As the GOP Convention gets underway, at some point a plank in the party platform will be adopted in support of the 2nd Amendment, Protecting Heller and McDonald, SHALL issue laws- basically a plank against arbitrary gun control. The GOP took the position back in the late 1860's that the 2nd Amendment applied to ALL Americans and States could not interfere. Why then? Because the GOP wanted freed slaves to be able to protect themselves and stay free.
This year at the Democratic Party Convention, the DNC will likely propose a plank supporting Gun Control. Southern Democrats started passing gun control laws in the 1860's and 1870's to strip former slaves of their 2nd Amendment Rights- along with a host of others.
Gun Control Laws, beginning with those passed by Democrat controlled state governments at the end of the Civil War, Gun Control, have an origin in Racist Ideology.
"A man's rights rest in three boxes: the ballot box, the jury box, and the cartridge [ammo] box." -Frederick Douglass, 1867
It was because of the "black codes" passed after the Civil War that the 14th amendment was proposed and then passed. One of the stated goals of passage was to protect the right of African-Americans to possess and carry firearms for thier own defense.
'The black man has never had the right either to keep or bear arms,' and that, until he does, 'the work of the Abolitionists was not finished.'" -Frederick Douglass, May 10, 1965
Now, according to a Pew Research Study, 54% of African-Americans view gun ownership in a positive light. It is also being viewed as a matter of Civil Rights
This is not a new phenomenon. Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Applied for and was denied a concealed carry permit. The best argument for SHALL ISSUE laws is it helps remove human factors- such as racism - from the process. If you are old enough and meet background requirements you cannot be denied- as Dr. King was.
It is well worth reading Associate Justice Clarence Thomas' opinion in McDonald v. Chicago, 561 U.S. 742 (2010) on the Second Amendment, its history, and racism. The Washington Post called it "...a scorcher of an opinion that reads like a mix of black history lesson and Black Panther Party manifesto..."
(I am not going to cite MTV as a source here, but I am going to provide a link to an interesting article on MTV on the Racist origins of Gun Control).
The bottom line is Gun Control has origins in post-Civil War racisim. But, the Constitution, and our laws as American must and should be absolutely color-blind or there will never be real Freedom and Justice for all.
The bottom line is Gun Control has origins in post-Civil War racisim. But, the Constitution, and our laws as American must and should be absolutely color-blind or there will never be real Freedom and Justice for all.
Reference Links:
0 comments:
Post a Comment
All comments are welcome- However, Anonymous Comments might be subject to deletion.