When gun-toting members of the Oath Keepers turned up at the demonstrations in Ferguson, Missouri, last week, it was widely suggested that the cops would not be nearly as tolerant if faced with similarly armed black demonstrators. The St. Louis Post-Dispatchreports that the organization didn't like the sound of that:
Sacramento Bee, 1967
Oath Keepers, an organization that has drawn attention by sending armed members to the streets of Ferguson, is organizing a demonstration for black residents there to carry rifles openly, a spokesman said.
Sam Andrews, of Eureka, representing Oath Keepers, said Monday the group wants to help black citizens engage in open carry of long-barrel firearms. Andrews said the group got the idea after black demonstrators told them this month that they would risk being shot if they showed up with firearms in the way that several white members of the Oath Keepers did.
"We're going to demonstrate to the world that black people have the same rights as white people," Andrews said.
According to the Post-Dispatch, Andrews "isn't ready to say when and where the new demonstration will be held." On Friday another site, Red Dirt Report, quoted Andrews saying he expects the march to happen in the next "couple of weeks." Stay tuned to learn whether, when, and in what form the demo finally appears.
In the meantime, check out this Facebook thread, where supporters of the Huey P. Newton Gun Club—the group that launched the #BlackOpenCarry movement—argue about whether marching with the Oath Keepers would be a good idea. Responses range from "I learned about the oath keepers a long time ago and of what I learned, they were the good guys" to "Don't touch the Oath Keepers. They're vigilantes whose concept of open carry is about white aggression and the defense of white power and privilege." The Newton Club's position? According to the person who put up the original Facebook post: "We say no thanks our platform is human rights theirs is civil liberties."
