NPR: More Blacks Support Concealed Carry

Last week, NPR covered the rise in popularity of concealed carry in African American communities.

Citing a survey by the Pew Research Center, NPR noted that 54 percent of African Americans now see gun ownership “as a good thing, something more likely to protect than harm,” compared with 29 percent from a similar survey taken two years ago.

NPR focused on the Detroit, where the police chief has been a vocal supporter of putting more guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens.

“It was a well-known fact here in Detroit. People didn’t have a lot of confidence that when they dialed 911, that the police were going to show up. In fact, we know they didn’t,” said Detroit Police Chief James Craig, an African American.

Firearms instructor and Detroit resident Rick Ector is happy that Craig has been spreading the gospel of guns to the minority community.

“He’s the only one that I can ever recall who has been fervently in support of ‘good Americans,’ as he terms it, carrying firearms for personal protection,” he said.

Ector believes that African-Americans have been reluctant to embrace concealed carry nationwide because many of them live in city centers where the Second Amendment is heavily restricted.

“When you look at New Jersey, you look at New York, you look at California, D.C. and Chicago, really it’s still a foreign experience,” said Ector. “When you really look at the city of Detroit, we’re kind of leading the way in terms of urban areas with law-abiding citizens carrying guns.”