Gun rights rallies tend to be viewed as a thing of the political right, and for pretty good reason. The truth of the matter is that while the Second Amendment shouldn’t be a partisan issue, it is. Democrats typically want to disarm us and Republicans generally don’t. That fact alone makes it a fairly partisan issue, no matter what people want to claim.

However, it doesn’t have to be. In fact, it shouldn’t be partisan.

An upcoming gun rights rally is interesting because, well, it kind of tips the partisan nature of gun rights rallies on its head.

Formed over a summer of Black Lives Matter protests, A Quad Cities civil rights organization is now advocating for another personal freedom—the right to bear arms. The group, We F.I.G.H.T. protested against a recent gun rally in Davenport, but this Saturday, it’s holding one of its own.

Eric Puryear says this Open Carry Rally is a peaceful alternative to one held last month by a Neo Nazi. And he says that other Black Lives Matter activists have the wrong idea about gun ownership.

“The idea that I would want to have only the police armed just doesn’t make any sense to me at all. If we look at the history of gun restriction in the US, gun laws started out as a means of preventing recently-freed slaves from being armed for self-defense… The KKK, the Neo Nazis, they’re armed to the teeth. If one of those people were to try to attack me or break into my house, I certainly want the best self-defense tool available, which is a gun.”

Now, I don’t know about a rally held by a Neo Nazi last month. I can’t find anything besides Puryear saying that, but I may not be looking in the right place. Frankly, it doesn’t matter to me.

The truth is that his statement, that leaving only the police armed making no sense, does.

See, I agree. If you honestly believe the police are abusive and dangerous, why on God’s green Earth would you want them to be the only ones with firearms? The logic is beyond ridiculous, yet so many of the “defund the police” types are also all about gun control. They don’t grok that with fewer police, people are likely to need more guns, not fewer.

And, additionally, while I may believe that much of the talk of racism is heavily overblown–the whole system isn’t necessarily stacked against any group of people–I’m not delusional. Racism does exist. Racists still walk among us and some of those are violent bastards who will kill if they get half a chance and think they can get away with it.

If you’re a minority in this country, it just makes sense to arm yourself if you can do so lawfully. Most can, of course, so why not? I support Puryear’s efforts and I sincerely hope he achieves all he wants to with this rally.

At the end of the day, the Second Amendment isn’t for any ethnicity. It’s for free Americans, which we all are thankfully. Thanks to the Second Amendment, though, we can all stay free.