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Walking around with an assault weapon is not free speech | READER COMMENTARY

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J'Den McAdory (right) carrying a Radical Firearms RF15 rifle and Michal Deangelo Billups (left), with his dog "General" carrying a Remington 870, as they walk down a Severn sidewalk. They are protesting gun safety legislation signed into law by Gov. Wes Moore. May 22, 2023. (Jeffrey F. Bill/Capital Gazette)

J'Den McAdory (right) carrying a Radical Firearms RF15 rifle and Michal Deangelo Billups (left), with his dog "General" carrying a Remington 870, as they walk down a Severn sidewalk. They are protesting gun safety legislation signed into law by Gov. Wes Moore. May 22, 2023. (Jeffrey F. Bill/Capital Gazette) (Jeffrey F. Bill/Capital Gazette)

Strolling with an AR-15 style weapon in a quiet suburban neighborhood to get your point across is not free political speech, it is intimidation and harassment (”Community ‘not interested’ in Severn man’s armed militia, neighbors, lawmakers and civil rights leaders say,” May 24).

The display of a gun outfitted with the look and feel of a military firearm conveys a serious threat to the public. The gunman is choosing a method of protest that means his political opinion is the only one that matters. He will be the executioner if he perceives a threat from other armed or unarmed members of the public.

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His “compromise” of not taking his gun for a walk when the school bus arrives allows him to continue his campaign of intimidation. It’s time to take an even closer look at tightening Maryland gun laws to prohibit open carry of long guns and to stop the arms race on our streets.

— Elaine Arndt, Baltimore

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