Across the country, openly carrying a gun in public is no longer just an exercise in self-defense — increasingly it is a soapbox for elevating one’s voice and, just as often, quieting someone else’s.
This month, armed protesters appeared outside an elections center in Phoenix, hurling baseless accusations that the election for governor had been stolen from the Republican, Kari Lake. In October, Proud Boys with guns
joined a rally in Nashville where conservative lawmakers spoke against transgender medical treatments for minors.
n June, armed demonstrations around the United States amounted to nearly one a day. A group led by a former
Republican state legislator protested a gay pride event in a public park in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
Men with guns interrupted a Juneteenth festival in Franklin, Tenn., handing out fliers claiming that white people were being replaced. Among the others were rallies in support of gun rights in Delaware and abortion rights in Georgia.
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NYT: "Shootings were rare, such as when a Proud Boy was shot in the foot while chasing antifa members during a protest over Covid lockdowns in Olympia last year."
Aside from that shot taken at a right-wing protester and the Rittenhouse self-defense shootings, the article speaks of armed protesters that did not shoot anyone. Elsewhere, the Left minimized the riots, looting and burning during just 3 months of Floyd/BLM protests as ~5%. But ZERO shots fired by armed protesters in almost 3 years years vs 570 violent protests in 3 months finds no balance in the NYT article.
"Between 24 May and 22 August [2020], ACLED records more than 10,600 demonstration events across the country. Over 10,100 of these — or nearly 95% — involve peaceful protesters. Fewer than 570 — or approximately 5% — involve demonstrators engaging in violence. Well over 80% of all demonstrations are connected to the Black Lives Matter movement or the COVID-19 pandemic."
Top three comments on the NYT article with 1500+ likes:
Jeff Ritter Pittsburgh Nov. 26
Something awfully bad is going to happen with this soon, is my guess. These men want to play army and think they are revolutionaries and it will not take much to set them off on having a pitched battle with police or protestors. I expect A mass shooting event with multiple shooters one of these days. Most all of these men have played video games where they have pretended to be first person shooters and the adrenaline rush they want will be too tempting and acting together a giant rush. There will be a massacre. I would like to see training developed to deal with characters like these to get them to stand down and realize that they are endangering themselves and others ahead of laws being passed preventing mass, armed events.
Wallace F. Berman Chapel Hill, NC Nov. 26
For all of the talk about how the government is the reason to become an armed militia, it is the militias which we have to fear. These are essentially unregulated groups who are carrying military assault weapons into public places as a Right. We have no idea what the backgrounds of these people are, what their training is or whether they have gotten the weapons legally. How can we allow this militarization of our narrative exist without control? Free speech, freedom of assembly and demonstrations are all fine, but their must be some sane restrictions of where and when it is appropriate to bear this type of arms. How is this activity different from armed inner city gangs roaming about threatening anybody who gets in their way. We are a nation of laws, not a band of armed criminals following a tribal leader through the streets in a war zone. Is it any wonder why we have so many mass shootings when we give permission to everyone to use military arms to settle differences. It is far beyond reason to continue to allow such demonstration of “manhood” in our society. What is it that these otherwise weak and insecure people are trying to say? Guns do not make strength or right. Who are they afraid of?
SR WA Nov. 26
I came to America as a student immigrant 20 years ago from a country where participating in public political rallies in a safe way is uncommon, particularly for women. When I came to America, the feeling of liberation was real, tangible, palpable and life changing. I first participated in major anti war protests. From then, I participated in multiple instances of public outpouring for something or the other, the latest being George Floyd protests. I participated in the women's March that happened with my then 2 year old child in a stroller. I was in San Francisco packed together with my child in a sea of humanity. But over the recent years my fear level has skyrocketed. I find myself thinking again and again if "this cause so important to warrant this risk?". I've stopped placing political stickers on my car after my colleague was a victim of freeway shooting. I voted but did not post on public forums or reveal political affiliations. The first and second amendments are fundamentally incompatible in their current interpretations.
