- ‘Guns Across America’ rallies held days after President Barack Obama unveiled a sweeping package of gun-control proposals
- Mass turnout includes thousands in New York and hundreds in Connecticut, New Hampshire and Texas
- Minnesota state Rep. Tony Cornish said he would push to allow 21-year-olds to carry guns on college campus
Thousands of gun advocates gathered peacefully Saturday at state capitals around the U.S. to rally against stricter limits on firearms, with demonstrators carrying rifles and pistols in some places while those elsewhere settled for waving hand-scrawled signs or screaming themselves hoarse.
The size of crowds at each location varied – from dozens of people in South Dakota to 2,000 in New York. Large crowds also turned out in Connecticut, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Washington state.
Some demonstrators in Olympia, Wash., Phoenix, Salem, Ore., and Salt Lake City came with holstered handguns or rifles on their backs. At the Kentucky Capitol in Frankfort, attendees gave a special round of applause for ‘the ladies that are packin’.
Representing: In Albany, New York, an estimated two thousand people rallied outside the State Capitol brandishing signs, flags and weapons
Hartford: A man who refused to be identified holds an AR-15 semi-automatic riffle with a green and white ribbon reading Newtown at the Capitol in Hartford, Connecticut
Clear message: Jared Jeanotte of Long Island, New York, displays a hand-made sign depicting an AK15 rifle and its alleged purpose to kill fascistsActivists promoted the ‘Guns Across America’ rallies primarily through social media. They were being held just days after President Barack Obama unveiled a sweeping package of federal gun-control proposals.
The crowd swelled to more than 800 amid balmy temperatures on the steps of the pink-hued Capitol in Austin, where speakers took the microphone under a giant Texas flag with ‘Independent’ stamped across it. Homemade placards read ‘An Armed Society is a Polite Society,’ ‘The Second Amendment Comes from God’ and ‘Hey King O., I’m keeping my guns and my religion.’
‘The thing that so angers me, and I think so angers you, is that this president is using children as a human shield to advance a very liberal agenda that will do nothing to protect them,’ said state Rep. Steve Toth, referencing last month’s elementary school massacre in Newtown, Conn.
Toth, a first-term Republican lawmaker from The Woodlands outside Houston, has introduced legislation banning within Texas any future federal limits on assault weapons or high-capacity magazines, though such a measure would violate the U.S. Constitution.
According to organizers an estimated 1,800 people from throughout Oklahoma crowded into the south plaza at the state Capitol to voice their support for their second amendment rights
Attacks: A protestor holds a sign showing Gov Andrew Cuomo’s face, four days after he signed the nation’s toughest assault weapon and magazine restrictions for the state
Speaker: New York Assemblyman Steven F. McLaughlin called Gov Cuomo’s new law an ‘abuse of power’ before the thousands of protestorsRallies at statehouses nationwide were organized by Eric Reed, an airline captain from the Houston area who in November started a group called ‘More Gun Control (equals) More Crime.’ Its Facebook page has been ‘liked’ by more than 17,000 people.
Texas law allows concealed handgun license-holders to carry firearms anywhere, but Reed said rally-goers shouldn’t expose their weapons: ‘I don’t want anyone to get arrested.’
A man who identified himself only as ‘Texas Mob Father’ carried a camouflaged assault rifle strapped to his back during the Austin rally, but he was believed to be the only one to display a gun. Radio personality Alan LaFrance told the crowd he brought a Glock 19, but he kept it out of sight.
At the New York state Capitol in Albany, about 2,000 people turned out for a chilly rally, where they chanted ‘We the People,’ ‘USA,’ and ‘Freedom.’ Many carried American flags and ‘Don’t Tread On Me’ banners.
The event took place four days after Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the nation’s toughest assault weapon and magazine restrictions.
Republican Assemblyman Steven McLaughlin said the new law was ‘abuse of power’ by the governor. Some in the crowd carried ‘Impeach Cuomo’ signs. Protester Robert Candea called the restrictions ‘an outrage against humanity.’
Voices heard: Braving the cold, the protestors passionately turned out to send a message to legislatures around the country
All the people: A little girl carried her own colorful sign on the shoulders of a male protestor
Magazine rights: Sisters Naphtali Rothrock, left, and Naomi Rothrock, both of Sprakers, New York joined the thousands in Albany
Representing: John Noto of Springville, New York holds two signs attacking Gov Cuomo and representing his political views as a Conservative America
Fascism: Will Moses, of Eagle Bridge, New York holds a sign depicting Gov Cuomo as a fascistAbout 1,500 people showed up in Olympia, Wash. Former NFL tight end Clint Didier, who unsuccessfully ran for the GOP Senate nomination in the 2010 election, urged the crowd to prepare ‘for the worst possible predicament’ by stocking up on food, guns, ammunition, communication devices and medicines, The Olympian newspaper reported.
In Connecticut, where task forces created by the Legislature and Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy are considering changes to gun laws, police said about 1,000 people showed up on the Capitol grounds.
One demonstrator at the rally in Maine, Joe Getchell of Pittsfield, said every law-abiding citizen has a right to bear arms.
In Minnesota, where more than 500 people showed up at the Capitol in St. Paul, Republican state Rep. Tony Cornish said he would push to allow teachers to carry guns in school without a principal or superintendent’s approval and to allow 21-year-olds to carry guns on college campuses.
Capitol rallies also took place in Colorado, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Vermont and Wisconsin, among other states.
Back in Texas, Houston resident Robert Thompson attended the rally with his wife and children, ages 12, 5 and 4. Many in the family wore T-shirts reading: ‘The Second Amendment Protects the First.’
Not to blame: A protestor’s sign reasons that more gun laws won’t stop those who are already crazy in America
Turn out: The ‘Guns Across America’ rallies were held just days after President Obama unveiled a sweeping package of gun-control proposals
Patriots: In Hartford gun right supporters took a few moments to place their hands to their hearts and pledged their allegiance to the flag
Symbols: Keeping warm while maintaining their patriotism in Albany, a demonstrator wrapped himself in an American flag
New Hampshire: Hundreds of gun supporters rallied at the Statehouse in Concord
Texas: In Austin, Steve Wandtke turned out wearing tea bags hanging from his hat in the state capitol‘What we are facing now is an assault weapons ban, but if they do this, what will do they do next?’ Thompson asked.
William Lawson drove more than four hours from Wichita Falls and held up a sign reading ‘Modern Musket’ over the image of an assault rifle and the words, ‘An American Tradition since 1776.’
‘I’m not some wild-eyed person who wants to fight in the streets,’ Lawson said. ‘This is a country of laws. But I want to protect our Constitution.’
Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson conceded that the Second Amendment sometimes leads to killings, but he told the crowd that the First Amendment can be just as dangerous. Patterson said news coverage of those responsible for mass shootings can spark copy-cat shootings.
‘All of us here, together, are right about our liberty,’ Patterson said. ‘And we will not back down.’
