Does the Second Amendment Only Apply to White People?

[SecularMotion]

After learning that Los Angeles police shot and killed Ezell Ford Monday night, I spent a good deal of time Tuesday night and Wednesday morning trying to find out if the victim was unarmed.

Ford was a 25-year-old black man (pictured above) who had reportedly suffered from mental illness. The official police statement online never mentioned if Ford had a weapon when he was killed. Although several media organizations reported he was unarmed, I could find no evidence from LAPD or the family to corroborate that claim.

I wanted to determine if Ford should be added to the tragic list of unarmed African Americans who had been killed recently from Michael Brown to Renisha McBride, from Trayvon Martin to Jordan Davis, and from Oscar Grant to Eric Garner. Some were killed by police. Some were killed by private citizens. All were unarmed.

Then it hit me. Suddenly I realized it didn't matter if he had a gun. In the eyes of America, he had something more dangerous than a gun: his black skin. Yes, Ezell Ford was suspicious, in part, because he was black. That's why unarmed black people continue to be killed.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/keith-boykin/does-the-second-amendment_b_5676447.html

[LiberalArkie]

1. Yes

I hate to say it, but yes.

[intaglio]

2. Obviously as the Founding Fathers were white

They obviously only intended that the Constitution apply to whites; either that or Blacks were only intended to have three fifths of a gun.
if needed

[LiberalArkie]

27. They originally meant the constitution to apply to white land owning men

[hack89]

3. If guns don't matter then what does it have to do with the 2A?

If black men are being killed by cops because of the color of their skin then the issue is racism, not gun ownership.

It is amusing watching controllers twist everything to make it about guns.

[Starboard Tack]

21. It's not about guns. It's about who can legitimately carry a gun and expect to survive.

If a black kid can't wear a hoodie and carry skittles without being shot, or walk in the street without being shot, imagine how long he'd last if he open carried.
If he carries concealed, he'd better be damn sure there are no white cops around when he pulls his gun.

[hack89]

22. African Americans have a thriving gun culture

So it shouldn't be that hard to find some actual evidence.

The truth is simple - for all the talk about cops, the biggest threat to black men is other black men. Interracial murder is not common.

[Starboard Tack]

23. Makes one wonder why so many white guys carry.

I don't see too many African Americans voicing their support for CCW around here, or Latinos. Sure makes one wonder who is afraid of who, doesn't it.
Not quite sure what you mean by a "thriving gun culture". You make it sound positive, like an organic garden. Then you follow your statement with "the biggest threat to black men is other black men". Who do you think is the biggest threat to white men?

Tell the families of Mr. Brown and Mr. Martin and the thousands of others who are killed annually that "Interracial murder is not common." Oh, of course, I forgot, it isn't murder when the black guy is killed by someone who isn't also black. Silly me.

[hack89]

24. Yes you are being silly

Go look at the FBI stats on violent crime. They have the racial makeup of both offenders and victims.

Whites kill whites. Blacks kill blacks. Which makes sense in a racially segregated society like ours.

[Starboard Tack]

30. Do you think more blacks kill whites or vice versa?

Or do you think neither never happens?

[hack89]

34. In 2012 Blacks murdered twice as many whites

As whites murdered blacks. 431 blacks killed whites while 193 whites killed blacks.

[Starboard Tack]

35. Well, isn't that interesting?

You use the word "murdered", when my question was "killed"

Now, if we had those numbers, maybe we could extrapolate some interesting information. Do you have link to your source?
And what about other races?

Also, I wonder how many of that 193 were dgu's.

[hack89]

36. You have never once looked at the FBI crime stats, have you?

I am on a smart phone so I can't provide a link.

Google FBI annual uniform crime reports 2012. You are looking for expanded homicide data table 6

None were DGUs - they were homicides.

[blueridge3210]

4. No. (nt)

[LonePirate]

5. How many black Americans partake in these open carry rallies? What do you think would happen if ...

Last edited Thu Aug 14, 2014, 11:47 AM - Edit history (1)

black men openly paraded their guns in public? Do you actually think the Second Amendment crowd would support them or do you think they would call the police or, worse yet, become trigger happy?

The Second Amendment crowd - which is mostly right wingers - are largely motivated by racism plain and simple.

Yes, the courts may rule that the Second Amendment applies to all Americans; however the gun nutters want it to apply only to white Americans and preferably only white men.

[blueridge3210]

6. That wasn't the question.

The question was, "Does the 2nd Amendment only apply to White people". The answer, clearly, is no. There is no evidence to support the assertion that those who are in favor of an expanded view of the 2nd Amendment are motivated by racism.

