As mothers in black urban areas learn that they have the right to be armed, and to protect their children and themselves, the support for gun control will continue to drop. It was only a few years ago that police would simply confiscate any gun that they came across in a black urban area. I heard of this practice from students and former police officers. Many commentators have noted that the original purpose of gun control was to disarm blacks.
Building on this disregard for the second amendment, property rights, and the rule of law, "progressive" politicians pushed to disarm the rest of society. This prompted the rise of the concealed carry movement to restore second amendment rights. John Lott has noted that the segment of society to most benefit from the concealed carry movement is minority women.
Second amendment supporters have welcomed minorities with open arms. The old media has attempted to ignore and downplay this development. When a black protester carried guns at an anti-Obamacare protest, MSNBC implied that he was white. From newsbusters.org:
On Tuesday, MSNBC’s Contessa Brewer fretted over health care reform protesters legally carrying guns: "A man at a pro-health care reform rally...wore a semiautomatic assault rifle on his shoulder and a pistol on his hip....there are questions about whether this has racial overtones....white people showing up with guns." Brewer failed to mention the man she described was black.It was because of the outrage of second amendment supporters that black mother Shaneen Allen was kept from being forced into years in prison, as the prosecutor originally intended, because the State of New Jersey did not recognize her concealed carry permit from across the border in Pennsylvania. Allen become the featured speaker at the Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs annual meeting.
As the laws were changed, second amendment supporters have forced the police to follow the law; and police administrators attitudes are changing.
Black police chief James Craig of Detroit has encouraged armed self defense in the city, and crime is dropping. A video of a black mother using a semi-automatic carbine to drive off armed home invaders, was cheered by second amendment supporters and went viral.
Black sheriff David Clarke of Milwaukee has encouraged armed citizens to defend themselves. Michael Bloomberg spend considerable money to defeat him, but Sheriff Clarke won anyway.
The Armed Citizen Project is working to provide poor women with shotguns for self defense.
There has always been widespread support for armed citizens in law enforcement circles. As officers gained experience with concealed carry laws, that support has been extended to those with concealed carry permits, no matter what their color or gender. That brings us to the current story. From abc6onyourside.com:
COLUMBUS (Dawn Faugl) -- A mother and her 13-year-old son were at the corner store in their neighborhood when police say two men approached them and opened fire, shooting her son in both feet. That's when the mom pulled out her licensed gun and shot back.The video at the site reveals that the police supported the Mother's actions:
Police say the mother acted in self defense.and
Police say that she had every right to shoot to protect her family.The mother obtained the pistol and permit because she feared the very men who attacked her and her son. Now she has learned that the police support her.
In previous years, a distrust of the police, a belief that the legal system was stacked against black people, and a constant barrage of propaganda that ownership of guns was not legitimate, all made black mothers particularly vulnerable to being disarmed. Now they are learning that the second amendment applies to all citizens.
Stephanie Carter notes that in Texas, the fastest growing demographic of concealed handgun permit holders is black women. The ability to be legally armed brings about a profound change of attitude. Machiavelli summed up the mindset rather well:
There is no comparison whatever between an armed and disarmed man; it is not reasonable to suppose that one who is armed will obey willingly one who is unarmed; or that any unarmed man will remain safe.... - Niccoló Machiavelli, The Prince. 1537.While Machiavelli wrote that quote before personal firearms had advanced to the point where Col. Colt had "made men and women equal", the meaning is clear.
As the mother in Ohio learned, firearms are indeed the great equalizer of force between men and women, old and young, mob and individual.
The ability of citizens in black urban areas to be legally armed has significant positive implications for a change in attitudes between the citizens and police, as chief Craig has shown in Detroit. When residents believe in the legitimacy of police, crime rates drop precipitously.
The support for banning guns is at the lowest level ever measured.
©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
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