squashed:edkohler:squashed:think-progress:
I’m not sure this is the most effective tactic. If you’re a legislator surrounded by heavily-armed protesters, wouldn’t a pretty natural reaction be to pass a bill to take away their guns?
Would our Founders have reached the same conclusions under conditions like this?
Yep.
The Founders weren’t always patient when they were worried about anything that smelled of sedition.
Can you imagine if any of the protesters weren’t white? Do you think a few hundred POC armed to the teeth would have been allowed to collect on the capitol steps, much less in the building for photo ops? A while back, there were some [white] guys who took a stroll through local neighborhoods visibly armed, right after the mall shooting in the area. Alarmed residents called the cops, but the cops stopped, had a chat, and let them continue their “protest” because white people with guns are clearlygood guys.
When I see this, all I see is a bunch of white men collecting at a center of government to make it clear to everyone—not merely legislators—that they are willing to protect their power and control by any means necessary…and elected officials and law enforcement let it happen not because it is a legal requirement but because they endorse the worldview where white men are allowed to assert their dominance over everyone with threats of lethal force. If this weren’t a collection of white people, this wouldn’t be happening, at least not without serious police intervention.