A group of armed protesters assembled at a library in Virginia today, comparing gun regulation to Jim Crow, as per ThinkProgress. It seems somewhat ironic that some gun enthusiasts would make that comparison, as Republican-led efforts to re-institute voter suppression are making a comeback. But there it is, gun regulation as an expression of bigotry, according to some enthusiasts.
With a bone to pick over the library's posted rule regarding carrying weapons inside, a group of apparently about thirty protesters visited the strange building with books inside it to show off their preferred guns, which they wore openly, as the law in Virginia allows.
Philip Van Cleave, the organizer of the protest and President of Virginia Citizens Defense League, compared the library’s gun “discrimination” to racially discriminating against African-Americans:
“What if they had said “We don’t allow African-Americans, except if allowed by law. Would that be okay? I don’t think so… [The rule] implies that no one is allowed to protect themselves on the property.”
Since the ThinkProgress article was on the short side and a bit unclear, I'm not sure if they mentioned this in order to vilify, or to praise it. Fortunately, the protest only spooked some library patrons, as there were no
unfortunate accidents that day worth reporting.
All right, so I'm pretty sure what they meant, but one never knows! Still, I would not be surprised if some people went over to ThinkProgress and gave them a piece of their minds, in the name of right-thinking Democrats everywhere.
TP also made mention of the Aurora shooting, a part I found sketchy.
Another protester told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that public areas shouldn’t be firearm-free, and suggested that if people had been armed during the Colorado movie theater shooting, the mass murderer would have been stopped.
I checked out the
Times-Dispatch article, but didn't notice any specific reference to it, although there's certainly room for comparison.
But Van Cleave said a gun owner who leaves his weapon at home when he goes to the library could be putting his or her life at risk.
"If something bad happens, that person could end up being killed when they could have saved their lives," he said.
Not
quite as bad as
some of the responses to the shooting that I heard about, though.