About 2,000 people gathered in Washington, D.C., on Monday in a pro-gun demonstration billed as a march in support of the Second Amendment. Gun control advocates decried the fact that the rallies were held on the anniversary of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and expressed frustration that rules restricting gun possession are being rolled back across the country.
From The Washington Post:
The rallies come at a time when the trend appears to be toward normalizing the carrying of firearms in public. Even before the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2008 decision in District of Columbia v. Heller recognized an individual’s constitutional right to possess firearms, an increasing number of states had allowed citizens to carry guns openly or conceal them on their person.
Last year, 24 states loosened restrictions in firearms laws, and Iowa and Arizona passed laws this year easing restrictions on gun possession. Starbucks recently announced that it would heed applicable federal state and local laws on gun possession, opening the door to allowing people to order a mochaccino with a Glock on their hip.
In Virginia, about 50 protesters milled around with weapons strapped to their backs and legs. In Washington, where rules about carrying guns are much more stringent, they carried only flyers and signs. One Virginia rally took place at Fort Hunt National Park — the first armed demonstration on national park land since President Obama signed a law last year that allows weapons to be carried in parks, the Washington Post reports.
