Gun owners urge Second Amendment advocates to vote in midterms

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Dozens of activists lined Sarasota’s Bayfront Park to rally in support of the Second Amendment.

Organizer Jeff Young says it was, in part, a response to the protests and rallies on the other side of the issue.

“We just want to remind people that we are out here too. I think we are just tired of being the silent majority and we want to make sure people heard our voices as well,” Young said.

The event came a day after President Trump addressed an audience at the National Rifle Association’s Conference, in which he promised to defend Second Amendment rights.

“As of now he’s getting an A+ for most gun owners that come to the NRA,” Young said. “We are very happy that we have a supporter of the Second Amendment in the office and we hope he stays that way.”

One participant says, in this midterm election year, gun laws have become a central campaign issue.

“Our second amendment right is under assault,” Gary Snow said. “For political reasons. And we are going to be out here and continue to be out here, we are going to be out here all the way to the mid-term elections this is going to get bigger, and we are going to get louder and we are just not going to stop.”

Donna and Joe Brower say the fallout from Parkland’s shooting has re-enforced their resolve as gun owners.

"The problem ain't guns. The problem is nuts, and there's a lot of them. They're just tools, just like any tool," Joe Brower said, pointing to his head. "This is the weapon. Everything else is just ancillary."

Several participants urged everyone to vote in 2018, or risk lawmakers in office that could strip their gun rights in the future.