The Freedom Rally held outside of Richmond Saturday went well. It was hard to get an accurate count because we were so spread out and people were coming and going throughout the course of the afternoon and evening, but, from my wanderings and taking counts of knots of people standing here and there, I'd say somewhere about 250 people at any given time were lined up along the road to the Republican Roundup site.
We did get a little press coverage, Richmond's CBS affiliate, WTVR Channel 6 reported on it.
Note Mr. Cantor's evasion of the issue (at about the 1:45 mark):
"This is private property; the Innsbrook management company has made their policies and I think these people have a problem with the Innsbrook management folks."
Sorry, Mr. Cantor...but our problem is with you and the Republican leadership. Innsbrook has every right to set their policies on their private property, and you have the right...nay, the RESPONSIBILITY to hold an event like this in a venue that respects the rights that you supposedly support.
Innsbrook can control the policies on their property, but they cannot control the decision to hold your event on their property.
A typical politician, you avoided addressing the issue by passing the buck. I would submit that your refusal to accept responsibility for your own decisions and actions calls into question your suitability to serve as a representative and servant of the people.
Mr. McDonnell's response wasn't much better:
"Eric and I are both very strong supporters of the Second Amendment, as are all my ticket mates."
So they support the Second Amendment, just not the people who exercise the right protected by it?
Hmmm.
Also, here is a youtube video of the correspondent talking to Phillip.
We also made the front page of the Community News section of "Downtown Short Pump", who reported an attendance of "several hundred" VCDL members.
A couple of the political bloggers at the "roundup" took note of the protest. Rick Sincere posted video of the speeches, including Linwood Cobb's trite and condescending dismissal of our protest "Don't pay any attention to that".
I suppose that Mr Cobb won't mind, then, if we gun owners don't pay any attention to the Republican Party come election time.
As a lowly blogger, I don't claim to speak for VCDL leadership, but here's my take on it:
The Virginia Citizen's Defense League is a non-partisan organization that supports those who support our rights. Many of the people present at the Republican Roundup do have a history of supporting gun rights and I appreciate that and support them as a result. But that very support for gun owners is what makes the hypocrisy of this issue all the more distasteful. If they can dismiss the position of people with whom they ostensibly AGREE with such elitist, condescending disdain, how well can we expect them to represent the interests of their constituents on other issues? Issues we may not see completely eye to eye on?
As far as I'm concerned, actions speak much louder than words. Mr. Cantor and Mr. McDonnell can mouth platitudes in support of the Second Amendment all they want, but if this is any indication of how they will actually act toward gun owners...
Better to be stabbed in the front by a known enemy than stabbed in the back by a supposed ally.
If you weren't able to attend and want to see what you missed, there's more on the freedom rally (with pictures) below the fold.
Click all pix to make bigger
I got to our staging area at the (decidedly pro-rights) Innesbrook Shoppes right at 2:00 and there were already several people gathered. We started out with getting instructions from Phillip and then headed down to the roadway along the route to the SnagaJob Pavilion (is that the stupidest name for a venue ever or is it just me?).
The crowd was made up of your usual collection of nefarious characters...
...and ne'er do wells.
With the shady and dangerous looking people that we generally have in attendance at these rallies, I can sometimes almost understand why the hoplophobes quake in fear at the very thought of such obvious blackguards being lawfully armed.
I am, of course, being facetious. You'll never see a more polite and considerate bunch of people than at a "protest" held by people who simply love liberty and expect our elected officials to live up to the oath that they take and defend the rights enshrined in the Constitutions of the United States and Virginia.
As usual, future generations of freedom loving, patriotic Americans were in attendance, under the ever watchful and caring attention of their parents.
We even had a pretty good showing of our four-footed freedom lovers.
Cannot...resist...the cute...
Even the press couldn't resist her charms.
One of these days I need to do a "dogs of the VCDL" post.
We even had a visit from a dignitary. Back when this guy was President, they didn't have a secret service detail. Tell me President Washington didn't understand the importance of the Second Amendment.
We lined the road on both sides all the way to the entrance to the venue.
Some areas were more sparsely populated than others because it was a long stretch of road for a couple of hundred people to cover, but there wasn't a stretch of road where there weren't at least a few signs in clear view.
One of the highlights of the protest was this visible manifestation of our message.
I don't know how leadership swung this one, but kudos to them for imagination.
In some of the videos of the speeches from within the pavilion, you can clearly hear the plane's engine droning overhead spreading our message.
A couple people mentioned the irony of this sign.
It seems that the anti-gun SnagaJob pavilian has a neighbor that doesn't exactly share their phobias.
After spreading our message to the "Republican Roundup" attendees, we returned to our rally point at the Innsbrook Shoppes.
They tried to give rides in a hot air balloon festooned with a huge sign declaring our basic message "Guns Save Lives", but alas the wind was a bit too strong.
I heard that they were still trying to get it in the air, but I don't know if they were ultimately successful and by that time it had gotten too dark to get a picture.
We were assured by Phillip that the balloon would be used at future events to spread our message far and wide.
In the gathering darkness, we had a couple of excellent addresses by luminaries who showed up in support.
President Washington related the importance of living up to our responsibilities in protecting this wonderful experiment in liberty that we call the United States.
He reminded us of the opening phase of the Constitution "We The People Of the United States" and re-iterated the principle that the Constitution is a document from the People, telling the government what it may and may not do...not a document from the government telling us what we may and may not do.
And he entreated us all to ensure that we pass down, undiluted, to our descendants, all the rights and liberties that were won for us by the blood of our forbears.
Then "Doc" Thompson from Richmond's 1140am WRVA spoke eloquently about the often unrecognized debt owed by all citizens to the activists who work so hard and tirelessly to defend our rights as free Americans.
Many thanks to all who braved the cool, dreary, drizzly day to support our rights and voice our concerns to the Republican Leadership.
As much as they tried to downplay it, I think we sent a message that will be hard for them to ignore.
I'd also like to thank the proprietors of all the businesses of Innsbrook Shoppes for their hospitality in hosting our rally. I can personally recommend the Mushroom Swiss burger at Finn McCool's. Excellent.
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