Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Open Carry Texas vs. Stop and Frisk New York: A Tale of Two City States

According to Texas state law open carry of a hand gun is illegal, but a concealed handgun license or a (CHL) is issued to all citizens who qualify. Shotguns and semiautomatic rifles are legal everywhere but federal buildings and schools.

The stop-and-frisk policy of New York City has criminalized  millions of (Innocent) blacks and Latinos. Under stop-and-frisk ANY citizen can be subjected to random searches and interrogation for any reason or no reason at all.
The logic behind the searches is based on the notion that stopping petty crime before it escalates is a proactive approach to crime fighting.

Further justification is  based on the number of African-Americans and Latinos currently inside the criminal justice system. A closer look at the data reveals that racial profiling isn't validated by the racial makeup of the penitentiary, but a constitutive reason for it. 62% of America's prison population are soft drug offenders. Almost 90% of stops result in no legal action and only 2.5% result in finding guns.

The preconceived notions about minorities in New York City is justification enough for the legal violation of their 4th amendment rights. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has vowed to make the policy as fair as possible but has done nothing but talk about it.

I don't care what side of the gun debate anyone who reads this is on. I care about the blatant hypocrisy of this situation. We live in a country in which some have their 2nd amendment rights protected more than the 4th amendment rights of others. I challenge us to be honest and say what we mean. If we mean the rights of the majority to carry weapons in public trumps the rights of minorities to be victims of illegal searches and seizures then just say it.

Groups like the Brady Center and the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence are missing out on a golden opportunity. If they wanted to push through legislation banning open carry laws, they would hire a couple thousand blacks and Latinos between the ages of 18 and 30 and have them march on the steps of every capital in every state until the laws were changed.
Many of my 2nd Amendment warriors don't know or care that their political hero (Ronald Reagan) supported and signed into law several limitations to their 2nd amendment rights. As Governor of California he signed the Mulford Act into law after the Black Panthers marched on the capital to protest bans on carrying loaded firearms in public.

This kind of hypocrisy is all around us; it's woven into the fabric of our country. We had a Bill of Rights that didn't apply to Africans (22% of the population) and women the mothers, daughters, wives and sisters of our founding fathers. We've gotten to the point that the dualism of our doctrines go by unnoticed. The next time Carl Dix, Bob Avakain, Cornel West or any of the others who have led rallies to bring awareness to stop-and-frisk are marching in New York City look for the Gadsden flags bearing the don't tread on me moniker. You won't see them.