*NOTE* This FreeInAZ quote and my response are posted in the "MDA events in AZ (TOMORROW!)" thread here in the AZ subforum. I have merely quoted him here to give a little context to a certain portion of my post.
From the other thread:
Rusty - love your grit here, but sadly people here in AZ seem to have the attitude of :"oh well, someone else can stand up for MY rights. I'm too busy with _______ " fill in the blank....
Thank God for AZCDL, but even they can't do all the heavy lifting all of the time. Inaction on our part = win for gun grabbers. They will show up and get their propaganda in the news, while we go quietly into the night on this one it seems. Hope to be proven wrong. Past experience has shown (April 27, 2013 pro-2A rally at state house) that we can't even muster more than 200 supporters on a sunny 90° Saturday. This in the heart of the aftermath of Newtown & the push by government/anti-freedom folks to strip all of the gun freedoms we enjoy here in AZ. Sometimes WE are our own worst enemies.
Rant off. :what:
Sorry for the long post.
OCed to the counter protest of the MDA anti-rights group. Showed up with two signs: an "Unarmed victims = Happy Criminals" and an "'Gun control' is SEXIST/RACIST" sign. Found an AZCDL member with signs and "Guns Save Lives" stickers in assistance during the early moments, and we were treated with disdain in general. So yes, only TWO supporters of the RKBA were in attendance as far as I could see. Would have liked to see a flood of RKBA supporters; as FreeInAZ pointed out, we seem to lack the mobilization of involved individuals. To be fair, I realize some people simply couldn't make it because of things that just couldn't be put off for later.
We were able to keep ourselves composed and tried not to give the anti-rights media in attendance any good sound bites to frame us in a negative light. Some antis in attendance could at least carry on a civil conversation without deviating from the topic or making fantastic leaps (you know, the types that argue "well what about tanks and nuclear weapons?!" in regards to the RKBA).
My 1911 was the center of attention when it came to me for several cameramen, and it was disheartening to find several gun owners support the notion that guns and the RKBA were only intended for hunting and sporting purposes. On a side note, I found it interesting that they gave so much frame time to the guy playing sad-sounding tunes on his violin, and that some seemed to intentionally crop me out of the frame when doing so.
During the event, an attempt was made to keep us and our signs covered by their own signs, despite the fact that we were standing there quietly unless in conversation. I found it to be very telling of their beliefs that they would try to shut us out of the conversation and the photo since we were also there to remember the victims of laws that cater to criminals by creating victim disarmament zones. One guy next to me was more brazen and tried to cover my sign, so I firmly, but politely pointed out that I was not doing that to them and I expected the same courtesy. He backed off, others didn't. I'd be lying if I said I didn't find comfort in their shock at seeing me pull the second sign from by backpack to counter their attempt to block me out.*Thankfully, youth, determination, and a bit of help from somewhere helped me keep up the two signs I had, one in each outstretched arm, ensuring that at least one of the signs was in the photo frame at any given time.
Afterwards, I was interviewed (and possibly the other RKBA supporter was as well) by two or so local media outlets, one of which was quite blatantly anti (they kept giggling or spoke in mocking tones) asking whether I though it disrespectful to OC on "the anniversary of Newtown," and I pointed out that I was not the one that murdered the children, and I was at the MDA event to remember the victims that were unarmed by laws, peacefully counter protest the MDA arguments and show that this was not a one-sided argument and that differing opinions existed. Will wait to see how the media outlets portray me (us?) and my (our?) words, if they do so at all.