[jimmy the one]

10. 'clearly no' racism?

blueridge: The question was, "Does the 2nd Amendment only apply to White people". The answer, clearly, is no. There is no evidence to support the assertion that those who are in favor of an expanded view of the 2nd Amendment are motivated by racism

Not politically correct today, & generally you are correct for today; but the past 100 years there were plenty who felt it pertained predominantly to whites, & guns/rkba were mentioned in the KKK motto, when kkk was mainstream America circa 1920's.

But you say 'clearly no'?-- not so clearly, since how about a board member on the premier gunnut organization? The nra condones Nugent's bigotry by keeping him.

Nugent caused widespread controversy this year over his characterization of President Obama as a "subhuman mongrel." Citing that comment and Nugent's lengthy history of racially inflammatory commentary, several concert organizers have canceled Nugent appearances while other concerts have been protested...

Nugent: African-American Rappers Appearing On MTV Are "Big Uneducated Greasy Black Mongrels."
Nugent: "If Islam Is A Religion Of Peace, Then I'm A Malnourished, Tofu-Eating Anti-Hunter."
Nugent: Obama Supporters Are "Subhuman Varmint[s]."

NUGENT: I don't have to. You know what I'm on top of? I'm on top of a real America with working hard, playing hard, white motherfucking shit kickers, who are independent and get up in the morning.
MACK: Aren't there any blacks?
NUGENT: Show me one. Show me one.
MACK: There's plenty of them.
NUGENT: Show me one.

earlier this year that President Barack Obama is a "subhuman mongrel" may mark a turning point.
Hispanic Leaders Organized A Boycott After Nugent Told Non-English Speakers To Leave The United States.
Nugent On Prospective Haitian Immigrants: "We Should Put Razor Wire Around Our Borders And Give The Finger To Any Piece Of Shit Who Wants To Come Here."
Ted Nugent On Suspected Undocumented Immigrants: "I'd Like To Shoot Them Dead."
Nugent: NBA Should Host "A Homosexual Night" Where "Homosexuals Could Come Down On The Court, Hold Hands And Prance Around The Court To Music By The Village People." From a April 19, 2011

Lots of places have a hog problem,” Nugent said. He described the giddy joy of shooting from the open copter with an M4 machine gun. “And four hours later I had 450 dead hogs,” he said to loud applause. Then he added an afterthought that produced ample laughs: “And now if they would just take me to South Central. … Okay! I kid.” ... “South Central” is a predominantly Latino and black area of Los Angeles

NRA board member Ted Nugent celebrated the primary defeat of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), claiming that the only Jewish Republican serving in Congress practiced the politics of Nazi chief propagandist Joseph Goebbels. Cantor {was} the only current Republican Jewish member of the House (there are none in the Senate)... Nugent --- described Cantor as representative of "Joseph Goebbels and Saul Alinsky smoke-and-mirrors politics":
http://mediamatters.org/tags/ted-nugent

Rep. Steve Stockman: "I Am Excited To Have A Patriot Like Ted Nugent Joining Me In The House Chamber {re sotu} To Hear From President Obama."

[Eleanors38]

12. Somebody's boil needs lancing.

[Glaug-Eldare]

14. Not only that, but quite the reverse.

Gun control has traditionally been targeted almost exclusively at blacks. Hell, virtually every single gun control law or court argument in Maryland from 1634 to today has been either explicitly or effectively targeted at making guns less obtainable for black MDers than white ones. Race-specific possession bans, race-specific carry bans, the Jim Crow permit system, the affordable gun ban, the arguments in federal court warning against handgun carry specifically in "Baltimore City and urban Prince George's County" (the two black-majority parts of the state), the hundreds of dollars in new fees just for permission to buy a handgun, the new (and previously attempted) training regime...

[jimmy the one]

15. not anti-black but pro-white

glaugeldare: Gun control has traditionally been targeted almost exclusively at blacks

That is not the gun control movement as it exists today with more modern firearms & water tight ammo, it was gun policy during the jim crow & kkk years; don't conflate early 20th century gun policy & civil rights movement with modern day gun control.
There was some modicum of gun control in the 19th & early 20th centuries, such as prohibitions on carrying concealed weapons, & relinquishing pistols on entry into western towns. There are technical differences between gun control & gun policy.

Hell, virtually every single gun control law or court argument in Maryland from 1634 to today has been either explicitly or effectively targeted at making guns less obtainable for black MDers than white ones

You're including the 2nd amendment with this broad brush, right? From the 2ndA on, gun policy was pro-white, just like just about everything else until nominally Lincoln, & then the civil rights movement.

