Following the passage of several new gun laws, Second Amendment activists had hoped for a huge turnout at a rally at Virginia’s capital Saturday. But where once thousands rallied for the right to bear arms, now only a few hundred attended.
“Well, it's great to see everybody here today… it's a nice turn out, it's about the equivalent of what we had on our lobby day," said Virginia Citizens Defense League head Phil Van Cleave to the crowd. "But we could do better and I think we will.”
He was there in 2020 when thousands gathered to protest new gun laws. But the smaller crowd of a few hundred this year still offered loud support, particularly when firearm social media influencer Micah Goodman spoke about the importance of protecting their Second Amendment rights.
“When we say something that you guys like, we need you to make the noise for the thousands who are not here," Goodman said as the crowd roared.
Among those who did show up were two men who refused to give their names but were handing out 2,300 gun magazines that hold 30 bullets. Under a new law awaiting the governor’s signature, it would be illegal in Virginia to have a magazine that holds more than 15 bullets.
“These guys are trying to regulate our rights, step on em," one of the men told Radio IQ. "We’re not for it, man.”
Meanwhile, for Goodman, the rally was about protecting basic liberties.
“We’re here today, not for molded metal and brass, we’re here today for freedom," he said as the crowd again roared back.
But Democratic Delegate Dan Helmer, an Iraq war veteran who authored the new magazine bullet limit, said he too was looking to defend Virginian’s freedoms.
“And one of those freedoms is to not be gunned down because people are irresponsibly and recklessly using firearms or handling weapons of war that ought to not be available in our society,” Helmer told Radio IQ.
