A tale of two rallies

photo-1This morning I was reading the press coverage of last week’s Stop The NRA ‘rally’ in DC.

Despite the fact that it only attracted a whopping 60 attendees, it received quite a bit of positive attention from the mainstream media.

Now … let’s compare that to another rally that took place last week with practically no media attention.

On Tuesday April 23rd, I drove the 430 miles from Bristol Virginia to Harrisburg Pennsylvania for the 8th annual Right to Keep and Bear Arms Rally.

This rally, which takes place every year, is a gathering of Pennsylvania gun owners who travel to the state capitol to let their voices be heard by those who represent them.

So how did the two rallies compare?  Well … since the Stop the NRA ‘rally’ was a nationwide effort and the Right to Keep and Bear Arms Rally was only for Pennsylvania gun owners, it might seem that the state rally would have far fewer attendees than the nationwide rally.  Right?

Not so fast … that might be true if the Democrat’s polling about the interest in gun control were valid.  But no … nothing could be further from the truth.  Let’s take a look at the ‘crowd’ that appeared for the Stop The NRA ‘Rally’.

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I think the picture speaks for itself. The turnout for the anti-gun rally was pathetic by any objective standard.

Now let’s turn to the Pennsylvania rally.  It was scheduled to start at 10 in the morning and it was about 10:15 when I finished parking my car on 2nd Street and headed over to State Street to walk the 2 blocks to the Capitol Building.  As I rounded the corner, I was absolutely floored by the huge crowd that literally overflowed the steps of the Capitol.

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The official police estimate put the crowd at around 1,500 people but it felt much larger than that.  And the people in attendance were fired-up as the speakers took turns addressing the Democrat’s war on gun owners.

I want to particularly congratulate the attendees from Beaver County Pennsylvania who wore matching red hats and red, white, and blue smocks.

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There were even historical characters in attendance.

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And … like every other gun rights rally I have ever attended, this one was very much a family friendly event.

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It was also interesting to see how social media has changed the landscape.  There was a gun rights advocate there who was live tweeting the event.  He took time out from tweeting to pose for a quick picture showing a very cool 2nd Amendment Soldier sticker.

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When the speakers finished speaking, I joined Harry Schneider from Pennsylvania Sportsmen’s Association and Dan Campbell and David Green from Firearm Owners Against Crime as they headed into the Capitol Building to meet with legislators.

In the entryway of the Capitol, I noticed that there were displays of civil war era weapons. It was good to see one of the original ‘assault weapons’ on prominent display.

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As I watched Harry, Dan, and David meeting with pro-gun legislators, it became clear that Pennsylvania gun owners are dedicated to protecting their freedoms and they have advocates who are very much up to the challenge.

Anti-gun groups can’t hope to compete with that.

About John Pierce

Monachus Lex is written by Virginia attorney John Pierce. John is a life-long gun rights advocate, an NRA certified instructor and co-founder of the nationwide gun rights group OpenCarry.org.

He has an undergraduate degree in Computer Information Systems, an MBA from George Mason University and is a 2012 Honors Graduate of Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul, MN.

Professionally, John is a member of the American Bar Association Second Amendment Civil Rights Litigation Subcommittee and his writings have been published by the ABA Civil Rights Litigation Committee and the ABA Minority Trial Lawyer Committee.

In addition, his open carry advocacy has been featured on Nightline and The Daily Show With Jon Stewart.
This entry was posted in General Civil Rights, Gun Control, Gun Rights Rallies, Pennsylvania. Bookmark the permalink.

7 Responses to A tale of two rallies

  1. Pingback: A tale of two rallies | OpenCarry.org

  2. greg says:

    But, but the mainstream media said we were 90% for gun restrictions!

    They would not lie would they?

  3. Alan Rose says:

    I’m not in favor of majority/mob rule as we live in a Constitutional Republic and NOT a Democracy but I think the results of the rally counts show that the Founding Fathers were right and we still are today, despite efforts of “progressives” to “regress” our freedoms.

  4. Grapeshot says:

    Lady Liberty would be proud. Our brothers and sisters in Pennsylvania are a dedicated, effective collection – they represent the spirit that made this country great.

    The lame stream media is becoming an empty shell, more and more devoid of honest reporting.

  5. Mike Crognale says:

    Now if only Pat Toomey had learned that lesson before he made a fool of himself in front of the whole world.

  6. wolfkeeper says:

    Liberialism is a self inflicked mental disorder.Example;liberals love to send our children to[ gun free zone] schools,(insert mental disorder here)but they refuse to put the sign on their own front lawn.(ie self inflicked hypocrisy).
    Hypocrite-One who falsely give an impression of virtue or sincerity.

  7. Elm Creek Smith says:

    My rights are not subject to “majority rule” or “public opinion polls.”

    ECS

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