Jessie Jackson & DC mayor Fenty to be in Maryland August 28th.

[Norton]

alucard0822,

I agree....it doesn't matter if you can't make a purchase. Coming out to visibly show your support is just as important and much cheaper.

 

[K-Romulus]

There is a great AAR on the RealCo protest/counter-protest over at MD Shooters:

http://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=2472&page=4

 

[Norton]

I went and made my token purchase and old the owners why I was there. they thanked and gave me the Jesse Jackson 10% discount

 

[alucard0822]

 

[Novus Collectus]

I don't mean to nitpick about minutia, but I really wish newspaper articles were accurate about the issue they are reporting on:

Both Maryland and District of Columbia law typically carry a five-year prison sentence for illegally carrying a firearm.

In MD it is three years max and a misdemeanor. In DC it is for not more than a year and also a misdemeanor (first offense both).

Back to the topic: Channel four (the local NBC station) just reported on the protests. Almost all of the representatives of the antis were African Americans (including the AA mayor of the District Heights, the AA county District Attorney, the AA county exectutive and Marion Barry), but despite a number of Maryland African America pro gun rights protestors present, they only showed the "whites" there. This is not a racial issue, but the choice of footage is extremely suspect!
I saw the pictures another MDShooter took of the pro gun protest and I saw African Americans on our side in enough numbers that I am wondering just how they were missed by the news cameras???????

 

[K-Romulus]

AP coverage of the Realco protest/counter:

http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/...070828_ap_citiesjoiningunviolenceprotest.html

Cities Join in Gun Violence Protest
LUBNA TAKRURI
The Associated Press



DISTRICT HEIGHTS, Md. - About 100 people rallied outside a gun shop Tuesday, joining protesters in more than a dozen cities nationwide to call for tougher gun laws.

The national day of protest, organized by the Rev. Jesse Jackson's nonprofit Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, was planned for at least 17 cities, and Jackson led a rally near a Chicago gun manufacturing plant, organizers said.

"Where is our conscience? Most people in this community didn't even know there was a gun manufacturer in their own backyard," Jackson said in a statement. "We have the right to live safe and secure no matter where we live in America."

The protesters in District Heights, just across the District of Columbia border, rallied outside Realco Guns.

Local officials said the shop provides a disproportionate number of guns later recovered in the nation's capital, where private handgun ownership has been strictly banned for more than 30 years.

A federal appeals court overturned the D.C. gun ban in March, but it remains in place while the mayor appeals to the Supreme Court. But despite the ban, guns are commonly found in criminals' hands , a major theme of Tuesday's protest.

Shanda Smith, a D.C. resident whose 19-year-old son and 14-year-old daughter were killed in a shooting years ago, said gun shops should be more helpful in identifying people who sell guns to criminals.

"We know the guns are in D.C. You just need to tell us who bought them," she said.

Realco owner Greg del Real was inside the shop and would not talk to reporters.

In a written statement, he said Realco has provided "law abiding American citizens with knowledgeable assistance toward selecting and safely using firearms for self-defense and the shooting sports" for 35 years.

The store was working to keep guns out of the hands of criminals with strict background checks for buyers, he wrote.

District police recovered 2,656 firearms last year, and many of the guns had been used in crimes. Federal registration information showed that by far the largest number of traceable weapons , 566 , was sold in Maryland and Virginia.

Of the traced weapons, 76 came from Realco Guns. A distant second was another Maryland gun shop that sold 20 firearms. There was no indication the guns were sold illegally , only that they were illegally in Washington.

D.C. police recorded 137 homicides committed with a firearm in 2006 , 81 percent of that year's total homicides.

On the other side of the store, a smaller crowd of counter-protesters held signs and shouted slogans through a microphone. At times the two groups drowned each other out.

"I'm not in favor of gun control because it's only going to affect legal customers," said Mark Cathro, of Manassas, Va. He said Realco was being targeted because it's the closest gun store to the D.C. border.

 

[alucard0822]

awfull kind of them to give us 2 sentences of recognition in a page long arcticle. I thought more people wuld have shown up in support, but that kinda goes along with their strategy of pulling this on a tuesday where most folks have to work, leaving the profesional anti-rights camp with an advantage. We did have more actual people though (not paid activists), and more people came later on. I can only imagine (and im sure they can too) how it might have been different if they pulled this at the Basspro on a sunday in october.

 

[Norton]

awfull kind of them to give us 2 sentences of recognition in a page long arcticle. I thought more people wuld have shown up in support, but that kinda goes along with their strategy of pulling this on a tuesday where most folks have to work, leaving the profesional anti-rights camp with an advantage. We did have more actual people though (not paid activists), and more people came later on. I can only imagine (and im sure they can too) how it might have been different if they pulled this at the Basspro on a sunday in october.

