The NRA recently created a new movement they are referring to as the “grassroots” movement to bring awareness of the open carry laws in a very public way. The movement has attracted numerous participants, and they have been almost exclusively white men. To show their supports for open carry laws these men have been showing up in public places such as restaurants and shopping malls with assault rifles and shotguns. They claim that are simply showing their patriotism, but in actuality they are terrorizing and bullying the public.
While white men have no issue showing off their Freudian accessories it was commonly assumed that if black men started to do the same thing there would be a public panic. That assumption has come true. The New Black Panther Party did just that, and it was described as “horrifying.”
Right wing gun nuts will often claim that they need their firearms to protect them from an overbearing government and a law enforcement system that is out of control. Apparently this applies to white militants, but not black militants.
This is nothing new in terms of Second Amendment rights. Conservatives love asserting Second Amendment rights as long as they aren’t being asserted by black people. Going back to the 60’s the NRA had a hand in crafting laws to try to prohibit open carry laws for fear that blacks would use them to terrorize their neighborhood.
The grassroots movement does appear to be helping their cause. They are doing more harm than good by terrorizing the public. The fact that when black men do the same things they are viewed as thugs makes their efforts all the more ridiculous.