And you mislead, since it wasn't so much 'anti-black', as 'pro white' gun policy:

wiki: For the next several decades after the {supreme court ~1870's} Cruikshank ruling, black citizens in the South were left at the mercy of increasingly hostile state governments, which passed laws restricting voting based on race, turned a blind eye on paramilitary groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, Knights of the White Camelia, White League and Red Shirts, and ignored any request to grant blacks the right to keep and bear arms..

[Glaug-Eldare]

16. I'm including modern day gun control because of the racial arguments made in support of it, today.

And I guess I'll concede that gun control is more accurately pro-white, and not specifically anti-black. The gun control crowd here is probably just as anxious about latinos.

[stone space]

39. What gives you this idea?

The gun control crowd here is probably just as anxious about latinos.

I suppose that I'd be considered as part of the "gun control crowd here".

I'm not sure what anxieties I'm supposed to have about Latinos as a result.

[Glaug-Eldare]

40. Well, by "here" I mean Maryland, but mostly I was humoring jimmy.

I get the idea from the history of and arguments supporting gun control measures here, which have in virtually every case been targeted, explicitly or implicitly, at specifically making it harder for blacks to buy, possess, or carry firearms than for whites. Now that I look back at it, though, jimmy is wrong and historical laws are very specific -- they are targeted directly at blacks, by name. That's been the only significant minority population in the state until fairly recently.

[Eleanors38]

9. The open-carry crowd in Texas plans a 5th Ward demonstration

in Houston. If you lived in the 5th Ward, what would you do?

[Viva_Daddy]

7. Don't you recall what happened to the "open carry" Black Panthers? Jailed or shot dead.

[derby378]

8. Not the ones down in Dallas

They're still alive and quite free, thank you. The New Black Panthers staged an open-carry rally after James Byrd was dragged to his death in Jasper.

[Eleanors38]

11. You & Secmo need to visit a range. The color is changing...

and has been changing for years. Some of the narratives folks are laboring under no longer hold.

[NYC_SKP]

13. Perhaps more among the African America community should step up and express their right.

.
Truth be known, the image of black people with guns expressing their rights scares the shit out of even "tolerant" progressives.

I would proudly stand with them.

May 2, 1967-- Sacramento state capitol building:

[Eleanors38]

17. Blacks toting guns up the street is no more objectionable

than whites doing the same.

[Duckhunter935]

18. no nt

[Nuclear Unicorn]

19. Then let's demand the charges against Shahneen Allen be dropped. nt

[ileus]

20. The 2A applies to anyone willing to defend their own family and life.

Personal safety is a civil right that belongs to all the people...

[onecaliberal]

26. It seems subjective in different places

But there have been unarmed black men shot dead because someone thought they were suspicious in almost every state in America.
The bundy Ranch standoff is a good example. Can anyone honestly say the Feds would have walked off and let a group of heavily armed black men train their guns on federal agents and do nothing about it? I don't think a single one of them has been arrested.

[gordianot]

28. Yes white people only get to carry firearms to protests.

Further being white gives you the privelage of pointing firearms at whomever you want if you are police or protester.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

44. But you only get to never be charged or go to trial for actually shooting and killing...

...a mother holding a 10 month old child if you're Lon Horiuchi.

[blueridge3210]

29. And the grounds for hiding post #25 are? (nt)

[ileus]

31. That's a great question...

Face it, anyone can get a hide from the general population by alerting on ANY pro 2A post.

It must have been "Hurtful" to someones tender parts.

[blueridge3210]

33. It certainly sounds like some cannot handle the truth. (nt)

[beevul]

37. Indeed. That seems to happen alot to certain posters.

Time to document them?

badgunhide

[Duckhunter935]

32. none

I would like to see the comments. Some jurors vote to hide any RKBA post even if it just to say hello.

[stone space]

38. You mean the pro-Zimmerman post accusing...

...Trayvon Martin of attempted murder?

Is this a common view here in this group?

[blueridge3210]

41. I mean the post regarding the incident

where George Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin. The post that documented the facts brought forth in the criminal trial following due process of law. The post that apparently some found objectionable because it did not follow closely the meme "racist kills African-American in cold blood" but actually reported the facts as ascertained in court. I'm not sure what the "common view" is in this group, the facts clearly established (supported by witness statements and physical injuries) that Zimmerman was the victim of an assault and was unable to retreat.

[stone space]

42. Zimmerman as victim.

It amazes me that even gun nuts can see Zimmerman as the victim, when he stalked a teenager with a gun, and then proceeded to shoot him dead.

I'm beginning to learn a little something about the mentality of some of the gun fetishists here.

[blueridge3210]

43. It amazes me

that some choose to ignore the evidence produced in a court of law following due process. Oh, well. Business as usual.