Rally Held To Protect And Defend The 2nd Amendment

BUTLER (KDKA) -- They came from around Western Pennsylvania to protect and defend the Second Amendment.

"The Second Amendment is part of our inalienable freedoms, and the fact that it is part of the constitution that protects their First Amendment rights as well," said Rich Wilson with Firearm Owners Against Crime.

"We are tired of having our rights predicated on the misdeeds of criminals, and there is an assault going on on rights now -- especially the Second Amendment that is not only unethical and uncalled for, but it is also anti-American," said keynote speaker Kim Stolfer.

Hundreds attended the event in Diamond Park in Downtown Butler -- and many took advantage of an open carry day declared by the mayor.

"What we have to do is make people aware about the constitutionality of the Second Amendment, what that means, and how it relates to the other amendments of the Constitution," one person said.

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Some of the speakers came from law enforcement -- including Butler County Sheriff Mike Slupe -- who urged safety among owners through practice.

"The gun that I carry, I train with. I want you to do the same thing," he said.

The event was not a political rally for a particular party or candidate, but that doesn't mean there weren't strong opinions. Still this event was all about defending the words of the U.S. Constitution.

"The stigma, the bias, the prejudice -- it's as if somehow we make ourselves safer by having four ounces of cloth covering a firearm right here. It doesn't make us any safer. All it is is a way of burying the reality of people carrying firearms,"