Black Guns Matter

Last updated
Black Guns Matter
AbbreviationBGM
Formation2016
Founder Maj Toure
Purpose Gun rights advocacy, firearm safety

Black Guns Matter is an organization aimed at educating African Americans about gun culture in the United States, primarily around defending Second Amendment rights. [1] The organization is led by Maj Toure, who founded it in 2016. [2] Black Guns Matter has hosted workshops in multiple cities to teach the basics of firearm safety, U.S. gun laws, and conflict resolution. [3] [4]

Contents

Background

Demonstrators at the 2020 VCDL Lobby Day gun rights rally; one demonstrator can be seen wearing Black Guns Matter apparel. Virginia 2nd Amendment Rally (2020 Jan) - 49416085946.jpg
Demonstrators at the 2020 VCDL Lobby Day gun rights rally; one demonstrator can be seen wearing Black Guns Matter apparel.

In 2016, Toure founded Black Guns Matter to prevent people from being arrested on what he believed to be avoidable gun possession charges due to a lack of knowledge on how to legally purchase and carry firearms; [5] The organization takes its name from the Black Lives Matter social movement, both sharing similar criticism of police brutality. [6] Toure has accused the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation of being a "sham organization" and a "money-laundering scheme" for the Democratic Party, and argued that it lacked financial transparency. [7]

Views

In September 2019, Toure testified, representing Black Guns Matter before the U.S. House of Representatives, for a hearing on urban gun violence to argue that educating citizens on conflict resolution is more effective than gun control. [8] The organization attributes the high homicide rates in inner cities to a failure to de-escalate from violence and a lack of gun safety. Toure said that "more Black people would be alive if they were armed". He also argued that rates of police brutality may decrease when Black men carrying firearms are viewed as less of a threat by police. [2] [9]

Toure argued that safety means armed self-defense and "all gun control is racist", pointing to the 1967 Mulford Act signed by then-California governor Ronald Reagan that banned open-carry in the state in reaction to the weaponized Black Panther Party. [2] Toure ran for a Philadelphia city council seat as a member of the Libertarian Party and spoke about Second Amendment rights at events with conservative lawmakers; [2] he said that he was both using the conservative movement and being used by it. [5] In 2019, Toure cancelled his membership of the National Rifle Association of America (NRA), saying that it was not doing enough for Black communities. [2] In 2021, Toure took part at the Conservative Political Action Conference. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second Amendment to the United States Constitution</span> 1791 amendment protecting the right to keep and bear arms

The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the right to keep and bear arms. It was ratified on December 15, 1791, along with nine other articles of the Bill of Rights. In District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), the Supreme Court affirmed for the first time that the right belongs to individuals, for self-defense in the home, while also including, as dicta, that the right is not unlimited and does not preclude the existence of certain long-standing prohibitions such as those forbidding "the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill" or restrictions on "the carrying of dangerous and unusual weapons". In McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010) the Supreme Court ruled that state and local governments are limited to the same extent as the federal government from infringing upon this right. New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen (2022) assured the right to carry weapons in public spaces with reasonable exceptions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gun politics in the United States</span>

Gun politics is defined in the United States by two primary opposing ideologies concerning the private ownership of firearms. Those who advocate for gun control support increasingly restrictive regulation of gun ownership; those who advocate for gun rights oppose increased restriction, or support the liberalization of gun ownership. These groups typically disagree on the interpretation of the text, history and tradition of the laws and judicial opinions concerning gun ownership in the United States and the meaning of the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. American gun politics involves these groups' further disagreement concerning the role of firearms in public safety, the studied effects of ownership of firearms on public health and safety, and the role of guns in national and state crime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electroshock weapon</span> Incapacitating weapon

An electroshock weapon is an incapacitating weapon. It delivers an electric shock aimed at temporarily disrupting muscle functions and/or inflicting pain, usually without causing significant injury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coalition to Stop Gun Violence</span>

The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV) and the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence, its sister organization, were two parts of a national, non-profit gun control advocacy organization opposed to gun violence. Since 1974, it supported reduction in American gun violence via education and legislation. They ceased operations in 2022 after the EFSGV merged with the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Prevention and Policy to become the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gun Owners of America</span> US gun rights organization

Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a gun rights organization in the United States. It makes efforts to differentiate itself from the larger National Rifle Association (NRA) and has publicly criticized the NRA on multiple occasions for what it considers to be compromising on gun rights.

The Violence Policy Center (VPC) is an American nonprofit organization that advocates for gun control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York State Rifle and Pistol Association</span> Organization

The New York State Rifle & Pistol Association (NYSRPA) is the U.S. state of New York's largest and oldest firearms advocacy organization. Established in 1871, the NYSRPA is dedicated to the preservation of gun rights, firearm safety and education, and shooting sports. It is associated with the National Rifle Association of America ("NRA") and engages locally in many activities similar to the NRA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Gottlieb</span> American writer and political activist

Alan Merril Gottlieb is an American author, conservative political activist, gun rights advocate, and businessperson. Gottlieb has published 23 books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Hunters and Shooters Association</span> American non-profit organization

The American Hunters and Shooters Association (AHSA) was a United States-based non-profit 501(c)(4) organization which operated from 2005 to 2010. The group described itself as a national grassroots organization for responsible gun ownership and advocated for increased gun control. The organization's president, Ray Schoenke, said the AHSA was intended to bridge the gap between urban liberals and rural gun owners, but closed down due to a lack of support from the Obama administration.

