and would have made thousands of law-abiding Virginia citizens felons overnight.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Virginia counties and municipalities began passing Second Amendment Sanctuary resolutions. Thousands of gun owners turned out to local town meetings and pushed towns to pass resolutions. These individual counties and municipalities would not expend resources to enforce gun control measures that violate the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. The movement gained rapid traction. Currently, the list of Second Amendment \u201cSanctuaries\u201d includes 91 of Virginia\u2019s 95 counties, as well as 45 individual towns and cities.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Governor Northam responded to the movement saying there were \u201cgoing to be some consequences\u201d for law enforcement officers who refused to enforce laws on the books.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Virginia representative Donald McEachin suggested \u201cthe governor may have to nationalize the National Guard to enforce the law.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a result of the above actions, Virginia is thrust into the spotlight of a heated Second Amendment debate that grabs the attention of gun owners across the United States.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now, we&#8217;re all caught up.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Growing Up with Guns in Virginia<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I grew up in Virginia. Though I\u2019ve lived in North Carolina for more than 25 years, I still consider the Old Dominion to be home. My mother and most of my family live there. Generations of my ancestors have shed their blood, sweat, and tears on Virginia soil, including at least one Revolutionary War patriot. That type of family history is woven into my DNA and is part of my personal identity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, I still consider myself a proud Virginian.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I am also a proud gun owner. In fact, my father first placed a .22 semi-automatic rifle into my hands at the tender age of six. He helped me balance it, taught me how to slow my breathing before slowly squeezing the trigger after the exhale. I was only popping empty soda cans off a fallen log. Those lessons laid the foundations of good marksmanship and gun safety while I stood young and barefoot on Virginia dirt.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I would later spend much of my formative years in the woods, fields, and mountains of the Old Dominion hunting whitetails, turkey, rabbits, and game birds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Virginia&#8217;s Gun Control Legislation<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The new Virginia legislature\u2019s early proposed \u201cassault firearm\u201d ban made no delineations for caliber or cartridge. Under the original pre-filed bill, the little <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/index.php\/cName\/22-rimfirelr-mag-22-long-rifle\">.22 lr<\/a> my father employed to introduce me to shooting would have been labeled an assault firearm. If passed 40 years ago, my father would have been a felon, not just for placing that rimfire rifle in my young hands, but for owning it in the first place.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I couldn\u2019t imagine destroying generational family heirlooms (or handing them over to the government) because someone who doesn\u2019t really understand firearms decided they were \u201cassault weapons.\u201d Nor could I imagine the person I would be today were it not for those early shooting experiences with my dad.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We&#8217;d never used any of the weapons I grew up shooting to assault anyone.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I think it is important to point out that many changes have been made to some of the gun control bills since they were first filed. Words have been changed, dropped, and added. Senate Bill 16 was stricken in committee.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A grandfather clause is included in the most recent \u201cassault weapons\u201d bill (<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lis.virginia.gov\/cgi-bin\/legp604.exe?201+sum+HB961\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">House Bill 961<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">). Under this new bill, any person who legally owns an \u201cassault firearm\u201d on July 1, 2020 can keep it, but they must register the weapon. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The bill also requires the State Police to enter the name and description of a person issued a permit into the Virginia Criminal Information Network. This one piece of legislation makes it feel very much like legal gun owners would be categorized as criminals, even if they do comply by registering their weapons.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Virginia&#8217;s Second Amendment Sanctuary Movement<\/h2>\n<p>Apparently I wasn&#8217;t the only one disturbed by the proposed gun control bills.<\/p>\n<p>In the span of several weeks, more than 120 Virginia towns, cities, and counties declared themselves \u201cSecond Amendment sanctuaries.&#8221; Thousands of citizens were showing up to some of these rural county meetings. I noticed family, friends, and old hunting buddies among the faces in the crowds.<\/p>\n<p>My cousin, Rodger Willett, even spoke at Gloucester County&#8217;s Board of Supervisors meeting.<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/amy.a.pierro\/videos\/2909290432455780\/<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I watched Virginia\u2019s rapidly expanding 2A Sanctuary movement like a dedicated fan girl. I vowed to attend Lobby Day in January. Sponsored by the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vcdl.org\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Virginia Citizens Defense League<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Lobby Day is an annual event designed for Virginia gun owners to communicate with their legislators. Since I am not a Virginia gun owner, I just wanted to be there for moral support.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When I first decided to make the trip to Richmond, VCDL was hoping to draw at least 1,000 supporters. As news of what was happening in Virginia spread, it became apparent that the event would be much larger. The thousands of citizens showing up to county board meetings indicated Lobby Day was sure to draw a crowd. Charter buses were being booked to bring in supporters from across the state. Meanwhile, plenty of out-of-state support vowed to show up in Richmond on January 20th.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>A State of Emergency<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Just days ahead of Lobby Day, Governor Ralph Northam declared a temporary state of emergency. The state banned all weapons (including knives and sticks) on Capitol Square where the rally was set to take place. There were claims neo-Nazis and white supremacists planned to hijack the event. