And thanks to the Second Amendment, the right to self-defense is embedded in U.S. freedoms.
A recent report by The Hill cited a Kaiser Family Foundation poll showing that Black adults are nearly twice as likely to report losing a family member to a gunshot, including suicide, than White or Hispanic respondents. A startling 34% of African American respondents cited these tragic losses compared to 17% and 18% for White and Hispanic adults respectively.
Breaking down the data further, a third of Black and Hispanic adults worry “daily” or “almost daily” about their safety from violent crime. This compares to only 10% of White adults.
Seventeen percent of African Americans report not feeling secure “at all” in their communities. That is juxtaposed against 9% of Hispanic adults and 2% of White adults.
Is there any wonder that weapons purchases are surging among African Americans? This will certainly cause consternation among the mainstream media, but law-abiding Americans want to feel safe in their homes and communities.
And when they do not feel safe, it is a perfectly natural response to take all legal measures to protect themselves from those who would do them harm.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) released interesting data for gun purchasers in recent years. In 2020, African Americans bought firearms at an astounding rate of 58% more than in 2019. It didn’t stop there. Hispanic Americans purchased weapons at a 49% higher rate and Asian Americans at a 43% higher rate than the previous year.
Fast forward to 2021 when 60% of firearms retailers surveyed reported the same level of increase in traffic from African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans. Almost 45% of weapons dealers reported an increase in African American customers in 2021.
A report by NBC News echoed the increased numbers cited by the NSSF, and the reasoning for the surge in minority gun purchases was simple. People want to feel safe.
Phillip Smith is the president of the National African American Gun Association. He told NBC News that the increase in firearm ownership in the Black community is due to an “awakening.”
He further told the outlet that owning a firearm “is OK as long as it’s done in the right way.” He said his organization attempts to use different images that connect viewers to “good experiences and positive images for families, for husbands, for mothers, for kids.” It is an experience that can be shared “in a legal, law-abiding way.”
Even as many seek to divide the nation along this or that line, there is so much more that we share. Americans are not all that different from one another.
People want to live in safe communities and provide for themselves and their families and loved ones.
The American dream is not constructed of wood or brick. It is built on the goals of its people to live a good life and pass along an even better one to future generations. Personal safety goes a long way towards attaining that goal for all of us, and the Second Amendment affords the right to ensure that safety no matter who we are.
It is critical that communities come together for what is right and just. And part of that is guaranteeing the right to self-defense against those who would do others harm. It should be no surprise that firearm ownership is spreading throughout diverse communities. Rather, it should be celebrated.
