I was dismayed to see the pictures of the protest that occurred at the Capitol building on April 30.

Ignoring social distancing guidelines which could endanger themselves and the selfish disregard of the impact they may have on others including in some cases the children they brought along is bad enough. Even worse is the thought process that convinces some of the protesters to bring assault-style weapons to the protest and shockingly into the Capitol building itself in a blatant attempt to intimidate the democratically elected legislators who were in session attempting to debate the very issue they were protesting.

Finally, and worst of all, is the open or at least tacit encouragement of some of our state and national leaders to encourage this type of behavior. I don’t believe that the Second Amendment includes the right to intimidate and shame on those who use it to justify their shameful behavior. They are an embarrassment to themselves and to our great state and nation.

MIKE McCLELLAN,

Alpena