In a recent podcast episode that was promoted by the ACLU, the two hosts made the claim that the second amendment was rooted in racism and anti-blackness, an idea that Black gun owners have begun to push back against. Black gun owners have hit back at these comments claiming, rightly so, that the second amendment “was about checking government, not anti-blackness”
In an interview with the Daily Caller, Black Guns Matter Founder, Maj Toure went into detail as to why the ACLU has gotten this issue so wrong. He also went on to explain that the tactic of labeling the second amendment as racists is a tactic to “brainwash black people into believing that having the means to defend themselves is nefarious.”
Toure has made quite the name for himself with his gun rights advocacy and his stance that promotes the idea that all gun control is racist.
“I think gun control is racist, not the Second Amendment,” Toure said in the interview. Toure went on to build on his rejection of the ACLU’s stance.
“I think the Second Amendment was to remind folks to keep your government in check. The lack of civic understanding is the reason why some of these attempts to distort the meaning can be made because the general public isn’t as on top of civics as they should be,” he continued.
“I think it’s a stretch to say ‘anti-blackness determined the inclusion of the Second Amendment in the Bill of Rights,’ the Second Amendment is designed to put the government on watch,” he added. “The First Amendment says you can say what you want, and the Second Amendment says you can defend what the fuck you just said. I don’t think ‘anti-blackness’ played a part in the framing. But that’s not to say there weren’t people who used guns for the wrong reasons. I think it was about checking government, not anti-blackness.”
Mychael Waller is the youngest, African American Federal Firearms Licensed (FFL) dealer in Illinois. He is also the C.E.O. and owner of his online gun store, Mj’s Firearms, LLC and Protect 1*, LLC, Outdoor Range and Training Facility. His comments on the matter were also included in the Daily Caller report.
“I had to use a firearm to defend myself because I have seen the other side most people won’t. I don’t see the Second Amendment as racist. I was given that right by God and I exercised that right. The Second Amendment gave me that right as well. I had that right to defend myself. Without the Second Amendment, without God, my son and I would not be here today. That isn’t ‘anti-blackness’.”
Waller’s story is a harrowing one and makes a great case for gun owners around the county, whether they be minorities or not.
In May 2019, waller and his son, who was 5 at the time, were leaving a gun training class in Chicago where they almost became murder victims by a gun-wielding assailant.
“My son and I get to walking in the alley, I was holding his hand and I had my gun and some trash in my pockets so I go to empty it out in the trash can.”
While he was throwing about the trash in his pocket Waller saw an individual in the alleyway that began to record a video of him while throwing up gang signs. Then without warning the man pulled out a firearm and began to approach Waller and his son. It was then Waller reverted back to his training and acted.
Waller then pushed his son to safety and took his firearm out of the holster as the man continued to advance toward him and his son.
“I hear a round go off, return fire and hit him in his upper body. At this point we’re in a gunfight, shooting back and forth.”
Waller referred back to a lot of the training he had received earlier in the day during this exchange of gunfire between the two gun-toting men. He then managed to put an end to the terrifying ordeal with a well-placed shot to his attacker’s head.
“The media likes to push bad images on responsible gun owners. We really are good folks, I still wanted to help the man even though he made the decision he was going to try to take my life. I run up to him to see if I could try and render some aid to him but I also approached slowly and scanned the area for threats. I walked up to him, he was laying in a pool of blood with a gunshot wound to the head and I could see one in his body.”
“He was dead,” Waller told the Daily Caller.
After the fight for his son’s and his own life he quickly called the police to report the incident, was taken in for question but was subsequently released from their custody and no charges against him were filed.
In his interview, Waller reaffirmed the claim that the ACLU’s stance on gun ownership is a tactic used to stoke fear and keep minorities from exercising their Second Amendment rights.
“The ACLU is using this claim to create fear among African Americans. I do not believe the Second Amendment was put in place because of ‘anti-Blackness.’ I truly believe it was put in place to keep a tyrannical government from taking over the people.”
“They make a statement about the Second Amendment being about ‘anti-blackness’ and it scares minorities, that type of statement creates fear, and scares them from buying guns. If I saw that statement, I wouldn’t want to own a gun because I would feel out of place, and I wouldn’t be here today if that was the case.”
It appears the events of the last year and a half have spurred a surge in firearms sales amount black gun owners who have bought into the idea that the person that is most responsible for personal safety is the individual. According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, there has been a 58.2% increase in gun ownership among black Americans in 2020. This statistic would seem to be a public rebuke to the claim that the Second Amendment was designed as an “anti-blackness” tool and proves that all Americans have the God-given right to defend their property, loved ones and own lives.
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