BaltimoreSun | Thousands
of mostly white men — many decked out in camouflage and armed with
assault-style rifles — packed Richmond’s streets Monday, circling the
gun-free Capitol Square, where thousands more waved signs and listened
to speeches, all wanting to make one point: They weren’t going anywhere,
and their gun rights shouldn’t either.
“I
think there’s an assault on the Second Amendment,” said 60-year-old
Richmond resident Danny Tumer, who was standing in line to get into the
grounds at 6:30 a.m.
Tensions
have been building across the state since Democrats gained a majority
in the legislature and vowed to enact tighter gun control laws following
the May mass shooting in Virginia Beach. As lawmakers filed bills to
limit handgun purchases and require universal background checks, gun
owners packed local government chambers, demanding localities not
enforce any legislation they considered an infringement on their Second
Amendment rights.
Gov.
Ralph Northam, a Democrat, had placed Richmond under a state of
emergency prior to the event, saying the annual Virginia Citizens
Defense League lobby day and rally Monday — which was also Martin Luther
King Jr. Day — had drawn the attention of militia and out-of-state
groups who have come to “intimidate” and “cause harm."
He
banned weapons from statehouse grounds, and anyone who wanted to be on
Capitol Square had to pass through metal detectors and have their bags
searched, causing lengthy lines. Many protesters wore orange stickers
with the words “Guns SAVE Lives.”
Throughout
the morning, the overwhelmingly pro-gun crowd, many from out of state,
remained peaceful. There were only small groups of counter-protesters.
Officials estimated 6,000 people were inside Capitol square, with
another 16,000 outside the gates.
Only
one person, a 21-year-old woman, was arrested, according to officials
who ran the Twitter page VACapitol2020. She was charged with wearing a
mask in public after police asked her multiple times to adjust the
bandanna around her face.
Many of the participants left on charter buses by 2 p.m.
