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Leftists Bear Arms In Self-Defense

By Jonathan Levinson

Published February 8, 2019 at 10:51 PM EST

Rosie Strange, a leftist activist who chose to buy a handgun for self defense, fires a friend’s shotgun on February 2, 2019, in Hood River, Oregon.

At Oregon’s Columbia River Gorge Women’s March in January, Ross Eliot brought up the rear, more concerned with what might be happening behind the group than keeping pace with the many chants from the roughly 250-person crowd.Eliot was there as security. He was looking over his shoulder for anyone who might attack the group.Withthe threat ofright wing violenceon the rise, Eliot is among a growing number of activists on the left who are taking a page out of the 1960s civil rights movement: armed self-defense.That threat is on Eliot’s mind today. Tucked under his black jacket is a Springfield Armory XD-S 9 mm handgun.