In the United States, the right to keep and bear arms is modulated by a variety of state and federal statutes. These laws generally regulate the manufacture, trade, possession, transfer, record keeping, transport, and destruction of firearms, ammunition, and firearms accessories. They are enforced by state, local and the federal agencies which include the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008), is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States. It ruled that the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects an individual's right to keep and bear arms—unconnected with service in a militia—for traditionally lawful purposes such as self-defense within the home, and that the District of Columbia's handgun ban and requirement that lawfully owned rifles and shotguns be kept "unloaded and disassembled or bound by a trigger lock" violated this guarantee. It also stated that the right to bear arms is not unlimited and that certain restrictions on guns and gun ownership were permissible. It was the first Supreme Court case to decide whether the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms for self-defense or whether the right was only intended for state militias.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Everytown for Gun Safety</span> United States gun control advocacy organization

Everytown for Gun Safety is an American nonprofit organization which advocates for gun control and against gun violence. Everytown was formed in 2013 due to a merger between Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.

The State of Texas is considered to have some of the most relaxed gun laws in the United States. Public concerns over gun control in Texas have increased in recent years as Mexican drug cartels continue to commit violent crimes closer to Texas' stretch of the Mexico–United States border. They have also increased due to the number of incidents, including misuse of firearms stolen from other sources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Campus carry in the United States</span> Carrying a firearm on college campuses

In the United States, campus carry refers to the possession of firearms on college or university campuses. Each state has its own discretion on laws concerning campus carry.

In the United States, the right to keep and bear arms is a fundamental right protected by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, part of the Bill of Rights, and by the constitutions of most U.S. states. The Second Amendment declares:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Gun culture refers to the attitudes, feelings, values and behaviour of a society, or any social group, in which guns are used. The term was first coined by Richard Hofstadter in an American Heritage article critiquing gun violence in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Trace (website)</span> American journalism outlet

The Trace is an American non-profit journalism outlet devoted to gun-related news in the United States. It was established in 2015 with seed money from the largest gun control advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety, which was founded by former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, and went live on 19 June of that year. The site's editor in chief is Tali Woodward, and it shares its president, John Feinblatt, with Everytown for Gun Safety.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redneck Revolt</span> American far-left political group

Redneck Revolt is an American political group that organizes predominantly among working-class people. The group supports gun rights and members often openly carry firearms. Its political positions are anti-capitalist, anti-racist and anti-fascist. Founded in Kansas in 2009, members were present at several protests against Donald Trump and against the far-right in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maj Toure</span> American rapper and political activist

Maj Toure is an American libertarian political activist and rapper. Toure is closely associated with the Mises Caucus wing of the American Libertarian Party.

New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, 597 U.S. 1 (2022), abbreviated NYSRPA v. Bruen and also known as NYSRPA II or Bruen to distinguish it from the 2020 case, is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court related to the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. The case concerned the constitutionality of the 1911 Sullivan Act, a New York State law requiring applicants for a pistol concealed carry license to show "proper cause", or a special need distinguishable from that of the general public, in their application.

References

  1. "Gun sales spike among African-Americans: 'Our ancestors died for us to vote, they also died for us to be able to carry guns'". news.yahoo.com. 4 August 2020. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Abadi, Mark; Scher, Isaac; Duarte, Barbara Corbellini; Jiang, Hannah (July 15, 2020). "A group called 'Black Guns Matter' is teaching Black Americans how to use firearms". Business Insider . Retrieved 2021-04-16.
  3. "Black Americans flock to gun stores and clubs: 'I needed to protect myself'". The Guardian . 2021-04-05. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
  4. Mellisa, Chan (November 17, 2020). "Racial Tension is Behind a Rise in Black Gun Ownership". Time . Retrieved 2021-04-16.
  5. 1 2 "New CPAC stars: Black gun rights activists". Politico . 2019-03-01. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  6. "When Blacks Exercise Their Second Amendment Rights". NBC News . 2016-09-15. Retrieved 2021-11-03.
  7. "Black Guns Matter Founder Maj Toure: Black Lives Matter "Designed Specifically To Fleece The Black Community"". RealClearPolitics . 2021-05-24. Retrieved 2021-11-03.
  8. "Community Responses to Gun Violence in our Cities". U.S. House Judiciary Committee . 2019-09-26. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
  9. "'Black Guns Matter' Focuses On Firearms Education To Decrease Violence". NPR . 2016-06-20. Retrieved 2021-11-03.
  10. Bump, Philip. "Analysis | The evolution of CPAC's speaker lineup is the story of the GOP". Washington Post . ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2021-04-16.