Charlottesville blame game in full swing

Already the political rhetoric machine is in full operation blaming President Donald Trump for this horrible occurrence and the resulting deaths in Charlottesville, Va. Why?

First, everyone needs to remember that the white supremacist group peacefully marching on Saturday had a permit issued by the powers that be. Whether you agree with their views or not, they have a constitutional right to state them.

Next, while I hate the views this group espouses, I will defend to the day I die their constitutional right to express those views.

The way I see it, Gov. Terry McAuliffe made two major mistakes.

For more than a week, there were rumblings on the airwaves and internet that there were going to be problems if the march took place. Given these rumblings, why didn’t the governor deploy the National Guard to protect both sides? Having Guard members activated but not deploying them is no different than not having them activated at all. A deployment could possibly have prevented three deaths.

Further, Gov. McAuliffe’s solution, because he didn’t agree with the views of the marchers, was to say, “Get out of my state.” This is not the Old West. He can’t order American citizens out of a state just because he’s the governor.

The most important lesson we can learn from this horrible incident is that if we don’t defend and respect the constitutional right to free speech for those with whom we disagree, how can we ever expect them to defend and respect our constitutional right to free speech?