Hundreds of pro-weapons activists - including militia groups, nationalists and white extremists - have begun to march on Monday towards the State Capitol in Richmond (Virginia), where a protest against the efforts of legislators is held this morning to restrict access and possession of firearms.
Some protesters carry military-style assault rifles; the majority are white men, dressed in camouflage and with flags with messages of support for the president, Donald Trump.
The state Congress has been controlled for a year by the Democratic Party, which has promoted several bills to limit the purchase of firearms through more thorough background checks and other regulations. These proposals are the response to a mass shooting in May in Virginia Beach, in which a city employee killed 12 people in a municipal building.
The governor, Ralph Northam, also a Democrat, has declared a state of temporary emergency , prohibiting any type of weapon during the event and extreme security and frisking.
The rally takes place every year, organized by the Virginia Citizens Defense League, but this time has summoned a much larger crowd. That has raised alarms for fear of violence between groups in favor and against the Second Amendment. Public security forces have a strong presence there, where residents and the government fear another Charlottesville.
In 2017, during a pro-weapons demonstration in that city, a 32-year-old woman died and more than 19 people were injured when groups of white extremists crashed a car into the crowd.
Pro-weapons protesters in front of a security zone before a demonstration at the Virginia Capitol. Photo: (AP)
Although the annual manifestations of the League of Defense of the Citizens of Virginia only have a few hundred attendees, this time a massive presence is expected because the issue of weapons was key to the 2019 state legislative elections, after the shooting in Virginia Beach.
The rejection of the new arms restrictions proposed by the Democrats began immediately after they obtained majorities both in the state Senate and in the House of Delegates in local elections.
Virginia Democrats also support bills that limit firearms purchases once a month, implementing universal background checks on gun purchases, allowing localities to ban weapons in public buildings, parks and other areas, and a bill that would allow the authorities to temporarily withdraw weapons to any person deemed dangerous to themselves or others.
Edited with information from AP and NBC
See also:
Gun control returns strongly to public opinion