Nearly 800,000 people traveled to Washington, D.C. to participate in the March for Our Lives and demand stricter gun control legislation. Many protestors were vocal critics of the National Rifle Association and right-wing politicians, carrying signs and yelling chants that expressed their anti-gun standpoints. Even though the vast majority of attendees were advocating for their anti-gun views, a small number of counter-protestors made their way to the march to make sure their opinions were heard.
Standing outside of Trump International Hotel, Jean and Colin Valentine were each holding handwritten signs expressing their pro-gun stances. Jean, who would not provide his last name, was wearing a bright red “Make America Great Again” hat. His sign read, “Gun grabbers only care about lives when a gun is involved.”
“I personally don’t believe any gun control has been effective at reducing violence,” he says. “I don’t really make the distinction between violence and gun violence. I mean, it doesn’t matter how people die – it matters that they’re dying.”
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Both Jean and Valentine are gun owners. Jean believes prosecuting gun crimes more strictly would lessen domestic gun violence and says universal gun ownership would make American citizens safer.
“I see gun ownership like vaccinations. The more people that have it, the less people die,” he says.
Valentine’s sign reads, “Freedom of speech and assembly aren’t guaranteed by the First Amendment. They’re guaranteed by the second!” He says he wants the marchers to research gun control laws before making assumptions.
“I would encourage people to look into the research on this and realize that a lot of the measures that the gun control proponents are proposing really wouldn’t work,” he says.
Brandon Howard is a disabled combat veteran from Hopewell, VA. With a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, he held a handwritten sign that read, “Keep your hands off my guns.” He came to the march because he believes it’s his duty to defend the constitution and says the anti-gun camp is infringing on his constitutional rights.
“I’ve took an oath to uphold and defend the constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic,” he says. “Any assault on the constitution is a domestic assault that I must defend.”
He believes any law-abiding citizen should be able to own a gun.
“Guns don’t kill people, people kill people,” he says. “The gun’s only a tool, and the gun is constitutionally protected. So why don’t we ban cars? Why don’t we ban fertilizers so you can’t make a bomb, so you can’t grow your plants? How about we ban anything that can kill somebody? Then what are you left with? Nothing.”
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Joe was holding a sign that reads, “Shall Not Be Infringed #2A #RightsNotFeels #MyRightsTrumpYourFeelings.” A gun owner who is not affiliated with the NRA, Joe would not disclose his last name, citing concerns about retaliation from his employer. Even though his sign could be interpreted as an inflammatory, statement, his demeanor is surprisingly calm.
“I’m just here to state my opinion,” he says. “If [protestors] want to yell at me, I’m here to chill out.”
Even though he didn’t grow up around guns, he says he supports gun rights because of their place in America’s past.
“Historically, firearms laws were used to disenfranchise minorities and the poor, and its actually been used by the government and leadership to actually strip the rights of the people that it didn’t necessarily want to have rights,” he says. “The National Firearms Act placed an extremely high burden of a tax on firearms to prevent the transfer to people who weren’t rich.”
Joe also puts a high value on his personal safety, and believes guns are a tool for self-protection.
“The supreme court has ruled multiple times that there is no constitutional right to be protected by the state from criminals,” he says. “If the state isn’t going to do it, then the only person who’s left to do it is myself. If I’m going to protect myself, I need to own a firearm or something I can use to defend myself from a criminal.”
A few March for Our Lives protestors tried to argue with Joe, but he says they’re free to speak their minds just like he is. Even though he doesn’t necessarily agree with the anti-gun marchers, he came to the march to express his views.
“I’m just glad I live in America where I can do this, and I’m glad I live in a country where these guys can do it too,” Joe said. “I feel like people are going to be civil and that they’re going to respect my opinion as I’m respecting theirs. As long as we treat each other with respect, we should be fine.”