PITTSBURGH, Pa. (EYT) — An “Open Carry Rally” held in downtown Pittsburgh on Monday drew hundreds of gun rights activists from all across western Pennsylvania.
(Photos by Matt Yingling)
According to a published article in CBS Pittsburgh News, an estimated 600 people, many of them openly carrying firearms ranging from pistols to rifles, gathered at the City-County Building just before noon in response to Mayor Bill Peduto’s proposed firearms ordinances, which include a ban of semi-automatic weapons inside the city.
Venango County resident Matt Yingling also attended the rally after hearing about it through the Open Carry Pennsylvania Facebook page.
“I attended because I work and travel to and through Pittsburgh almost daily, and the proposed laws would affect my rights and possibly get me in trouble legally,” Yingling explained.
“I didn’t personally know anyone there, but everyone was very helpful to others and everyone was there for one reason, and that’s to fight unconstitutional laws that would have made everyone there a criminal.”
Yingling also noted the one thing he’d like people to understand is that “the proposed unconstitutional laws only affect law-abiding people.”