Militants and Free Speech

Waving a loaded gun in someone's face is not free speech. It is a threat.

A mob is not a well regulated militia, but bigots on parade.

   Protestors insist they have a Second Amendment right to carry loaded weapons as they exercise their First Amendment right to peaceably assemble and praise white supremacy.
   They do indeed have a right to express their opinions, ludicrous though they be, but they do not have a right to threaten violence against those who disagree.
   This is not a clash between two rights guaranteed by the Constitution, since the two amendments deal with separate rights. You may not use one to support a threat against the rights of others.
   Gun advocates conveniently ignore the first phrase of the Second Amendment, which refers to a "a well regulated militia." Instead, they focus entirely on the bit about the right to keep and bear arms.
   It is true that "a well regulated militia" is essential to "the security of a free state," but that does not mean that a mob of protestors can use weapons to threaten opponents. It means that each state must regulate its own militia. These days, it's known as the National Guard.
   It is true that protestors have a right to peaceably assemble and voice their agreement or disagreement with political leaders, government policy or anything else.
   However, as with any right, there is responsibility. This includes an obligation to assemble peaceably as they protest their cause. They cannot use their Second Amendment right as a weapon to threaten those who have an equal First Amendment right to assemble peaceably and voice their opposition.
   Maintaining order is government's duty and responsibility. Or, as the Constitution puts it, to "ensure domestic tranquility."
   As for statues and monuments honoring soldiers and politicians of the Confederacy, consider this: They were put up more than 40 years after the Civil War ended, at a time when bigotry against those whose families had been slaves was extremely high. The question then becomes whether those monuments were erected to commemorate history or to threaten former slaves with a subtle reminder to "keep in their place."
   When the War Between the States ended, the leader of the Confederate Army, Gen. Robert E. Lee, was not charged with treason, although he could have been. And the leader of the Union Army, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, did not require Gen. Lee to surrender his sword, which would have been a standard demand.
   Instead, all the soldiers of the Confederate Army were released, free to return to their homes and resume their places as U.S. citizens. Some, however, harbored and nursed resentment against the victors, and misguided policies during the Reconstruction Era stoked that resentment further.
   Many elements of the era live on in the bias among those who still believe in white domination and anti-Semitism, which has expanded to include hatred of immigrants and Muslims.
   For a time, it seemed, these attitudes went away. But they didn't. They only went underground. In recent weeks, however, there has been a resurgence.
   And now we see bigots on parade.