The Second Amendment rally last weekend in Belchertown was a somber reminder that there are armed extremists among us with an agenda to make firearms of all types available to anyone (including criminals and the mentally ill), and a shared delusion that a populace prepared to kill one another is more secure.
Putting aside the abundant proof that this is false (states with higher gun ownership have higher rates of gun deaths), the anti-Muslim remarks heard there make it clear that these zealots, who profess to defend the Constitution, are unaware that it extends protections to these groups.
Violent extremism, authoritarianism and bigotry are on the rise across the country and the world, and this gathering makes it clear that true patriots who embrace the actual principals of the Constitution, including those of equal protection, must mobilize to counter this threat to our democracy.
Dave King
Amherst