In January 2020, tens of thousands of American gun enthusiasts attended the Virginia Pro-Gun Rally. In 2021, the rally was drastically reduced in size
The annual gun rights march rally in Richmond, Virginia, was attended by only a few dozen pro-gunners on Jan. 18; in previous years, the event was expected to draw groups of 20,000 or more. After the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol sparked high tensions, President Donald Trump called on the public to stay away from violence and, if a march is held, to make sure the event is free of any violence.
Lobby Day in Richmond, the Confederate capital during the U.S. Civil War, is always held on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which honors the civil rights leader who was assassinated in 1968. The noon “Lobby Day” on that day, which gives voters a chance to file petitions with state legislators on any number of issues, has often drawn tens of thousands of gun rights advocates in past years, but this year only a few dozen people attended the rally, about one percent of the size of previous years.
Demonstrators, including many in military uniform and some members of the Proud Boys, marched peacefully with guns that day.
In 2020, the same rally drew 22,000 people, many of whom wore pro-Trump hats and signs. But a year later, the Jan. 6 congressional riots put the U.S. on high alert for more marches, and on Jan. 6, a group of demonstrators dressed as Trump supporters entered the U.S. building and clashed, killing six people, including two police officers.
Following the incident, the White House, along with Trump himself, repeatedly called on supporters to stay away from violence and places where violence could occur for the rest of the day, “make sure there is no violence, no lawlessness, and no vandalism of any kind,” and “call on all Americans to come together to to reduce tensions and calm anger.”
The Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL), organizers of the Richmond Pro-Gun March, said, “The march has been held for 25 years previously and we’ve never had any problems, no arrests, no trouble whatsoever.”
A man selling Proud Boys shirts said the current situation is sad and “disgusting.”
On the other hand, the newly minted U.S. government is said to be imposing restrictions on gun power, which has drastically shrunk the chances of successful lobbying for gun power.
Recently, Biden announced on Twitter that during his term he would crack down on the National Rifle Association, the largest gun enthusiast group in the country with more than 5 million members, which supports the Second Amendment to the U.S. Bill of Rights and believes that owning a firearm for self-defense is a civil right that every American citizen should enjoy.
The NRA released an article late last year warning that during the election, Biden’s team with Hejinli kept their mouths shut about gun control in order to prevent a drop in support, but both men’s longstanding actions show that they both take extreme radical positions on the issue of gun control.
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