A group of “gun rights” advocates have declared today to be “Gun Appreciation Day,” encouraging like-minded Americans to visit gun shops, ranges, and shows on January 19 in a show of solidarity similar to last year’s Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day.
The weekend of the 19th is when President Obama will be sworn in for a second term, so the date is not coincidental. Date was picked “to send a message to Washington two days before Obama’s second inauguration,” according to organisers.They are concerned about what they call the “Obama administration’s assault on gun rights” in the wake of Sandy Hook.
Twenty first-graders and six teachers were shot and killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 14. The gunman then killed himself.
The Second Amendment Foundation and the Conservative Action Fund, a so-called SuperPAC, are both on board with Gun Appreciation Day.
Additionally, on the 19th, Americans are encouraged to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “through a day of service and volunteering,” as stated by the White House.
Gun Owners’ Appreciation Day: A Brief History
The history of firearms is extensive. In the 1800s, a weapon similar to what we now call a gun was created, and it was refined and perfected in the years leading up to and during World War I and World War II.
Firearms come in a wide variety of forms, including those used in the military, handguns, hunting firearms, machine firearms, autocannons, artillery firearms, tank firearms, flare firearms used in rescue operations, recreation firearms like nerf firearms, and energy firearms. Because they are capable of causing death, each of these firearms deserves respect.
Weapons have been crucial to the growth of the United States. Guns were seen as essential to the freedom and future of the country during the Revolutionary War, which was the defining moment for the country’s views on guns.
There was no regular army until the early 1800s, when the militia was established. Formerly a conscription system, participation in this militia is now entirely voluntary. Throughout the course of the country’s development, firearms came to represent its progress and the rise of the Wild West in particular.
Also Read Get All About Your Customers Day
Because of numerous shootings throughout the country in the 2000s, there was a growing movement for gun control measures. Some gun owners were concerned that no safeguards existed to ensure their firearms were treated with the care they deserved.
Others, concerned that the regulations would go too far, rallied against the gun control movement by celebrating Gun Appreciation Day. Since then, people in the United States have celebrated the holiday in a variety of ways, with the overarching theme being a commitment to the responsible ownership and use of firearms.
Methods for Celebrating the Second Amendment’s Birthday
Attending “your local gun store, gun range, or gun show with your Constitution, American flags, and your ‘Hands off my Guns’ sign” is the recommended way to show support for the day and send a message to lawmakers that gun control will not be tolerated.
Some other options for the day include joining a pro-gun group, such as the National Rifle Association or Political Media, Inc., buying a new gun, cleaning your existing guns, or subscribing to a gun magazine.
Also Read Behind The Stats: Paul George Gives The Thunder A Little Bit Of Everything
A Convergence of Gun Rights and Martin Luther King Jr.
Guns were a major topic of conversation for people of all political stripes in the United States over the Martin Luther King holiday weekend. Church sermons advocating for stricter gun control were given to those outraged by the killings.
Pro-gun rallies were held by those who support a strict interpretation of the Second Amendment. On Monday, January 19, Gun Appreciation Day organiser Larry Ward debated Al Sharpton on his radio show..
Also read Good Memory Day, Do You Think, Is A Talent?
Ward argues that the civil rights leader would have supported Gun Appreciation Day had he been granted a permit to purchase a firearm in the past. In response, Sharpton argued that although King advocated nonviolence, he was killed by a bullet.
From Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to the victims of the Sandy Hook school shooting in Connecticut.
Tirza Williams, who lost her cousin Joseph Veal, 19, to gun violence, was among the many whose names were called out when he asked the audience to do so. Parents have an obligation to provide a safe environment for their children, she stressed.
She praised President Obama’s positive direction and the positive steps he has taken, including the 23 executive orders and the ban on assault weapons. “I don’t want any more guns in my community. Bullets have taken the lives of too many people.”
Five people were shot on New Orleans’ MLK Boulevard on Monday, after a parade commemorating Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. The police chief of New Orleans, Ronal W. Serpas, reportedly said, “It is the state of affairs in our nation that young men do not heed the words of Martin Luther King Jr.”
