Extreme supporters of gun rights who think that people should be allowed to carry rifles and other guns openly in almost any public place including schools, libraries, and churches, may now be tempted to temper that gung-ho, anything goes, attitude. The Black Panthers have decided that they too should carry guns openly in order to combat what they see as reckless and unjustified violence by the police against the black community.
I have pointed out that while many white gun advocates seem comfortable with white people carrying guns around like that, they may not be so sanguine if groups of black people wandered around in public with such weapons. Of course, as recent events have demonstrated, the difference is that black people realize that they are much more likely to be shot by the police even if they are unarmed, so it made good sense for them to not carry guns openly in public.
But now some of them have become fed up at being seen as easy targets of police brutality and decided to adopt other tactics.
A Texas gun club named after one of the founders of the Black Panthers Party marched in Dallas on Wednesday to protest against police brutality, KTXA-TV reported.
Around two dozen members of the Huey P. Newton Gun Club carried rifles and red, black and green flags as they marched through the city’s south side, sometimes chanting in support of Michael Brown, the 18-year-old man killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, on Aug. 9.
“If they don’t get these killer cops and corrupt cops under control,” a member identifying himself as Commander Drew X was quoted as saying. “What happened in Ferguson is going to be nationwide.”
The club’s leader, Huey Freeman, said Wednesday’s march would be the first step in a campaign of “civilian patrols” through the area. The state’s open carry law allows “long gun” owners to display them unless it is meant “to cause alarm.”
“We believe we can police ourselves and bring security to our community, ridding our community of black-on-black crime, violence, police terror, etcetera, etcetera,” Freeman told KXAS-TV.
Already there have been heated exchanges between Open Carry Texas and the Black Panthers.
Fox News has been whipping up hysteria over the so-called ‘New’ Black Panthers even though there was little evidence that this group consisted of any more than a few people. Now they have something to really panic about.
Considering that the NRA switched from emphasizing marksmanship & gun safety to 2nd ammendment insanity because the original BP were open carrying it seems poetic.
I’ve been led to understand that much of the movement in favor of gun control in the US came about in the 1960s because of white people’s fears that African-American resistance groups like the Black Panthers and Malcom X were advocating for blacks to arm themselves for self-protection.
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…unless it is meant “to cause alarm.”
Isn’t that the legal term for a black guy with a gun?
This is rich. What justice!
Normally, I wouldn’t encourage open carry, concealed carry, or even ownership, but the Black Panthers and other groups exercising their right to open carry is giving the right message to the NRA and it’s club of nitwits.
Go Panthers!
I have a vague memory that more blacks are recuited to the armed services than their proportion of the population, possibly because the services open a route to getting a profession that wouldn’t otherwise be available. So the blacks may actually know better how to use those weapons properly than the average gun fondlers.
The NRA’s function has always been to associate guns with white people in the public consciousness. Because if it’s associated with Blacks, there would be much more support for decreasing gun rights.
And to be fair, some people are consistent on this issue and support open carry for the New Black Panthers. Some conservatives but also pro-gun rights liberals and Leftists. The Black Panthers were gun toting Black socialists, after all.
Mano,
I do have to wonder if the leader’s name was really Huey Freeman, or if he was just playin’ the press…
Jeff
Carrying weapons has always been a sign of privilege, from ancient China, to the Ancien Regime, to Rome, to Japan of the samurai, or England …
I recall that when the Black Panthers decided to arm themselves back in the 60s and 70s, this attracted the attention of law enforcement and the FBI and got them pretty much considered terrorists.
The second amendment has only ever applied to *certain groups* of people, and as such has always been in violation in the principle of equality under the law. Not all people have an equal right to arm themselves, even now. All said, if a right cannot exist without being permitted in a capricious fashion, it should be struck down.
I’m honestly less worried about Black people arming themselves than I am about white gun nuts arming themselves. The former have a real reason to fear for their safety, the latter argue that their right to have guns is more important than public safety.
WTF with Open Carry Texas going to Fifth Ward in Houston as described in that video link?
Pretty damn clear what OCT is trying to do. It’s a modern day KKK Night Ride.
Not all people have an equal right to arm themselves, even now
There have also been attempts to make weapons prohibitively expensive, so that they effectively become the privilege of the wealthy few who can afford them. Vis.: anti “saturday night special” laws.
Jeff,
Yes, I wondered about that. Maybe he’s really Aaron McGruder.
I recall that when the Black Panthers decided to arm themselves back in the 60s and 70s, this attracted the attention of law enforcement and the FBI and got them pretty much considered terrorists
In fact, it was the Black Panthers’ arming themselves that caused the US to begin passing gun control laws.
Yes, there certainly does seem to be some correlation between the popularity of gun control on the right and non-white people showing up in public with guns. Before the BPs started carrying long-guns in public it was entirely legal for anyone to carry a loaded long-gun in public. Shortly thereafter the law was changed specifying that the gun had to be unloaded.
While I do think this is hilarious, I hope it doesn’t reinforce racist attitudes. I want the 2nd Amendment to be reigned in, but I don’t want it to be because black people bought guns. I think it’s likely I’m going to feel shamed by any gun control victories.
Too funny. Reminds me of the New York-based Satanic Temple group’s attempt to install a statue of satan at the Oklahoma state Capitol. Just that this one relates to the 2nd amendment. In essence, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
read: “Unless carrier is liberal or nonwhite”
yeah yeah, seen this before. The panthers in CA did the same thing to Ronnie Reagan, and got him to jump too.
bigoted idiots are easy to push buttons on.
The problem is, WE ALREADY KNOW THIS. It’s time to move past showing how you can get cowards to jump, and on to actually DOING something about the cowards.
that’s certainly how a lot of people felt after Ronnie passed the first gun control laws in CA in response to this exact same thing over 40 years ago.
seriously, if you have never seen it, and for those too young to remember, go watch the documentary “Berkeley in the 60s”; not hard to find.
The NRA is out in front of this idea. This is a year and half old.
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/03/01/the-nra-is-unveiling-a-new-pro-gun-contributor-and-you-might-be-a-little-surprised/
Yea, the difference between black and left-wing people carrying guns is that when they do it, they get shot by cops.
Seriously, all the cops have to do is go “Hey they shot first” and they’ll be completely off the hook. Hell, they’re practically using the same argument with Michael Brown even though he was unarmed and 35 feet away.
I don’t think gun control is going anywhere.
News update pertaining to the video link in Mano’s post: The Open Carry Texas affiliated group in the video called off their march in Fifth Ward. Good! With what’s going on in Missouri this could have gotten very ugly.
I can only quote Quanell X here: “I’m very suspicious of their motive for coming.”
He’s such a level headed diplomat. What he really meant was what I said in my previous comment, it was a modern-day KKK Night Ride.
OOPS! I meant to include a link to the story in the Houston Chronicle
http://www.chron.com/default/article/Open-Carry-meets-with-Fifth-Ward-civic-leaders-5688833.php