In what can only be described as rather unfortunate timing, a pro-gun group known as Second Amendment March is planning a demonstration in Washington on April 19th--which just so happens to be the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing:
On April 19, the pro-gun group Second Amendment March (SAM) will lead a demonstration to the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, "to remind America that the Second Amendment is necessary to maintain our right to self defense."
There will also be simultaneous rallies around the country on the same day--including possibly in Oklahoma City itself. And not everyone in the group is thrilled with the choice of date:
Even some commenters on the Tea Party Patriot-linked SAM web page for the march in Oklahoma were troubled about any potential gun rights rally in Oklahoma City. "Everyone should implore the Oklahoma coordinator to schedule this march on a date that is NOT the anniversary of the Murrah Building attack," said one commenter.
Perhaps the commenter is concerned with the reactions of Oklahoma City locals, such as this one who wrote in to The Daily Dish:
As a person from Oklahoma City, I find the entire idea upsetting beyond belief. These protests are going to take place on the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. The idea of a bunch of armed right-wingers parading around on that day — especially here — makes me ill. Do any of these people know what actually happened here on that day?
Indeed. When even those within Second Amendment March are concerned with the optics of this, you can be pretty sure it's a bad idea. And the leader of the group?
Coryell claims he chose April 19 "because it is the 235th anniversary of Lexington-Concord."
Possible, though it stretches credulity to believe that someone in rightwing, pro-gun circles would be unaware of the date's other associations, which also happens to include the siege of the Branch Davidian Compound in Waco, Texas.
But as stated above, the timing is so egregiously bad that it's even putting off some in the movement:
Dan Casey of the Roanake Times reported that "[s]ome activists in the gun-rights movement have tried to talk Coryell out of organizing" the march, fearing that the "political timing is bad" or that it "might lead people to believe the gun movement is a paper tiger with a few loud voices."
I don't know if "paper tiger" is the term I'd use.