How Many 'Red Flags' Do You See in These Photos from Kentucky Gun Owners Swarming the Capitol?

On Friday, January 31, gun owners and second amendment advocates traveled to Kentucky's Capitol building in Frankfort to protest the state's proposed "red flag" laws that would allow family members and police to ask a judge to suspend gun ownership for those they believe are a threat to themselves or others. The proposed law, not yet in effect, would take guns away from those owners for two weeks. According to WDRB.com, about 200 people—many of them armed—showed up to the protest started by a group called Constitutional Kentucky. According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, more than 75 percent of the counties in Kentucky have passed similar non-binding resolutions.

Ironically, photos from the protest appear to show a number of red flags, themselves. If seeing someone in public who's dressed in a ski mask and tactical gear, and carrying an automatic weapon or two doesn't raise a red flag, I'm not sure what does. We do, mind you, live in a country constantly by terrorized by mass shootings (there were 417 in 2019, according to nonprofit Gun Violence Archive), where the weapon of choice is far too often the same type of automatic weapon carried by Frankfort's protestors.

Thought the bill has yet to pass, protesters said they were inspired by gun control legislation that recently passed in Virginia. Neighboring state Indiana has had a similar law in place for 15 years, according to WDRB. The photos here offer a chilling look at the lengths second amendment supporters will go to for their cause. It's hard to wrap your head around how a group of masked men and women strapped with death machines is an effective way to combat the stigma surrounding gun owners, but here we are.