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/01\/16\/us\/fbi-arrest-virginia-gun-rally.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Several arrests were made<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> prior to the event.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They erected a large fence around the Capitol grounds. There would be heavy security searching people as they went in to what many interpreted as a \u201ccage.\u201d Open carry is legal in Richmond but the state didn&#8217;t allow anyone to carry a firearm into the event. The masses were not happy with the requirement that they assemble inside a fenced-in area.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&quot;The land of the free*&#8230;.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>*As long as you stay within this cage, pass through security and metal detectors, and check your constitutional rights at the gate. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Virginia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Virginia<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/lobbyday?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#lobbyday<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/2A?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#2A<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/7GrjnnmIFk\">pic.twitter.com\/7GrjnnmIFk<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Ghosts Of Home 7\ufe0f\u20e3 (@SteelerChris) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SteelerChris\/status\/1218203899254988801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 17, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As rumors ran rampant on the internet about riots and tear gas, I almost backed down. I was concerned for my safety (and the safety of my family who planned to attend with me).<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>My Experience at the Virginia Rally<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Honestly, I had no idea what to expect when I woke up Monday morning. I packed a first aid kit and extra water just to be on the safe side. I also decided to carry a sidearm, although I knew that would exclude me from the fenced-in rally area on the Capitol grounds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To me, it seemed ridiculous to willingly disarm in order to protest the government disarming the people. Apparently thousands of rally goers agreed with me, as the number of armed individuals outside the fence far outnumbered the unarmed protesters inside.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-5252 size-full\" title=\"capital in Richmond as part of January's gun rights rally\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/crowd-fence.jpg\" alt=\"a view of the crowd and capital in Richmond as part of January's gun rights rally\" width=\"643\" height=\"361\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/crowd-fence.jpg 643w, https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/crowd-fence-300x168.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 643px) 100vw, 643px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Estimated numbers vary, but there were between 22,000 and 50,000 people in attendance. Only 6,000 people chose to enter the fenced-in gun free zone.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s my view from inside the crowd.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"January 21, 2020\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZEV40NqX9uA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>What I Saw<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Temperatures hovered around freezing for most of the day. However, everyone seemed to be in good spirits despite the frigid temps. In fact, everyone was incredibly pleasant, friendly, and respectful. I heard &#8220;excuse me&#8221; and &#8220;I&#8217;m sorry&#8221; more times than I could possibly count. There is certainly some truth to the famous Walter Heinlein quote:\u00a0 \u201cAn armed society is a polite society.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I saw absolutely zero swastikas or other signs of white supremacy. Even the controversial Confederate battle flag was largely absent from the former capital of the Confederacy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We did see the red flag of Hong Kong, with its five petaled orchid, an obvious show of support for the Hong Kong protesters. When asked about the flag, one person nearby said, \u201cIt\u2019s only fair. They\u2019re carrying ours.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-5237 size-large\" title=\"Flags waving at a Virginia gun rights rally\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/hong-kong-flag-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"Flags waving at a Virginia gun rights rally\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/hong-kong-flag-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/hong-kong-flag-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/hong-kong-flag-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/hong-kong-flag-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Law Enforcement On Hand<br \/>\n<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What I did see was a massive police presence. You could hardly walk five feet without passing a law enforcement officer. There were obvious snipers on the rooftops of both the Capitol building and the surrounding office buildings. Three three police helicopters circled constantly overhead. We made it a point to speak to law enforcement officers, smiling and thanking them for being out in such nippy weather. Every officer we encountered was smiling and friendly, and there were no armored vehicles or riot gear, although there had been plenty of rumors about a militarized police force circulating online.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5240\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5240\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-5240 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/police-presence-1-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/police-presence-1-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/police-presence-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/police-presence-1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/police-presence-1-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5240\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Notice the police helicopter and rooftop snipers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One rumor was true. There was a ton of out-of-state support for Virginia gun owners.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-5243 size-large\" title=\"Signs from a Virginia gun rights rally\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/New-York-1024x637.jpg\" alt=\"Signs from the Virginia gun rights rally\" width=\"1024\" height=\"637\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/New-York-1024x637.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/New-York-300x187.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/New-York-1536x955.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/New-York-2048x1274.