A Month of Resistance

This is the first day of the month of resistance. There are dozens of events planned throughout the month of October designed to bear witness to the epidemic of police brutality, and the Stop-and-frisk policy that criminalizes black and brown existence in New York City. 

This movement has been organized and promoted with virtually no help from the traditional media. As the month progresses and the protests can't be ignored any further the organizers and participants will undoubtedly be demonized. Don't fall for this; the people making the arguments are secondary to the arguments they're making. Stop-and-Frisk is a direct violation of the 4th amendment.

I'm "amazed" that our 2nd amendment "patriots" haven't been more vocal against stop-and-frisk. The sad truth is that many of them are more concerned with the majorities 2nd amendment rights than the 4th amendment rights of minorities. It's tragicomic how a society (any society) just assumes the humanity and dignity of some of its citizens, while others have to constantly prove their right to be treated as a person. Johnny Carson once asked Malcolm X what does the black man want. Malcolm's response was perfect. "Johnny, I'm the same man you think you are. I want to fall in love. I want my family to be safe. I'm the same man you think you are. What do you want?"

The messengers and fighters for equality have been historically vilified. Dr. King was called an outside instigator by several prominent clergy members in the south. Don't allow some talking head to distract you from the arguments being made. The inadequacies in our judicial system aren't imagined. Yes, we've made great progress on the racial front, but we still have work to do. I pray for the day that we make overtly racist policies not only illegal, but so stigmatized no one would want to be associated with them. As citizens we have the power to put enough pressure on the power structure that we can make a fundamental change to the elements of our justice system that aren't working.

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.