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SALT LAKE CITY — A Pro Gun Rally took place across the U.S. at noon on Saturday. In one of the largest rallies, Utahns gathered at the Capitol Building to demonstrate their support for their 2nd Amendment rights.
When the rally started at noon on Saturday, roughly 1,500 people had arrived. By the end, Capitol police estimate 3,000 people attended, signaling to politicians that any gun control legislation is going to have a lot of opposition.
"Any attempt to take any of that away from us is unconstitutional and in my opinion, blasphemous," said Holladay resident Bruce Clements.
He is just one of thousands who stood outside a very cold Utah State Capitol to voice their concerns about gun control.
Related:
Thousands rally against stricter gun control in US
Thousands of gun advocates gathered peacefully Saturday at state capitals around the U.S. to rally against stricter limits on firearms, with demonstrators carrying rifles and pistols in some places while those elsewhere settled for waving hand-scrawled signs or screaming themselves hoarse."It's not the gun. It's the people," said Utah Shooting Sports Council Chair Clark Aposhian.
Aposhian is an advocate of responsible gun ownership. He feels gun control is a step in the wrong direction and against the 2nd Amendment.
"It's our watch now to take care of it. We want to make it so we give it to our children as good, if not better, then when we get it," Aposhian said.
One of the biggest responses came when a speaker talked about the letter the Utah Sheriff's Association recently sent to Obama, saying, in part, "As the duly-elected sheriffs of our respective counties, we will enforce the rights guaranteed to our citizens by the Constitution. No federal official will be permitted to descend upon our constituents and take from them what the Bill of Rights — in particular Amendment II — has given them."
Along with others in the rally, Clements agreed.
"It's a slap in the face to all those veterans who have given their lives for this country and for the freedoms we enjoy," Clements said.
One speaker said the rally's organizers intend to hold rallies in coming months throughout the year and expect to gain more supporters each following month.
