Is gun control racist?

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That’s actually not the correct question. The answer to “Is gun control racist?” is no, because if I ask you that question, you assume I mean current modern day gun control efforts in the United States. If anything, gun control is the opposite of racist, give who is most affected by lack of it, ans who most wants more of it, and the nature of the pro-gun lobby when it comes to issues of race.

But in the past, it may have been totally racist. Making sure that black-skinned Americans were not seen as citizens was, in part, to keep them from having constitutional rights including the right to bear arms, according to one author. For that to be true, “the right to bear arms” as we currently conceive of it and Dred Scott have to be coeval. I’m not sure if that is true.

The argument is being made by Adam Winkler in a blog post as well as in his book, Gunfight: The Battle over the Right to Bear Arms in America (which I have not read, but if he sends it to me I’ll review it).

My friend Ben Zvan has also made the point that modern gun control is probably classist, given the cost to go from not having a firearm to having one, legally, including the weapon itself, training, and permits.

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One thought on “Is gun control racist?

  1. Maybe if we want better gun control, we can start with minorities, then slowly move up the totem pole of respect.

    (yes, this is cynical sarcasm)

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