“Why do you think you need a gun?”

It’s a question I suspect we all get asked at one time or another. We often answer that we carry for our protection, to defend ourselves or others. Others reply with a snarky, “It’s not called the ‘Bill of Needs,’ now is it?” Neither person is wrong, nor are many of the other thousands of potential answers.

However, it seems that some in Antifa are telling protestors looking to counter a right-leaning rally in Portland to “bring their own guns.”

August 4th in Portland is already sounding like it is going to get really bad. Activists call for bringing guns in preparation for escalation. pic.twitter.com/f0IZO387Bi — Tim Pool (@Timcast) July 28, 2018

In other words, they’re worried about someone bringing a gun and being willing to use it.

It should be noted, however, that anyone going to any rally where Antifa might show up would do well to bring a gun. After all, Antifa is known for instigating violence pretty much anywhere they go.

For example, it was Antifa that attacked a peaceful protest by right-wing activists in Berkeley last year. During that event, Antifa threw M80 firecrackers inside of glass bottles, trying to turn them into makeshift grenades. They also threw rocks, used clubs, and other various weapons in their assaults.

That was the same time a Berkeley professor reportedly used a bike lock to assault someone for having the temerity to disagree with him.

More recently, a march in Portland earlier this year turned violent after Antifa clashed with members of Patriot Prayer.

The truth is, Antifa isn’t a peaceful organization who finds itself clashing with their ideological opponents. They’re an extremist group that actively seeks confrontation in the form of violence. They openly defend the use of violence on the grounds that it’s the other side who is really violent.

Now that they have an established history of starting trouble–the one time Antifa was notably restrained was at Charlottesville last year when there were plenty of guns present–they take any mention of the presence of firearms and try to spin it as a threat against them. Their hope is probably that the authorities will disarm their opponents so they can beat innocent people in peace.

If that doesn’t happen, don’t be overly shocked if Portland turns into a battleground.

I’m not about to tell those who are going to demonstrate peacefully to leave their guns at home, either. While I don’t want to see shootings take place, I want to see innocent people injured or killed even less. All people have a right to defend themselves, and that doesn’t change because of circumstances.

If anyone should leave their guns at home, it’s the group known to start fights over ideological differences, namely Antifa.

I hope that what we see at the moment is a lot of talk with no one really interested in backing it up. However, if you’re going to be in Portland as part of the demonstration, it would behoove you to be careful and take precautions. It could turn ugly, very quickly. That’s something no one wants to happen.