Second Amendment supporters across the nation gathered on the footsteps of the Supreme Court to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the District of Columbia v. Heller case, which ruled that "the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to own a firearm unconnected from service in a Militia and that a firearm may be used in a traditionally lawful purpose, such as for self-defense in the home."
Because of today's controversial Supreme Court decision on President Donald Trump's travel ban, protestors were also at the Supreme Court, chanting "no ban, no wall."
When speaker Maj Toure — founder of Black Guns Matter, whose sole mission is to educate urban communities on their Second Amendment rights and responsibilities through firearm training and education — took the stage he encouraged protestors to use their voice.
"Hey, real quick. To the people that are saying 'no ban, no wall,' I want you to get it all out. I want you to express yourself. I want you to express your First Amendment right and the officers with firearms here are protecting your right to do that," Toure told anti-Trump protestors.
"Plot twist: just as they have the right to express themselves and say 'no ban, no wall,' we're going to say 'black guns matter.' Is that fair? I think that's fair," Toure told Second Amendment supporters.
According to Toure, the young people protesting are being confused by soundbites and pull quotes from the mainstream media.
"Those younger people don't understand that we're not in disagreement with them. We're all in the same space. We just disagree with how to get there. The fact that they're involved instead of sitting on the couch is amazing. They just need to add facts to that passion, not just sound bites that they're getting fed," Toure told Townhall. "A lot of the people that were there, we completely agree with. We agree with anyone's right to dissent. They were there exercising their First Amendment rights. When you're unaware that we're here as supporters of the Second Amendment, which protects your First Amendment rights, and you're antagonizing us, that's ironic. They're young and their political education may be limited. We don't want to remove their fire. We just want them to add facts to their fire."
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After leading a 'black guns matter' chant during his speech, Toure talked about the vital work that Dick Heller, the plaintiff in the landmark SCOTUS case, did to come out with a win.
"For one, he [Heller] did it in Washington, D.C., that's no different than the McDonald case in Chicago," Toure told Townhall. "He did it in a highly populated urban area so winning a decision like that on a grade scale is something that's very important for Black Guns Matter. This decision was before my organization even existed. This decision is important for anyone who wants to protect their lives. I salute Heller for that."
Toure said it's important to honor the work Heller did because he went into the lawsuit completely blind.
"You don't know what kind of impact it's going to have. You're going to have to do the work. You don't have cameras around. You put that time and work in without cameras around," Toure told Townhall. "You have to honor it."
After his speech, Toure said he walked around and talked with the young people who were there protesting the travel ban decision.
"They thought this was an NRA-sponsored event," Toure explained. "You don't have to have the NRA or the government there. No one is in charge of our rights. No one."
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