The pro-gun community has for years noted the racist effects of American gun control. It only took a pandemic and nationwide race riots, but at least one mainstream media outlet is coming around to the truth. Better late than never.
After several studies and surveys reported a disproportionately high number of black Americans purchasing firearms in 2020, the Chicago Tribune sent one of its intrepid reporters to visit a local gun club in the Windy City that specializes in serving the African American community.
The club’s patrons and employees explained why so many black Americans are purchasing firearms for self-defense and how gun control disproportionately harms people of color.
“When there is a politically driven (effort) to eliminate guns, you’re going to see overreaches in how the police tend to treat a certain class of citizens,” firearms instructor Mike Brown told the outlet. “And that’s definitely what I’m seeing here.”
Brown pointed out that the city’s aggressive enforcement of gun control policies falls most heavily on black Americans who fail to obtain or do not realize they need a concealed carry license along with a firearm owner identification card to carry a handgun for self-defense. He’s working with the 761st Gun Club of Illinois to correct those gaps in education, but historic anti-gun policies have limited training options in the city.
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Chicago banned gun ranges until a lawsuit, filed by the Second Amendment Foundation on behalf of a black plaintiff, forced it to back down in 2017. But there still aren’t any gun ranges in the city, and black Chicagoans are sometimes uncomfortable traveling to the ranges in the suburbs.
“How are people supposed to get education on firearms if they can’t even go to a gun range in their own city?” said Kourtney Redmond, president of the 761st Gun Club. “They have to go to the suburbs. A lot of times black people don’t always feel welcome there.”
SEE ALSO: Massive Delays for FOID Card, CCW Permits in Illinois As Crime Spikes
Redmond said his group is looking for property on the South or West sides for a suitable location.
They’ll likely enjoy a strong customer base. The National Shooting Sports Foundation estimates that firearm purchases by African Americans rose 56 percent in 2020 compared to 2019. Another study by Northwestern found that new gun owners in 2020 were 1.7 times more likely to be black than white.
The academics at Northwestern told the Tribune that fears of police violence is likely driving the rise in interest among black Americans. But the outlet’s reporting contradicts that assessment.
SEE ALSO: Gun Control’s Racist History
Brown told the Tribune that his students come to him because of fear of crime (especially carjackings), as well as concerns over racist violence and unrest.
One of Brown’s students, Yvette Farmer, said she bought a 9mm pistol last year because of the “craziness” happening in the city.
“Bullets don’t have names,” she said. “They can go anywhere. If you learn how to use something you’re better prepared.”
Whatever the reason, it’s undeniable that many of the 8.4 million new gun owners are racial minorities, and the pro-gun movement will be a lot more diverse in the years to come.
Right. The democrats’ strategy, in collusion with their many friends in the media, is to divide us into groups, then turn us against each other. They say this group hates your group, or you are a victim of that group. We have to be very careful of a recent trend: Any patriotic group that has mostly white members is labeled a “white nationalist group,” implying NAZI roots. They will go a step further and call it a “white supremacist group.” Why? Because they can, and they know those members will not support their (dems) candidates or ideas. Anyway, if the dems really supported “public safety” they would support firearm safety classes in public schools. Boy, they’d really go ape…it if we did that!
Blacks, Women et cetera have to also “reach out” to pro 2A groups in growing numbers and put their money where their mouth is or they are just dead weight in the fight.
Exactly Joe. Most of us judge people as individuals and not by their group membership. Progressives on the other hand think individuals don’t matter. To them only the groups matter because that’s how they obtain their power over society.
What happens when you put people into groups like a labor union? A teachers labor union cannot have both good teachers and bad teachers. The teachers union says all the teachers are the same. They must all get the same wages, benefits etc. This belief is the glue that binds all the union members.
Of course this belief didn’t work well with the original definition of racism. A racist was a person who judged others based solely on their race. Therefore. if a white person had a bad experience with just one black person and then said all black people are bad then they were a racist.
Progressives fixed this issue by changing the definition of racism. Now racism is when one racial group believes they are superior to all other groups and treat those groups badly. Thanks to groups like the KKK and white supremacists the progressives want us to believe that all white people are racists.
I truly hope that some day people will see how the progressives are using groups to cause conflict and create an environment that will allow them to get total control of our lives and end all our freedoms. These people are nothing but communists disguised as socialist/democrats.
One statement in the article I have issue with, “black Chicagoans are sometimes uncomfortable traveling to the ranges in the suburbs.” Why? I have found gun ranges to be one of the most inclusive places I go, except for anti-gunners. I love to see women at the range getting the self defense skills they need. I have helped them many times. I see more blacks at my range and since I understand that gun control has historically been used to keep guns from blacks I am glad to see this unlevel liberal playing field finally being corrected. People at my range talk guns and gun issues with anyone regardless of race or gender. We like to help new gun owners as long as they follow the rules. At the range we see other gun owners not race or gender. All brothers from a another mother.
The uncomfortableness that we would feel traveling to gun ranges in the suburbs, have more to do with the suburbs, than with the ranges. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been stopped for nonexistent traffic violations or because I ‘fit the description.’ This happens WAY more in neighborhoods that I “don’t belong.” So, yeah, while you may be inclusive and welcoming of your “brothers from another”, MANY of your brothers from the same mothers? Not so much!!!