Exactly. This is a point that we bring up every year at the gun hearings....that we have around 200 citizens who took off a day of work to come debate 3-5 paid professional lobbyists.

 

[scout26]

The national day of protest, organized by the Rev. Jesse Jackson's nonprofit Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, was planned for at least 17 cities, and Jackson led a rally near a Lake Barington gun manufacturing plant, organizers said.

"Where is our conscience? Most people in this community didn't even know there was a gun manufacturer in their own backyard," Jackson said in a statement. "We have the right to live safe and secure no matter where we live in America."

Number of murders/First Degree Homicides in Lake Barrington where guns are manufactured and legal to own, in last ten years: 0

Number of homicides/First Degree Murders in Chicago where guns are illegal to own, 1 Aug 2007 through 20 Aug 2007 http://www.chicagocrime.org/types/homicide/1/ :19

Sounds to me like Lake Barrington is much safer then Chicago.

So I guess what Jesse is saying is that Chicago needs gun manufacturers and fewer gun control laws.......Right ????

 

[scout26]

Title: Lake Barrington gun plant targeted by march
Source: The Daily Herald (Chicago, IL)
URL Source: http://www.dailyherald.com/story/? id=26722
Published: Aug 28, 2007
Author: Ashok Selvam and Chad Brooks


March in front of Lake Barrington gun factory to be aimed at shutting it down

Despite no evidence of legal wrongdoing, the Rev. Jesse Jackson wants a Lake Barrington gun plant shut down.

Jackson, founder and CEO of the Chicago-based Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, will at noon today lead a protest in front of D.S. Arms, a gun manufacturer that's been registered in Lake Barrington since 1998.

More than 30 protests to ban assault weapons are planned today around the country. Stopping gun manufacturing would halt illegal distribution of firearms, which feeds into the illegal drug trade, Jackson argues.

"This is not about Barrington; it's about gun death, and gun manufacturing," Jackson said.

Jackson wants residents to be aware of the gun plant and rally against it. He spoke Monday night at Barrington United Methodist Church in Barrington Hills. He blamed the illegal gun trade for mass slayings like the ones in Columbine and Virginia Tech.

Society has become desensitized to inner city gun violence, and the suburbs need to take notice, Jackson said.

"We don't make guns in the city of Chicago," he said. "We don't manufacture death."

Monday, someone answering the phone at D.S. Arms said they were reserving comment until after the rally. D.S. Arms, at 27W900 Industrial Ave. in Lake Barrington, makes military and police assault weapons, Jackson said.

In-state events are also planned today for Evanston and Springfield. The rally coincides with the anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington, where civil-rights leader the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke. Jackson noted that King met with President John F. Kennedy Jr. before the speech. The two were killed with high-powered weapons like the ones Jackson wants to ban.

The protests also coincide with the 1955 slaying of Emmett Till, a black Chicago teenager who was shot in the head after whistling at a white woman. The all-white jury instantly acquitted the two white suspects.

"The assassination aroused the consciousness of an entire nation," Jackson said.

Jackson also differentiated assault weapons from guns used to hunt deer.

"These weapons are for people hunting," Jackson said.

Lake Barrington Village President Kevin Richardson will take part in today's protest. But he stressed the Lake County sheriff's office has not reported any problems with D.S. Arms. He did not say he would support or oppose the plant shutting down, and said his village manager has spoken with officials from the plant.

But if the village did hear of any problems, they would "swiftly and immediately take action," Richardson said. Richardson mentioned July's discovery of 30,000 marijuana plants at a nearby Cook County forest preserve as an example.

"It's all a matter of public safety," he said.

Assault weapons were banned in 1994 by President Bill Clinton, but in 2004 the ban ended.

"Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney allowed the sun to set," Jackson said.

Barrington Hills Village President Robert Abboud is a proud gun owner but supports banning assault weapons. Abboud, whose family is longtime friends with Jackson, won't be participating in today's protest, saying he felt uncomfortable with targeting a law-abiding business.

Abboud added the problems isn't just urban. If Barrington Hills doesn't aid neighboring towns that are having difficulties with gun control, Abboud said his village will be susceptible to the same problems.

Church officials in Barrington Hills decided on Friday to host the event, as they were approached by officials from other churches affiliated with Jackson. Barrington United has no longstanding history with Jackson or Rainbow/PUSH.

"We want a cooperative effort to keep our children safe whether we live in the city or suburbs," Barrington United pastor the Rev. Jim Wilson said. "The issue concerns all of us whether we are black or white, rich or poor."

Barrington Hills Village President Robert Abboud is a proud gun owner but supports banning assault weapons.
As Pogo said, "We have met the enemy is he is us."

Jackson also differentiated assault weapons from guns used to hunt deer.
For now........


"We don't make guns in the city of Chicago," he said. "We don't manufacture death."
We steal them....