Hundreds gather at events around the state to express support for gun rights

by Chad D. Baus

Hundreds of Ohioans who love the Constitution joined thousands upon thousands at more than 100 "Day of Resistance", or .223 rallies, events in all fifty states to express their support for the Second Amendment on Saturday, February 23.

From The Washington Times:

Gun-rights advocates pulled off a coordinated 50-state protest over the weekend with little time and even less money, but their adversaries in the gun-control movement were unimpressed.

Critics of the Guns Across America national rally took to social media within hours of the Saturday event to contrast the event with shootings occurring the same day, notably a mass murder near Albuquerque, N.M., that left five dead.

"In addition to the shootings at gun shows yesterday, the 1st 'Gun Appreciation Day' concluded w/ a gruesome mass shooting in #NewMexico," said the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence in a Sunday post on Twitter.

Gun owners argue that such lawless attacks only underscore their argument. Under President Obama's proposed gun restrictions, they say, criminals would still find a way to obtain firearms, but law-abiding citizens would find it more difficult to defend themselves.

"In the hands of law-abiding citizens, guns will not be used to commit evil against other law-abiding citizens," said Bonnie Rider of Pueblo, Colo., who spoke at the Guns Across America-Colorado rally in Denver. "Criminals and the mentally deranged will continue to use gun-free zones as their killing grounds."

Thousands of protesters rallied at state capitol buildings in all 50 states in a mass demonstration aimed at countering the president's proposed firearms restrictions. Guns Across America reportedly was initiated by Eric Reed, a Texas airline pilot who launched the idea through Facebook and other social media.

The rallies were organized by unpaid volunteers and had a distinctly low-budget feel. At the Colorado rally, for example, organizer Don Dobyns repeatedly asked demonstrators to chip in a few bucks to cover the cost of the portable toilet rental.

The crowds ranged from about 2,000 in New York and Oregon to about 80 in South Dakota, according to news reports.

At least six "official" Day of Resistance rallies were held here in Ohio.

The Dayton Daily News reported that about 150 people gathered on Courthouse Square Saturday afternoon.

They carried signs proclaiming "Come and take it," "Just say no to gun control," and "Guns save lives" at the event — organized by the Dayton Tea Party — to protest proposed gun regulations from President Barack Obama that party President Don Birdsall said will infringe on Second Amendment rights and lead to a "slippery slope" that could end in gun bans.

"This gathering has to do with the Second Amendment,” he told the audience. "But I think we all realize that's the amendment that protects all the others."

More than 100 events across the country were organized in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., school shootings and Obama's proposals to curb gun violence, said Birdsall of Englewood.

Coverage of the events here in Ohio offered plenty of opportunity for media bias.

In its coverage, WDTN (NBC Dayton) described Dayton's crowd of 150 as being "dozens" of people, and also showed bias in using the same word to describe the more than 100 events nationwide.

The Dayton Daily News quoted the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence's Toby Hoover repeating a lie that 90% of Americans support President Obama's gun control agenda.

The Columbus Dispatch didn't even bother to mention the events around the state in its coverage of a single counter-protest organized by gun control extremists in that city, instead mentioning how there were only a "few" pro-gun people on hand.

In not one of the articles, including WBNS (CBS Columbus) coverage of the same counter-protest and which quoted a number of victims of gun violence, did the media address the fact that none of the President's proposals would have stopped the horrific events in Connecticut last December.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Vice Chairman.

Reality Check: VP Biden, "No law abiding citizens fear 2nd amendment infringement"