The Inevitable Collision Between Black Lives Matter and Gun Control

Or, what in hell is any Michael Bloomberg group doing anywhere near regular BLM-related phone calls?

This fall has been full of noise from gun control advocates seeking to hitch their wagon to the seemingly far more ascendant Black Lives Matter movement. As I write in today's Los Angeles Times, there's an inherent contradiction in what the two groups are after:

That alliance, however, is truly unlikely, even nonsensical. Historically, civil rights and gun control have been at odds. The blunt fact is that one side seeks to rein in law enforcement, while the other wishes to give it more power. […]

Whenever government agents gain more power over citizens, whether to enforce bans on loose cigarettes or raze private property to build a baseball stadium, poor and disadvantaged communities will be on the receiving end first and hardest.  

Whole thing, including appearances by Radley Balko, Rand Paul, Clarence Thomas, and of course Michael Bloomberg, here.

UPDATE: Glenn Reynolds had a similar column recently in USA Today.