https://archive.is/aE3tk
>RICHMOND, Va. – Thousands of gun owners and gun rights supporters gathered Monday at Virginia's Capitol for a "peaceful day to address our Legislature" that appeared to generate none of the violence feared by some state leaders.
>Many demonstrators, opposed to proposed gun restrictions, openly displayed military-style semiautomatic rifles.
>But despite warnings from Gov. Ralph Northam and law enforcement that out-of-state hate groups and militias may incite violence, the protest did not grow heated. Police estimated the size of the crowd at 22,000 – including 6,000 people inside Capitol Square – and only one arrest was reported.
>Police said Mikaela E. Beschler, 21, of Richmond, was charged with one felony count of wearing a mask in public after being warned twice before against wearing a bandanna covering her face. Beschler was released on her recognizance.
>Demonstrator Matthew French, 40, from Bland, called the rally a success and said he hoped the large, peaceful crowd would help sway legislators.
“The sheer numbers here speaks for itself,” he said. “I hope our legislators will back off. Today was the civil rights march of my life."
>“You got thousands of guns and not a single bullet fired,” he said.
>Earlier, a heavy police presence greeted rally goers calmly lining up to enter the state Capitol, where they had to pass through a security checkpoint.
>Northam declared a state of emergency Friday through Tuesday, banning all weapons, including firearms, in the square around the Capitol building. He said law enforcement received “credible” threats of violence from out-of-state hate groups and militias.
>Heather Heyer's mom: I own guns and think Virginia Democrats are going too far
>Demonstrator Brantley Overby, 22, came armed to Richmond from Henderson, North Carolina. He said whenever there’s a large group like the one here, carrying a firearm is about safety.
>“It’s a sense of security,” he said of having a gun. “If something happens, you have the option to use it.”
>He said he came to Virginia because he fears similar laws could pass in North Carolina and around the U.S.
>“This is the first attack on the Second Amendment I’ve seen in a long time.”
Someone obviously forgot about Waco/RubyRidge
>Tim Hunter, 45, from Richmond, said the Second Amendment is important to veterans like him. He served in Desert Storm in the Army
>“There’s a reason it’s number two on the list,” he said.
>Hunter was inside Capitol Square, where tight security and fences lined the perimeter.
>Hunter and everyone else inside the grounds “willfully decided to leave our weapons at home,” he said. “If we come out here as an armed mob, nobody is going to listen.”
>Driving the momentum behind the Richmond rally was a host of new gun-control measures backed by Northam and Democrats, who flipped both houses of the General Assembly and have full control of state government for the first time since 1993.
>Democrats proposed limiting handgun purchases to one a month, universal background checks on gun sales, allowing localities to ban guns in some public areas and a "red flag" bill that would allow authorities to temporarily take guns away from anyone deemed to be dangerous to themselves or others.
>Other proposals include rules around reporting lost or stolen firearms and a ban on "assault firearms," though some moderate Democrats have expressed concerns over that bill.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/thousands-rally-gun-rights-virginia-141809941.html?guccounter=1
