We Can Carry Too

As a Black person, if you want to scare a white person (they’re probably already afraid), purchase a gun. Go even further and get a concealed weapons license. I saw a social media post a while back that said that the easiest way for the government to swiftly enact gun control laws would be if minorities collectively decided to purchase weapons en masse. Though I’m sure the post was meant to bring in laughs, its essence was absolutely correct. A government fueled by systemic oppression towards Black and Brown communities would in no way want you to have any tool that could be used to jam a cog in their wheel. 

In October 1966, the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense was founded in Oakland, California. Enriching the Black community, they followed a “10-point program”:  

1. We Want Freedom. 

2. We Want Full Employment for Our People.

3. We Want An End to the Robbery By the Capitalists of Our Black Community.

4. We Want Decent Housing Fit For The Shelter of Human Beings.

5. We Want Education for Our People That Exposes The True Nature Of This Decadent American Society. 

6. We Want All Black Men To Be Exempt From Military Service.

7. We Want An Immediate End to Police Brutality and the Murder of Black People.

8. We Want Freedom For All Black Men Held in Federal, State, County and City Prisons and Jails. 

9. We Want All Black People When Brought to Trial To Be Tried In Court By A Jury Of Their Peer Group Or People From Their Black Communities, As Defined By the Constitution of the United States.

10. We Want Land, Bread, Housing, Education, Clothing, Justice And Peace.

The Panthers took up arms to show their strength and commitment to their community. Police vehicles would be followed by party members to ensure the community’s safety. When officers would converse with citizens on the streets, members of the party would be right behind them, guns leaning against their shoulders. One of their most infamous stints with weapons came in 1967. The Panthers, under the direction of Huey Newton, were made aware of a proposed bill that would limit the party’s use of guns. Newton and 24 other members gathered at the California state capitol to protest, all bearing arms. At the time, California had no laws against openly carrying a firearm as long as the weapon was visible and not pointed at an individual. The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense had already been making noise in the state of California, so much so that Ronald Reagan and the NRA supported a gun control law. Don Mulford, an assemblyman for the 16th and 18th California districts, drafted the Mulford Act, a piece of legislation that made it illegal to carry a firearm in public without a permit. Reagan, recently selected as governor of the state, quickly backed this bill along with the National Rifle Association, who provided notes to curate the bill’s draft. The Panthers had entered the legislative chamber and were moved out. After being removed, it took no less than 4 hours for the Mulford Act to be signed into law. Reagan then said the law “would work no hardship on the honest citizen.” The word “honest” can be interchanged with “white”.

When I was younger, I would stay with my grandparents during the summer in Fork Union, Virginia. One day, my grandpa took me outside and asked if I wanted to shoot the rifle that he owned. I was a kid and was already playing Call of Duty and Brothers in Arms on the Gameboy, so I said yes. When we got outside, I placed my arms around the gun, but it’s a bit heavier than you expect when you’re 5 or 6 years old. I knew enough about recoil and guns from my games to know that if I shot this gun, it would A. Hurt my shoulder and B. be super loud. I told him I didn’t want to shoot it anymore cause I didn’t want to “hurt any animals,” to which he was proud of me and said there was nothing wrong with that (I didn’t tell him I was scared). Now, I’m at a point where I do feel like the pen is my sword (very cliche), but knowing that there are people who wish to see my demise simply based on my skin is a good motivator for me to purchase a G17 as soon as I turn 21. However, I know that when I hold a weapon compared to my white counterpart, I’ll be perceived differently. 

This country’s hypocrisy when it comes to guns and firearms doesn’t cease with the Black Panther Party. In 2016, Philando Castile, a Black man and also a Minnesota permit holder, was shot to death while pulled over for a traffic stop. Though legally allowed to have a firearm, police officer Jeronimo Yanez fired 5 shots into Castile, even after Castile had informed Yanez he had the weapon in the car and was reaching for his wallet. The National Rifle Association was slow to release a statement on the murder of Castile. When they did, NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch stated on CNN, “It’s a terrible tragedy that could have been avoided.” Yanez was acquitted of all charges for which Loesch had no words. A month later Loesch would tweet “He was also in possession of a controlled substance and a firearm simultaneously, which is illegal. Stop lying.” Marissa Alexander, a Jacksonville registered gun owner, was prosecuted and faced 20 years in prison for defending herself against her abusive husband. Alexander, who fired a warning shot, was told that because she left the house to retrieve the gun (when she had only gone into the garage), Florida’s Stand Your Ground Law should not apply to her as she was in no imminent danger. Another example of how gun ownership is viewed differently in the hands of Black men and women. 

It isn’t that the government doesn’t want gun control; they simply don’t want “their” guns to be controlled. This same restrictive process can be found in other spheres of the Black experience, for example, Black Wall Street, where an entire community was burnt to ashes. Many will argue that owning a gun goes against their moral code. Perhaps you fear that you’ll be seen as a threat by others. If that shadow has already been cast over you, those who seek to harm you will have trouble seeing your concealed weapon behind your dark figure.