At a pro-gun-control rally in Ohio, the organizers quickly found themselves outnumbered by gun rights activists - to the point that if a passerby didn't know what they were looking at, they may have sworn it was a pro-gun rally.
It was a rally organized by gun-control supporters, but by the end, it looked more like an NRA rally.
"As a gun owner, I'm a responsible person and I think it's responsible to ask to have all gun owners have a background check," said Blanche Luczyk. "It's just common sense. Any responsible person who is willing to take the ownership of a gun should be willing to have that background check."
Luczyk was one of a half dozen members of the group Mayors Against Illegal Guns who hosted the rally in the Arena District on Friday... Luczyk says she's particularly disappointed in Republican Sen. Rob Portman for voting against background checks earlier this year.
But the majority of people at the rally ended up chanting "We love Portman."
The counter-rally was another demonstration of the organizational power of the Buckeye Firearms Foundation and the NRA, which quickly took control of the rally and the message.
"There's no reason for Mayors Against Illegal Guns to be in Ohio," said Linda Walker of the Buckeye Firearms Foundation. "Ohioans stand up for our constitutional rights and that's the way it's going to be."
After Luczyk addressed the crowd to some jeers and boos, Walker, with the crowd on her side, replaced her as a speaker.
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This isn't surprising. While gun control proponents enjoy lukewarm support among the majority of Americans, the enthusiasm of gun owners and Second Amendment supporters usually wins out. That was the case with President Obama's background checks bill, and that continues to be the case all across the country.
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