‘If others have rifles, we’ll have rifles’: why leftist groups are taking up arms
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
T he van lumbered down one of Seattle’s many steep hills. A half dozen people packed inside but despite the heat, most wore long pants and boots, and several sported black hoodies. The atmosphere was subdued, except for the occasional joke. It wasn’t so much tension as seriousness – there was work to be done.
The people in the van are members of the Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club (PSJBGC). Their stated aim is to fight white supremacy and build community defense in America’s Pacific Northwest, and their presence has become a fixture of protests in the Seattle and Tacoma areas, where the group is often invited to provide security against rightwing aggression.
The night before, several of them had been called to a library in nearby Renton, Washington, where a Drag Story Time Hour , an event series in which a local drag queen or drag king reads to children in a library or bookstore, was being disrupted by rightwing protesters. The protesters, who opposed the event as “ immoral ”, held up signs equating drag with pedophilia, and screamed “Shame! Shame!” at parents and their kids. Among them were members of the Proud Boys , a violent rightwing street gang, and Three Percenters militia, who were open-carrying firearms.
The north-west has been at the center of tense political clashes over the last two years. The area is an adopted home base for far-right groups like Patriot Prayer, Identity Evropa/American Identity Movement and the Proud Boys, who have organized numerous marches that have ended in violence. In response, a range of leftist groups have organized self defence groups and, in doing so, present gun ownership as a way to protect themselves and others.
Now, the Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club was en route to Seattle’s Trans Pride March.
In the weeks prior, word spread that a number of white supremacist groups had planned to disrupt the celebration. Hearing this, the club reached out to the organizers of the event, the Gender Justice League , and offered to assist with security or to provide escorts.
Brooke Wylie, the head of security for the Gender Justice League in charge of overseeing the 101-person security detail for the event, did some research on the club. She told them the event had a policy of having no open carry (that is, no visible weapon), which they were fine with. She accepted their offer. Police were also present, but many marginalized groups do not trust them to provide protection at public events, especially when far-right groups are involved.
Each member showed up with a concealed handgun. “We do our actions proportional to the threat, so when other people are out with rifles, we’ll be out with rifles,” Nick, the group’s de facto spokesperson, explained. “In this case, we don’t want to appear threatening for the people that we’re trying to protect and support; we want this to be a happy atmosphere, especially for a population that may have faced gun violence on the street just for being who they are.”
This scenario – in which armed community groups are working together to patrol a Pride event and protect it from other malicious and potentially armed groups – is becoming more and more common. There are more guns than people in America – approximately 393 million in a country of 328 million people. An average of 34,501 people died each year from firearms; in 2018, 992 of those deaths were the result of police shootings.
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This will not end well...
Not a chance.....
sounds like a recipee for eventual disaster
but
i like that they are standing up for everyones rights
Yes.
We're crazy because they are.
That's crazy.
While I appreciate your peaceful feelings, but
Would it be better to let them beat-up or kill anyone they don't like, that being anybody NOT a white supremacist?
Didn't anybody mention to you what happens to people who give in to bullies? No lectures from parents or teachers to "stand up for yourself?"
They just get worse if nobody stands up to them. I don't think I can stand along a WS parade with a little U.S. flag in one hand and a little Nazi flag in the other, the right hand I suppose, so I don't stand out for prosecution.
People have said from the beginning of this country that democracy and freedom are not free and must be defended at all times because there are ALWAYS people who want to take it away, one way or the other.
ALWAYS.
And a lot of people throughout history who didn't defend their freedoms or themselves waited too long and lost both.
It would be vastly better if no one was crazy.
I agree with that, and it's a nice thought, but a lot of people ARE crazy and that's the world for you.
There's a old, old saying, "there's a way things COULD be, and the way things SHOULD be, and the way things ARE."
What about the rights of those that were peacefully and legally protesting the event.
Scare you bad, do they? Which came first, the supremacists or antifa?
How many actual violent acts has antifa done and how many violent acts committed by white supremacists?
Each member showed up with a concealed handgun. “We do our actions proportional to the threat, so when other people are out with rifles, we’ll be out with rifles,” Nick, the group’s de facto spokesperson, explained. “In this case, we don’t want to appear threatening for the people that we’re trying to protect and support; we want this to be a happy atmosphere, especially for a population that may have faced gun violence on the street just for being who they are.”
Maybe it'll restore a little balance. Right now the white supremacists are playing like school yard bullies using insults, threats and waving their guns openly to intimidate people like it's a game with no consequences, and daring each other to more and more outrageous actions until someone get hurt.
It may calm them down a little when "it gets real" and some of the smarter ones (if there are ANY) realize that them helpless victims...some COULD be armed and decide to react in kind in self-defense.
Just my first take on the article and everybody, even non-white supremacists have the right to defend themselves.
I'm not happy about the way this stuff got started or developed, or the direction this country of ours has taken, but there it is.
Also sure the 2nd amendment wasn't made so people in this country could have firearms to threaten or intimidate each other.
If only.....
Good!
Perhaps both "extremists" sides will kill each other off and leave the rest of us alone.
I for one am tired of the perception that if a small minority aren't responsible enough to handle certain liberties, none of us are.
Nothing could be further from the truth IMO.
that's the spirit !
Ain't it cool!
bob I actually have no problem with this , everyone has the right to decide how they will defend themselves or if they decide they need to, so as long as the law is being followed , I have no heartburn about it.
On a side note , and you can call this off topic , but it is an observation.
The picture of the person holding the hand gun, I see 2 major issues there in the image presented , One is the individuals booger hook is on the bang switch ( finger on the trigger) And the second issue observation? see the red dot on the back of the handgun which is a semi auto? that means it is set to the pew-pew pew setting ( meaning it is in the fire setting and not in the SAFE setting )
Both are violations of safe firearms handling at any gun club I have ever visited.