Only 2 People Showed Up To July 4 Richmond Open Carry Demonstration

in Seattle, Wednesday, March 3, 2010. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Two Richmond, Va. open carry advocates organized a demonstration in the city’s Carytown neighborhood on July 4, but they were the only two people to attend.

They invited more than 300 people on Facebook to walk down one of the city’s main streets openly carrying handguns, rifles and long guns, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Organizer Jason Spitzer, a Chesterfield County steel mill worker, was unable to explain the low turnout.

“I don’t know why,” he told the Times-Dispatch.

Spitzer said he thought Independence Day was the perfect day to “spread Constitutional awareness” and promote Second Amendment rights.

“But even if nobody came I’d still walk,” he said. “It’s the Fourth of July and I love my country.”

Open carry demonstrations have gained a lot of attention recently, particularly the group Open Carry Texas.

The group has staged protests at Chipotle and Target, prompting both chains to ask customers to refrain from bringing guns into the establishments.

Latest Livewire

Notable Replies

  1. Until a citizen can openly carry a firearm in a bank, police station, airport or on a passenger plane, 'merica will not be truly free.

  2. Probably would also include the U.S. Supreme Court, and the U.S. Congress, too. Yes, let’s let freedumb ring!

  3. Jason, maybe nobody came because they’d rather spend a day off from work having burgers and beers with friends than walking around in public with guns making jackasses out of themselves.

  4. Avatar for cmb cmb says:

    These OC idiots need basic gun safety awareness.

    Guns are not bling - or any other kind of status symbol.

    They are lethal weapons deserving of the respect and caution we regularly use when handling poisons or deadly microbes. Who would want open or concealed carry of Sarin gas canisters or of vials of the Ebola virus in Target or Walmart?

  5. Interesting: the lunatics are being publicly shamed, cowards that they are.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

78 more replies

Participants

Avatar for ajm Avatar for seashell Avatar for mattinpa Avatar for mlp Avatar for lew Avatar for cmb Avatar for sergeant2 Avatar for thunderhawk Avatar for cwazycajun Avatar for thx1138 Avatar for dark_hawk_98 Avatar for sandyh Avatar for cvilledem Avatar for marsala56 Avatar for cpinva Avatar for fitley Avatar for cletus Avatar for 538liberal Avatar for sufi66 Avatar for dickweed Avatar for darrtown Avatar for lemmitellya Avatar for richterscale Avatar for professorpoopypants

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: