Open Carry March on DC a Success

Former Iraq veteran Adam Kokesh staged an open carry protest in Washington DC today by loading a 12 gauge shotgun near the White House – committing at least four felonies in the process.

“I committed at least four felonies this morning and got it on video,” Kokesh texted.

In June 2008, the Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in Heller v. District of Columbia, ruling that the Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to keep and bear arms and that the Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 is unconstitutional. However, authorities in DC have largely ignored the ruling and still impose draconian measures on anyone who wants to own a firearm.

Kokesh’s protest stems out of his call for a “new American revolution” that would have involved a march on all 50 state capitols. The former Iraq vet had previously planned to lead an armed march on Washington DC on Independence Day.

Kokesh later revised the plan after he was arrested in May for little more than exercising his First Amendment. “When it comes to this event being executed properly,” Kokesh told the Alex Jones Show, “when the government has already escalated the violent tactics against me personally as an organizer, I can’t in good conscience go forward with a plan that is so centrally dependent and not open source.”

Kokesh is to be saluted for his courage in taking such a bold stance to defend Second Amendment rights.