Sportsmen Rally For Gun Rights In Pittsfield
|
Protesters made sure their point got across to motorists whizzing around the intersection. |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Hundreds of country residents took to Park Square on Monday in support of the right to bear arms.
The Berkshire County League of Sportsmen are joining groups across the state this week in protesting further legislation aimed to restrict gun ownership.
The group says both the laws in place and those being proposed limit lawful gun ownership but fails to address the criminal element.
"It's the average guy who is affect by these laws. It's not the criminal element," said President Mark Jester.
Jester says Gov. Deval Patrick's proposed gun laws should include measures to address reducing crime rather than adding more hoops for gun owners to jump through. The "one gun a month" provision would limit the amount of guns or magazines owners who have gone through background checks and registered can buy in a month.
"If I miscount the days, I go to jail for two years," Jester said, adding that a criminal will still get unregistered weapons.
Straw purchases, in which a registered gun owner purchases a weapon and gives it to someone else, is against the law but has never been prosecuted in the state, Jester said.
On the federal level, the group is opposing restriction on the types of guns, claiming that many eyed to be eliminated are the most popular for sportsmen.
"The sportsmen are sick and tired of being the scapegoat," Jester said.
Guns are used for self-defense, he said, and violent crime decreases with more lawful gun owners. He carried around a list of "myths" about proposed laws saying there is no "gun-show loophole" or "armor piercing bullets."
Gun control has become a national conversation after the elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn. Both the state and the federal governments have been debating legislation to restrict gun ownership and certain types of guns.
Monday's rally is the first local one but sportsmen have been protesting across the state, many of the local gun owners attending every one. It is estimated that nearly 200 people attended — coming and going during the 2 1/2 hour rally.
"We've been getting some good public support," Jester said.
The rally is intended to show that law-abiding gun owners' rights need to be protected during those debates.
"It's about protecting civil rights of citizens," Jester said. "We're the good guys, not the bad guys."
Tags: gun control, guns, protests, rally,
