U.S.A. – -(Ammoland.com)- “A large group of armed protesters on Saturday marched through Georgia’s Stone Mountain Park, calling for the park’s massive Confederate carving to be removed,” the Associated Press reports.
“Stone Mountain Memorial Association spokesman John Bankhead said there were between 100 and 200 protesters. He said the protesters, many of whom carried large rifles, were peaceful.”
There have been claims that some whites have been harassed, but the way events unfolded generally corroborates Bankhead’s assessment. And the fact that no one saw fit to mess with the marchers demonstrates for all to see the real-world deterrence being armed provides. It’s not hard to see why.
In Stone Mountain, Georgia earlier today pic.twitter.com/F2Autd4YtI
— Naomi (@naomiruta) July 4, 2020
But the bottom line is, they broke no law. What they did break is a myth perpetuated by gun-grabbers to fabricate further racial division, that whites change their tune when blacks arm up.
“Imagine that hundreds of black protesters were to descend upon Washington DC and Northern Virginia, just a few miles from the Capitol and White House, armed with AK-47s, assorted handguns, and ammunition,” an AlterNet hit piece on “conservatism” posited. “Would these protesters — these black protesters with guns — be seen as brave defenders of the Second Amendment, or would they be viewed by most whites as a danger to the republic?”
Some no doubt would opt for fear. It’s certainly what prompted Ronald Reagan to sign the Mulford Act, banning open carry in California.
As an aside, it’s a real head-scratcher why so many gun owners still revere him as a Second Amendment ally. A poll I created several years ago revealed a quite different opinion of the man when I listed his anti-gun actions but did not reveal who I was talking about.
True supporters would not. They recognize there is no more egalitarian power-sharing arrangement than that enabled by the right of the people to keep and bear arms. If demonstrators are behaving themselves, the feelings others have about them being armed does not justify infringements.
But they’re Marxist domestic enemies, some will argue, and they stand for the destruction of the Republic! Hey, you still have to have an actual crime committed before you can lawfully do anything about that, otherwise, an edict that could be used to disarm Black Militias could be applied to all, just like the Mulford Act has been.
What’s clear from their own rhetoric is that the ones applying the double standard are those who demand a monopoly of violence. A few years back, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and Quannel X, the latter backed by armed New Black Panther Party members, were warning members of Open Carry Texas to stay out of Houston’s Fifth Ward to demonstrate for the rights of all. It’s not that anyone like Lee who advocates citizen disarmament is actually anti-gun: The grabbers just want to be the ones controlling them.
In the case of the armed Stone Mountain protest, it’s not what the anti-gunners say, but what they don’t say.
As of this writing, and I am composing this article on the afternoon of July 5th, 2020, there has been not one word about the armed Stone Mountain protest on the Twitter Feed for Everytown, Moms Demand Action, Giffords, and Brady. Yet when armed citizen advocates organized for Lobby Day in Virginia, Everytown (and its media cheerleaders) went full-blown hysterical, smearing them as violent “far-right extremists” and racists. Never mind that tens of thousands of responsible gun owners, including citizens of all races, behaved peaceably, gathered together in a unified spirit of freedom that transcended all other differences. Never mind that “Armed Black Lives Matter activists and right-wing groups came together in Richmond, Virginia on Saturday in a united show of support for the 2nd Amendment at an Open Carry rally.”
So why has every one of those groups remained silent about the armed Stone Mountain marchers?
Isn’t it obvious?
About David Codrea:
David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating/defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” is a regularly featured contributor to Firearms News, and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.