Why more Black people are looking for safety in gun ownership

[sarisataka]

Why more Black people are looking for safety in gun ownership

Two days after a white man shot and killed 10 Black people in Buffalo last month, Michael Moody reversed his thinking about possessing a firearm. He had watched the aftermath of the carnage on the news, the anguish of the victims’ families, and decided he “needed a gun. Needed, not wanted,” he said.

After discussing it with his wife, Moody said he left his home in suburban Washington to buy a weapon. He quickly learned he wasn’t alone. He said he was “stunned” at the number of Black people standing in line at the gun shop in Maryland to make a similar purchase.

Through chatting with others while waiting, Moody said he learned “a lot of us have the same idea. It’s getting bad when someone specifically targets Black people to shoot. We have to be prepared to fight back. And you can’t survive bringing a knife to a gunfight.”

Moody’s sentiments represent one reason the sale of guns to Black Americans rose 58 percent in 2020 — the year George Floyd was murdered by a Minnesota police officer, sparking a nationwide social justice movement — according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a firearms trade association. It was the highest bump in gun sales of any ethnic group that year.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/black-people-are-looking-safety-gun-ownership-rcna32150

[Mister Ed]

1. Only way we'll ever get serious gun control laws is if Blacks arm themselves en masse.

Then watch those bills fly through the legislatures!

[LonePirate]

4. That's what I was thinking. Racist Republicans will start changing laws once they are outgunned.

[sarisataka]

6. That begs the question

Is racism an acceptable path to gun control i.e. does the end justify the means?

I fear many would answer positively.

[PTWB]

2. No surprise.

Combine the dismal police response to Uvalde, the Buffalo massacre, the never ending epidemic of inner city crime that has resulted from decades of unaddressed poverty, addiction, homelessness, mental health issues, with the historical marginalization of their communities, and with the increasingly militant right wing extremist rhetoric, it’s no wonder that minorities are no longer willing to allow their enemies to monopolize the distribution of arms and armaments.

The government sure doesn’t seem interested in protecting minorities and those of us on the left from the right wing extremists. Every Democrat who can legally own a gun should own a gun, and should be proficient with it.

[Afrocat]

3. We need AR-15 to go hunting.

Hunting what exactly? I have my suspicions and while I don't intend to purchase a gun. I do intend to go to a range and learn how to handle a weapon. This was something previously unthinkable for me, but the uptick in atrocities from the right and their supporters has driven me to this decision.

[ManiacJoe]

7. For the right game, they work very well.

The .223 round is a varmint round. Good for coyotes, feral hogs, and smaller animals.
Some states will let you hunt whitetail deer with it, but I personally think the round is too small for any size deer.

[yagotme]

8. Depends entirely on the chambering.

The AR-15 has quite a list of cartridges it is capable of handling, from .22 LR to .50 Beowulf.