One day before the Fourth of July, the red, white, and blue holiday that marks America’s declaration of independence from Great Britain, just over a dozen freedom lovers gathered on the National Mall to exercise their Constitutional right to bear water-filled arms.
Organized by Austin Petersen, a video producer for the libertarian organization FreedomWorks, the rainy day began with a march from the Arlington National Cemetery to the National Mall. About 10:30 a.m., 12 adults and two children armed with water guns engaged in a very brief battle near the Washington Monument to make a wet statement about Second Amendment rights.
“Do you believe in the First Amendment?” Petersen asked the warriors. “Yeah!” they exclaimed. “Do you believe in the Second Amendment?” Again, they replied, “Yeah!” “Do you believe in private charity?” Yes, they responded, and they showed it by bringing donations for Toys for Tots.
Petersen organized the Toy Gun March in response to Adam Kokesh’s now-canceled loaded gun march, planned for the Fourth of July. “I totally disagree with the District’s gun laws, and that’ll be the message of this march,” Petersen previously told DCist. “But of course safety comes with being responsible, and in order to demonstrate we are responsible citizens, we should behave responsibly, and that’s what this march is all about.” (Kokesh, for his part, is now asking people to descend on all 50 state capitals and rally for the dissolution of the federal government.)
Before the battle began, Petersen said the Toy Gun Marchers had informed “a lot of people” about their Second Amendment rights. ” We made a good display and had a great time,” he continued.
A man who identified himself only as Jason said he attended the battle to show the importance of the First and Second Amendment. “If one falls, the rest of them fall,” he explained. When asked if he thought right now was an important time to fight for these rights, he replied, “Every day’s the right time.”
Below is very shaky (sorry) video of Peterson’s speech and a glimpse of the water gun battle.
