Washington has turned into ground zero for the nation’s polarizing gun debate, with rifle-toting protesters lining the banks of the Potomac, Congress on the verge of potentially gutting the District’s gun regulations, and area lawmakers calling for a crackdown on gun shows.
The events coincide with the anniversaries of the Oklahoma City bombing and Virginia Tech massacre, which have galvanized both sides in their cries to limit or expand gun control in the region.
With unloaded rifles over their shoulders and handguns at their sides, protesters carried their weapons to the edge of the District Monday, alluding to the Potomac River as a virtual buffer to their Second Amendment rights.
Some dressed on Patriots’ Daylike it was 1775, donning Colonial-styled hats and citing some Founding Fathers as inspiration for their right to carry guns in public.
“The rifle is a symbol of our liberty,” said Andrew Graves, one of dozens who gathered at Alexandria’s Gravelly Point Park. “This is a battle for the Constitution. I can’t think of anything more important to fight for.”
But gun laws in the Districtare less restrictive now, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the city’s handgun ban in 2008. And as evidenced Monday, national park visitors are allowed to pack heat under a law that went into effect in February.
Congress is expected to take up a bill this week that would give the District a congressional vote, but it would come at the expense of its ability to make gun control laws.
The tradeoff has garnered its share of high-profile detractors– among them, D.C. Council Chairman and mayoral candidate Vincent Gray. He said Monday that he would not support a bill forcing the District to scrap its gun laws.
Across the Potomac, a trio of Democratic Virginia lawmakers — Reps. Gerry Connolly, Jim Moran and Bobby Scott — has pushed for a bill forcing private gun dealers to perform background checks on customers, saying a loophole in federal gun law makes it far too easy to put weapons in the hands of criminals.
Family members of those killed at Virginia Tech and Colorado’s Columbine High School signed advertisements in newspapers calling for the closure of the “gun show loophole.”
An even bigger target was placed on gun control laws last month when the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments over Chicago’s handgun ban, which if overturned, could initiate a wave of challenges to gun regulations nationwide.
Other critics said the armed protests stoked fears and could incite violence.
“We don’t need to strap assault weapons on our backs to make a point,” gun control advocate, Martina Leinz, said at Gravelly PointPark. “It’s nothing more than intimidation. It’s disgraceful.”
Protesters also gathered at the Washington Monument, armed with little more than words and foam weapons thanks to the D.C. gun laws they despise.
But the District soon could mirror Virginia, according to some critics.
“Next year, you might see these folks in D.C.,” said Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, gazing at the wave of weapons in front of him. “What concerns me is the idea that it’s appropriate to bring a loaded gun to a political protest. Does that make us safer?”
A federal judge upheld the District’s gun laws passed after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the city’s handgun ban. Assault weapons and large ammunition-feeding devices remain outlawed.
To register for a gun, applicants must submit fingerprints and photo identification. And carrying guns, both openly and concealed, is prohibited in public.
