Gun Rights Activists March in Ferguson

A demonstration to defend black Second Amendment rights draws fewer marchers than the organizers hoped.

@search4swag

Back in August, a member of the Oath Keepers—a controversial group of current and former police and military personnel who have pledged not to obey unconstitutional orders—announced that they would organize a black open carry march in Ferguson, Missouri, to defend African Americans' Second Amendment rights. The activist who made that announcement, Sam Andrews, subsequently split with the Oath Keepers, but that didn't bring the plans to an end; Andrews and his former group each said they still intended to organize such a protest.

Andrews' demonstration just took place. Now promoted as an "integrated" march, it seems to have brought in more journalists than demonstrators. One reporter, Grant Bissell of KSDK-TV, estimated that there were "maybe a dozen or so" protesters. Most of them were white: David Carson of the St. Louis Dispatch says only two black people were open-carrying. This is bit smaller than the original hope of attracting, in the Red Dirt Report's words, "50 African-American men armed with assault rifles."

Why Ferguson? Back in August, Andrews was one of the armed Oath Keepers who showed up at the anti-police-brutality demonstrations to serve as bodyguards for a couple of Infowars reporters. And his "heart broke," he told the marchers today, "when I was on these streets, and young men came up to me and said, 'If I did what you did, I would be executed.' And I think [black marcher] Paul Berry said it best. He said, 'Why do your rights as a human being have to change when you're east of 270?'"

A number of Vines from the demo are here. For more background on the protest, go here.

Comments

[Free Market Socialist $park?]

You know what will happen if you start giving blacks rights?

[Jimbo]

They'll get uppity?

[Free Market Socialist $park?]

Exactly. And just look at where that got us.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

We gave ISIS guns, now look how uppity they are!

[sarcasmic]

"when I was on these streets, and young men came up to me and said, 'If I did what you did, I would be executed.'"

Yeah, that's probably true. "He's got a gun!"

BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAMBLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM

And nothing else happens.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Demonstration to defend black Second Amendment rights draws fewer marchers than the organizers hoped.

That's ok. If these were anti-capitalist protesters, the Seattle Times would give front page coverage to literally tens of marchers.

[Microaggressor]

All three masks were purchased from Amazon for $6 each using the Amazon Prime account of gold mask's mom.

[Tak Kak]

Is Guy Fawkes significant because they already realize they're failures?

[Zeb]

No, it's because they saw a movie and completely missed the point.

[GamerFromJump]

Never understood why people celebrate a religious dominionist as some sort of hero for freedom.

[commodious spittoon]

"There are dozens of us! DOZENS!"

[DaveSs]

Back in around 2008 several state gun ownership organizations came together to host an event in the Illinois capital where about 5,000 people show up. They had police blocking the streets so everyone could walk from a convention center to the Capitol building.

On the same day there was a group of a couple dozen nurses walking around with signs outside the capital building as well. Front page of the Chicago papers the following day was the nurses. They stuck us in the back pages where the gathering was described as 'a few hundred gun rights activists'

It took a few years of attempts before they would actually put us on the front page, and then they still undercounted by about 1/5th, and never showed high angle picture of everyone walking the street. Don't fit the narrative.

[Drake]

In a logical world, this march would be happening in Paris today.

[Ken Shultz]

With black civil rights groups--and black people generally--it's just going to take a sustained effort to convince them that groups concerned about the Constitution and the Second Amendment really care about them or their interests and rights.

Efforts like this are an excellent step in the right direction. There is no reason why there should be a color divide on the Constitution or the Second Amendment. The lack of participation, here, is just a testament to how far we have to go.

[Bern-o-Matic 5000]

Agreed. Racists relied on the Constitution to oppose various civil rights efforts (some correctly, some incorrectly), affirmative action, and various other programs that (superficially, at least, though not necessarily in practice) help black communities. Their reluctance to trust those purporting to care about such issues is understandable. The Constitution is meant to protect the rights of all citizens and limit the power of the government. A government that can arbitrarily extend these benefits to a group, without any consideration of its authority to do so, is just as capable of arbitrarily taking them away or favoring other groups.

[Calidissident]

I've always found it funny when a few people in my facebook feed will post articles praising Malcolm X and/or the Black Panthers one day and then post about how gun rights are obviously horrible and racist the next.

[MichaelL]

If they would think about it, the second amendment rights would make blacks safer, when it comes to radical fringe elements, within their own race. In addition, it might serve some protection concerning those of other races that would deny them their rights! All races need to live without trying to force others into their way of thought, as the libertarians do! In that, we have long, damned, way to go! It is the use of force that causes retaliation, more conflict, and a screwed up world!

[JohnTheRevelator]

If they would think about it

Identified the problem.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

OT: looks like #winning now involves a cocktail of drugs to keep from dying of AIDS.

[Zeb]

Donald Trump has AIDS? Or is it Charlie Sheen?

[Microaggressor]

Donald Trump has AIDS?

Rico hit hardest.

[Je suis Woodchipper]

well that's a bit of a let down. is Ferguson a suburb of Cleveland?

[IceTrey]

Ferguson's 15 minutes are up.

[Winston]

Well it was created by white slaveowners after all.

[Suthenboy]

Pitiful.

Of course, I remember hearing some things about Sam Andrews that made me think perhaps he is a little...off. Maybe that is the reason? I dunno, but I am still disappointed as hell. I will keep telling myself that.

[Jesse Walker]

I remember hearing some things about Sam Andrews that made me think perhaps he is a little...off. Maybe that is the reason?

That's certainly what the folks who run Oath Keepers will tell you. We'll see if their march, if it comes to pass, does any better.

[dunce]

There may have been very few there because there are not that many with out criminal records so they can not legally own a gun.

[WuzYoungOnceToo]

Is this one of those threads where we continue to ignore the fact that the "Hands up, don't shoot!" narrative turned out to be 100% weapons-grade bullshit?