VALPARAISO | Not a seat was left in the small room at the Holiday Inn Express where people gathered Saturday to organize support for gun rights.
“These people are 2nd Amendment people,” said Mark Leyva, of Highland. “We are here to support the 2nd Amendment.”
More than 100 people assembled for the Valparaiso, Ind., Day of Resistance, which coincided with the national Day of Resistance.
Leyva, who said he was the Tea Party organizer for Lake County, said the group was “trying to get people united.”
“This is based on the 23 executive orders from the president to restrict gun regulation, and that’s what spurred this event,” Leyva said. “That’s really what this is today is just an awareness of trying to bring people together. One of the reasons people are here is to voice their opinions of what’s going on in Washington and in our administration.”
Several people in the crowd rose from their seats to speak.
“They are very upset at what’s going on in Washington and in the country because guns don’t kill people,” Leyva said.
Deb Nedza, of Medaryville, said she “dragged” her son Tyler along with her to the rally “to see democracy in action.”
“I wanted to show my support for the Bill of Rights and freedoms we have,” said Nedza, holding an American flag. “I’m afraid if they take this away we’ll be like that book 'Animal Farm,' where we lose it all and our children won’t even know what we lost. If we lose this freedom, what’s next — freedom of speech?”
Nedza said she and her husband, Don, who is in the Indiana National Guard, are not gun owners, but they still support those who choose to own guns.
“We’re still able to speak up for what we believe in,” Nedza said.
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