The Deadly Collaboration Between White Supremacy and Gun Rights

Armed men patrolling Emancipation Park during Charlottesville’s “Unite the Right” rally. Photo courtesy of Anthony Crider.

I will never forget the day I saw hordes of white supremacists and neo-Nazis, chanting “blood and soil” and “Jews will not replace us,” as they marched down the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia―a place I call home. Their assault rifles made this display of hate all the more alarming. The “Unite the Right” rally turned our small college town into a war zone and left locals in a state of shock. Yet, thinking back to the demonstrators wielding weapons typically seen in the hands of soldiers, I cannot help but think we were lucky.

Just over a month ago, Virginia was once again the target of a demonstration that pitted citizens’ right to assemble against concerns for public safety. Thousands of gun rights activists gathered in Richmond to protest outside the State Capitol. Inside, legislators debated long-awaited gun reform bills that would begin universal background checks, limit handgun purchases to once a month, and prohibit people under protective orders from owning guns, among other proposals. Similar to the Charlottesville rally, many attendees brandished handguns or assault rifles. 

Just days before the Richmond rally, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency in preparation, citing  “credible intelligence” that there were groups with “malicious plans” for the event. The F.B.I. subsequently arrested three members of a white nationalist group for possession of firearms with intent to commit a felony. These men were found with a machine gun and thousands of rounds of ammunition. 

To the global white supremacist movement that has visibly emerged in recent years, AR-15s and AK-47s are more than tools of self-defense. These weapons represent a promise to assert dominance over minority groups and incite violence. This chilling, wordless message is no new trend: Hate groups have always relied on intimidation and brutality to achieve their goals. The K.K.K. terrorized black communities with burning crosses and lynchings, and snipers targeted buses during the Montgomery boycotts. Today, advanced military-grade weapons are the tools of modern white supremacy.

Even demonstrations like Richmond, while ultimately non-violent, normalize the use of firearms for intimidation. Make no mistake: Flaunting an assault or semi-automatic rifle as a demonstrator is an extremist tactic. These weapons are a far cry from handguns typically held for the purpose of self defense—AR-15s and AK-47s are designed to kill. Richmond and Charlottesville protesters took it upon themselves to pose as militia members, displaying their rifles in a clear assertion of power.

The problem isn’t just that white supremacist terrorism is on the rise, or that neo-Nazis are comfortable using firearms to intimidate the public and achieve their ends. It’s that the gun rights movement has enshrined their right to do so. 

Millions of dollars in campaign donations have solidified the National Rifle Association’s influence on federal policy. The gun rights movement has successfully infiltrated state and local politics as well. Prior to “Unite the Right,” the fairly liberal city manager of Charlottesville banned demonstrators from carrying B.B. guns, paintball guns, or even long pieces of lumber, while actual firearms were still allowed.

No law explicitly states that guns must be permitted at a protest or a rally, and the Supreme Court’s broad modern interpretation of Second Amendment rights may even permit restrictions on them.  The Court’s opinion in District of Columbia v. Heller, written by the late Justice Antonin Scalia, leaves the door open to "laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places.” If torches, swastikas, and vitriolic hate speech did not transform Charlottesville into a "sensitive" place, I do not know what does.

The N.R.A. has tacitly endorsed white supremacy. Their mission statement pledges to protect the “inalienable right of the individual American Citizen.” How, then, can the N.R.A. stand strong in their defense of semi-automatic and assault weapons after the Pittsburgh and El Paso mass shootings, but remain silent on the death of Philando Castile, a black man who was shot after disclosing he had a licensed handgun in his possession? Why did Charlottesville and Richmond not cause concern, while the Black Panthers’ armed march on California’s State Capitol prompted N.R.A. support for a complete open carry ban? Who is the “American Citizen” they truly seem to value?

Even after recent mass shootings at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue, an El Paso Walmart, and many other international incidents, the N.R.A.’s grip on gun policy prevails. Increasingly, the N.R.A.’s advocacy is no longer on behalf of the average American gun owner. By instituting protections for weapons repeatedly used to enact hate crimes, their diligent work has bolstered the work of hate groups. White supremacists have found a crucial asset in military-grade weapons that the U.S. government, at the bidding of the N.R.A., defends time and time again.

This defense directly violates the will of the American people. 71 percent of Americans support a complete ban of high capacity ammunition magazines. Moreover, 87 percent of Americans consider white nationalist terrorism to be just as concerning as other forms of terrorism. Why have the gun rights and white power movements been able to work together this effectively, with the implicit permission of our own government?

As Charlottesville continues to grapple with the events of 2017, I am reminded that they were not isolated incidents. The gun rights movement has all but guaranteed white supremacy’s continued power over public spaces, and the recent Richmond rally only reinforces this power. The next large-scale demonstration of hate is inevitable. If we continue to tolerate armed assertions of white power, it will only become much, much worse. 

Chloe Lowell is a staff writer at CPR and a first-year in Columbia College studying Political Science and Human Rights. You can usually find her petting dogs on College Walk, giving campus tours, or at a halal cart.