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I’m A Marine. Guns Make Me Nervous.
A veteran shares what gives him pause in owning a weapon even after experiencing the D.C. riots
On May 31, 2020, rioters ransacked our apartment complex the night DC burned. I woke up at 2 a.m. and watched from the 8th-floor balcony as protesters fought with police and destroyed the stores on our block. The mob had set a church near the White House ablaze. They worked their way through the city and looters smashed the windows of the shops on the main floor of our buildings, as well as the luxury stores across the street.
A group of thieves broke into the Boss store and dashed out with arms full of suits, jeans, and shoes. The cops tackled the thieves and made them drop their booty next to the sewer as they made their escape. Cops threw flash-bangs. Protesters threw M-80s back. The two sides squared off at the corner of 10th and H, while riot squads pushed the crowds back with plastic shields.
My one-month-old slept in the bassinet next to our bed and my three-year-old daughter slept in her room through the whole incident, but I was wired. The commotion felt like war, and I was woefully unprepared. I…
