There was what could prove to be an instructive moment for the Deplorable Nanny State Mayor this week, provided courtesy of the citizens of Ohio. The group Mayors Against Illegal Guns hosted a “rally” in Columbus, Ohio to build support for additional gun control legislation, but as the intro to the local news report asked (video below), “what happens when you throw a political rally, but nobody shows up except your opposition?”

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. But when Luczyk started her speech by telling the crowd that former President Ronald Reagan supported background checks, she was drowned out by shouts of “Germany 1933” and “Hitler.” About 50 guns-rights supporters were on hand, some with rifles over their shoulders and others with handguns in hip holsters. Charlie Roberts said he was there to make sure that gun rights advocates had their voices heard. “I want to show my support for the NRA, gun rights and the 2nd Amendment,” said Roberts. “We need to go after the criminals who commit crimes with guns and not the honest law abiding citizens. We don’t need any new laws, just enforce the ones on the books.”

The gun owners and Second Amendment supporters in general who showed up were clearly well informed on the issue. When the MAIG spokesperson began talking about how “disappointed” they were in Rob Portman (who voted against the last effort on background checks), the crowd began chanting, “We love Portman!”

In the end, it looks like the media wound up getting more interviews with gun rights supporters than the sponsors of the event. (Which shouldn’t be surprising, since almost none of the latter’s proponents showed up.) In fact, the disparity in support for the two sides of the issue became really clear when a local supporter of gun rights wound up taking over as speaker. She delivered what probably wound up being the money quote of the day.

“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.”

…

“People are fired up, people are concerned,” said Walker. “It’s overwhelming this many people show up on a Friday afternoon because our constitutional rights are that important.”

Let’s close with the video. Keep this in mind when Bloomy’s group comes to your town.