Gun Ban Groups Blame Virginia Open Carry Gun Laws For Violence In Charlottesville Despite Lack Of Gun Violence

Gun ban organizations such as Michael Bloomberg-backed Everytown For Gun Safety, Moms Demand Action and The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence are pointing to Virginia’s open carry laws as a core issue at the events that unfolded in Charlottesville, Virginia this weekend, according to a report by The Daily Caller.

“With public attention on what is happening in Charlottesville, it’s important to understand the troubling reality of open-carry and what happens when guns fall into hate-filled hands.” Everytown said in a statement.

Tim Schmidt, President and found of the United States Concealed Carry Association told the Daily Caller however:

“Opponents of the Second Amendment never miss an opportunity to exploit a tragedy for their own political purposes and it’s frankly shameful,” said Tim Schmidt, President & Founder of the United States Concealed Carry Association. “The events in Charlottesville this weekend were deeply troubling but stripping law-abiding Americans of their Constitutional freedoms is not the answer. We hope that the groups blaming concealed carry and open carry laws on this tragedy have the decency to retract their statements and apologize for passing the blame on to those who believe in our God-given rights to protect ourselves from those who wish do us harm.”

Gun writer Tom Gresham also addressed the violence in Charlottesville during his Gun Talk radio program yesterday (at the 2:56 mark of the clip below).


Gresham noted that those openly carrying at the protests were not like the vast majority of gun owners who are law abiding nor, in this case, were they responsible gun owners and we need to call them out as such.

It is no surprise that gun ban groups would take the opportunity to blame Virginia's freedom friendly firearm laws for the lawless acts of those who came to Charlottesville to start trouble, though.  It's what they do.