Black Guns Matter is an organization aimed at educating

African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...

about

gun culture in the United States Gun culture in the United States refers to the behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs surrounding the ownership and use of firearms by private citizens. Gun ownership is deeply rooted in the History of the United States, country’s history and is le ...

, primarily around defending

Second Amendment The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...

rights. The organization is led by Maj Toure, who founded it in 2016. Black Guns Matter has hosted workshops in multiple cities to teach the basics of

firearm safety Gun safety is the study and practice of managing risk when using, transporting, storing and disposing of firearms, airguns and ammunition in order to avoid injury, illness or death. Gun safety includes the training of users, the design of fi ...

, U.S. gun laws, and

conflict resolution Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of Conflict (process), conflict and Revenge, retribution. Committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively co ...

Background

In 2016, Toure founded Black Guns Matter to prevent people from being arrested on what he believed to be avoidable gun possession charges due to a lack of knowledge on how to legally purchase and carry firearms; The organization takes its name from the

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...

social movement, both sharing similar criticism of police brutality. Toure has accused the

Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLMGN or BLMGNF) is a 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Civil and political rights, civil rights organization dedicated to promoting the Black Lives Matter move ...

of being a "sham organization" and a "money-laundering scheme" for the Democratic Party, and argued that it lacked

financial transparency In economics, a market is transparent if much is known by many about: What products and services or capital assets are available, market depth (quantity available), what price, and where. Transparency is important since it is one of the theoretic ...

Views

In September 2019, Toure testified, representing Black Guns Matter before the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

, for a hearing on urban

gun violence Gun-related violence is violence against a person committed with the use of a firearm to inflict a gunshot wound. Gun violence may or may not be considered criminal. Criminal violence includes homicide (except when and where ruled justifiable ...

to argue that educating citizens on conflict resolution is more effective than

gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms and ammunition by civilians. Most countries allow civilians to own firearms, bu ...

. The organization attributes the high homicide rates in inner cities to a failure to de-escalate from violence and a lack of gun safety. Toure said that "more Black people would be alive if they were armed". He also argued that rates of police brutality may decrease when Black men carrying firearms are viewed as less of a threat by police. Toure argued that safety means armed self-defense and "all gun control is racist", pointing to the 1967

Mulford Act The Mulford Act was a 1967 California bill that prohibited public carrying of loaded firearms without a permit. Named after Republican assemblyman Don Mulford and signed into law by governor of California Ronald Reagan, the bill was crafted wi ...

signed by then-California governor

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

that banned open-carry in the state in reaction to the weaponized

Black Panther Party The Black Panther Party (originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist and Black Power movement, black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newto ...

. Toure ran for a Philadelphia city council seat as a member of the

Libertarian Party Libertarian Party may refer to: *Libertarian Party (Argentina) * Liberal Libertarian Party * Libertarian Party of Australia * Libertarian Party of Canada ** British Columbia Libertarian Party **Libertarian Party of Manitoba (now Freedom Party of Ma ...

and spoke about

rights at events with

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

lawmakers; he said that he was both using the conservative movement and being used by it. In 2019, Toure cancelled his membership of the

National Rifle Association of America The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

(NRA), saying that it was not doing enough for Black communities. In 2021, Toure took part at the

Conservative Political Action Conference The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC ) is an annual political conference attended by Conservatism in the United States, conservative Activism, activists and officials from across the United States. CPAC is hosted by the American ...

References

{{Black Lives Matter 2016 establishments in Pennsylvania African Americans' rights organizations Black conservatism in the United States Conservative political advocacy groups in the United States Gun rights advocacy groups in the United States

Background

Views

See also

References