Pro-Gun Rally Brings Thousands to Richmond

Large protest underway in Virginia
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 20, 2020 11:11 AM CST
Pro-Gun Rally Brings Thousands to Richmond
Demonstrators are seen during a pro-gun rally Monday, Jan. 20, 2020, in Richmond, Va.   (AP Photo/Sarah Rankin)

Gun-rights supporters gathered en masse at Virginia's state Capitol in Richmond Monday, and things have been peaceful in the early going. Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency ahead of the march, which is taking place amid a heavy police presence and temperatures in the 20s. "The government doesn't run us, we run the government," participant Kem Regik tells the AP. The 20-year-old private security officer had a white flag emblazoned with an image of a rifle captioned, "Come and take it."

The sentiment reflects the resentment of a push by newly empowered Democrats in the state's legislature to enact gun restrictions, and it's a sentiment backed by President Trump. "The Democrat Party in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia are working hard to take away your 2nd Amendment rights," he tweeted. "This is just the beginning. Don't let it happen, VOTE REPUBLICAN in 2020!" The governor declared the emergency over fears that out-of-state militia groups would foment the kind of violence that occurred in Charlottesville in 2017, notes USA Today.
(More gun rights stories.)

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