It is extremely fitting that the Virginia gun rally took place on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Even if leftists refuse to admit it, the gathering in defense of the second amendment paralleled King’s civil rights philosophy in more ways than one. The conservative assembly remained as peaceful as protests come, despite extensive antagonism and Governor Ralph Northam’s manufactured “State of Emergency”.
The demonstration was truly the antithesis to Antifa protests occurring across the country, whose aggressive disposition and segregative mission more closely resembles the less effective movement of Malcolm X.
In addition to the groups’ similarity at face value, the fundamental reason for their protests is nearly indistinguishable as well. Dr. King’s protests were not so much about the constitution being racist, or even that the average American at the time was inherently racist. He instead argued that state governments were passing laws and acting in ways that directly conflicted with the constitution. For instance, the laws and actions of Alabama state legislature that denied black Americans the right to vote led King and his followers to the famed Marches on Selma.
King is famously quoted as saying that citizens have a “moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws”. Pair this with the Founding Fathers’ view that the constitution was in part based on what they believed to be inalienable rights that are inherent to the individual, and you can derive King’s thoughts on Constitutional Supremacy.
It is much easier to find constitutional supremacy at the core of the Virginia gun rights rally. Governor Ralph Northam, who has ironically found himself tied to yet another news piece concerning civil rights, aims to pass a bill that undoubtedly conflicts with the second amendment.
Please note that this piece makes no attempt to compare the importance of civil rights and anti-gun legislation in Virginia, but rather focuses on the overarching philosophies backing the movements. One can only hope that conservatives continue to follow in Dr. King’s footsteps to defend our rights as he so effectively did all those years ago.