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The rumor about the event being a powder keg for violence also turned out to be untrue. With at least 22,000 protesters, most of them armed (some of them heavily), there was only <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.richmond.com\/news\/local\/update-richmond-woman-charged-with-wearing-mask-in-public-following\/article_af43b67e-def2-5ee1-92db-709d0965655f.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a single arrest <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the entire day. Police arrested one young woman for refusing to adjust the bandanna covering her face. The arrest occurred around 1:30 in the afternoon, approximately an hour and a half after the conclusion of the event.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>What I Didn&#8217;t See<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No weapons accidentally discharged. No one had any major bouts of road rage. Everyone I saw carrying a rifle practiced admirable muzzle and trigger discipline, and that&#8217;s hard to do in a huge crowd. I would even go so far as to say the attendees epitomized the characteristics of a well-regulated citizen militia.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-5244 size-large\" title=\"2A supporters march\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/state-flags-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"2nd amendment supporters marching in Richmond\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/state-flags-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/state-flags-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/state-flags-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/state-flags-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There was no shortage of pithy signs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-5246 size-large\" title=\"Virginia gun rights rally signs\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/1776-1024x687.jpg\" alt=\"pithy signs at the Virginia Gun Rights rally\" width=\"1024\" height=\"687\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/1776-1024x687.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/1776-300x201.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/1776-1536x1031.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/1776-2048x1374.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-5247 size-large\" title=\"2nd Amendment supporting sign holder\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/handcuffs-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"More 2nd Amendment supporting signs in Virginia\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/handcuffs-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/handcuffs-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/handcuffs-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/handcuffs-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/handcuffs-2048x2048.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/handcuffs-120x120.jpg 120w, https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/handcuffs-524x524.jpg 524w, https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/handcuffs-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-5250 size-large\" title=\"pro-gun sign\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/1-percent-900x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Pro-gun signs in Virginia at the January 2020 rally\" width=\"900\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/1-percent-900x1024.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/1-percent-264x300.jpg 264w, https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/1-percent-1350x1536.jpg 1350w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-5259 size-large\" title=\"gun rights supporters and signs\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/we-will-not-comply-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"crowd of gun rights supporters and signs\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/we-will-not-comply-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/we-will-not-comply-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Here are my contributions to the day&#8217;s collection of pithy signs.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-5251 size-large\" title=\"2nd Amendment supporting signs and people\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/my-signs-1024x629.jpg\" alt=\"2nd Amendment supporting signs in Richmond, VA\" width=\"1024\" height=\"629\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/my-signs-1024x629.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/my-signs-300x184.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/my-signs-1536x944.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/wp-content\/uploads\/my-signs-2048x1259.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the end of the day, Virginia gun owners and their supporters showed their true colors by going the extra mile and cleaning up after themselves. I was already on I-95 headed toward North Carolina before the crowds completely dispersed. However, I\u2019ve heard several first-hand accounts of rally participants picking up trash. Cameras even caught some scraping stickers off the Richmond pavement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TimesDispatch\/photos\/a.78446401004\/10157660566251005\/?type=3&#038;theater<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019m not surprised. Whether they own firearms to put meat on the table, defend their families, or to protect themselves from a tyrannical government, gun owners value personal responsibility.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some Virginians are angry to be in this situation in the first place. They blame their fellow Virginians for getting them into this gun control mess.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe wouldn\u2019t be in this mess if gun owners had voted in the election.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Only about 40 percent of registered voters showed up at the polls in November. Many gun control democrats ran unopposed. Others won their districts by very slim margins.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Those angry Virginians may be right. Maybe Virginia\u2019s Second Amendment rights are under fire due to the general apathy of Virginia gun owners in the past.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Only now, gun owners are trying to clean up the mess may have helped make.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Just like those protesters who stayed behind to scrape stickers and pick up garbage.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I hope it isn\u2019t too late.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A first hand account as thousands of Virginia 2nd Amendment supporters rallied to protect their rights.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":5261,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[81],"tags":[209,210],"class_list":["post-5235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-self-defense","tag-second-amendment","tag-virginia-rally"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.9 - 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