LFS, I would like to see parade groups given permits to march on condition they do not bear arms. Protests tend to coincide with summer, and these "alt-right" protests may fade away in winter. However, I have seen protest marches become relatively huge as during the Vietnam war, where crowds sometimes reached the hundreds of thousands, and rioting ensued.

What I am getting at is that with heavily armed marchers as in Charlottesville, the counter-protesters, at least a few of them, could appear with arms and a massacre would ensue. I'm not interested in predicting who would "win" (because no one would win) but it surely would be a tragedy that could shut the door on free expression for some time.

Certainly the KKK, NAZIs, Vanguard America and white nationalists can get their message across without being heavily armed.  

That is, unless their message is that they will shoot down any resistance.