In 1966 in California, it was legal to openly carry loaded guns because of the Gold Rush. That all changed in 1967.
On May 3, 1967, Governor Ronald Reagan had planned to eat lunch with middle schoolers in Sacramento when two dozen black men and women with rifles, shotguns, and pistols pulled up. They were the Black Panthers. The Black Panthers were a political party headquartered in Oakland that called for justice, an end to police brutality, and more jobs for blacks. They were part of the overall Black Power movement which celebrated black pride and pushed civil rights. In Oakland, the Black Panthers started many community programs, such as free breakfast for kids and free health clinics. Armed with loaded weapons, they also monitored police interactions with blacks.
The Black Panthers entered the Capitol building with their guns in the air, criticizing “the racist California Legislature” for “keeping the black people disarmed and powerless.” Five minutes later, the police arrived, and the Black Panthers handed over their guns and were escorted out. They refused to comment any further.
Because the guns were not pointed at anyone, the demonstration was completely legal. In fact, the Capitol Police reported that they were unloaded. However, the incident was reported nationally as an “invasion.” Soon after, a gun control law was passed called the “Panther Bill.” When Reagan signed off on the bill, he proclaimed, “There’s no reason why on the street today a citizen should be carrying loaded weapons.”
Despite advocating for gun use, the NRA actually supported this bill. They don’t care about the 1,300 children that are killed by guns every year, but they do care about black people having access to guns to protest for equal treatment. That’s how much they hate black people. They would rather lose money than allow the Black Panthers to protest and monitor police interactions with guns.
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This post gives a new perspective to the gun control debate. I definitely think that if a group of POC were to have guns and form a rally, the government would take action on gun control. It is sad that many school shooters are white so they are given leeway in their sentencing. I think that the reason the NRA agreed with Reagan on the bill is because it would gain them public favor. Most republicans and many democrats were a fan of Reagan so if the NRA sided with him, it would give more support to the NRA itself. Politics and policies now have come down to how much money it will make politioners and it is something we need to be concerned about.
ReplyDeleteI like how you pointed out since The Panthers' guns were not pointed at anyone, the demonstration was completely legal. If this was a white group I doubt that "The Panther Bill" would've ever been created (insert white groups name in parenthesis). I agree that government was not concerned with the people dying by guns every single day, but rather a peaceful protest for equal treatment. This shows just how anti-black the government really is even if they try and act like if its for the benefit of the people. When Regan said, “There’s no reason why on the street today a citizen should be carrying loaded weapons.”, he demonstrated the lack of equality that blacks hold to whites in America, since there are white shooters across the country that are not being reprimanded with these sorts of laws.
ReplyDeleteI think that the government needs to take control with guns and do something just like something was being done like the POC. What I got out of your post is how things was basically managed from white people because since the black panthers were involved and they did have guns there guns were not being pointed unlike whites. I have seen that guns have been a huge problem and a lot of people are being shot due to no reason they are not being used properly. We need to change things on who we are selling guns to they should be more strict one this because I don't like the fact that a lot of innocent people are getting shot for no reason.
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