In the past week, 7 innocent men were killed in America. First, Philando Castile and Alton Sterling, then Lorne Ahrens, Michael Smith, Michael Krol, Patrick Zamarripa and Brent Thompson. The first, two black men, killed by police officers. And the latter, five Dallas, Texas, police officers, killed by an armed citizen.
A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
That is the actual text of the second amendment. The second amendment is one of the most prevalent arguments against more gun regulation in America today. Many of its supporters argue that American citizens must be allowed to own similar weapons to that of the American military, because it is our right to keep the government in check. And their logic does follow the course of the second amendment. On Thursday, July 7, however, this thinking was put into play. The recent killings of two black men, Philando Castile and Alton Sterling, by police officers ignited race riots all over the country, many of which remained peaceful, and only stood to make voices heard. However, Thursday night in Dallas, Texas, an American citizen gunned down five police officers at a riot.
Before I begin, I must talk about the brave men who were killed on Thursday.
Lorne Ahrens, Michael Smith, Michael Krol, Patrick Zamarripa and Brent Thompson were the officers killed. Noble and brave people each of them. I have nothing but gratitude for their willingness to protect the community and put their lives on the line to maintain a safe place for all people. They did not deserve this kind of violence, and they should be remembered with great respect. My heart goes out to their families, and I hope they know that the American community will not abandon their brothers in blue. In the end the hope is that people unworthy of title police officer will not be able to gain that name and take on the same uniform as those brave enough to actually uphold the law and protect American citizens. My greatest thank you to the officers that died trying to protect Americans.
The riots in which these brave men lost their lives were mostly peaceful as I said. But one man, acting alone, as was confirmed by Dallas Police Chief David Brown, decided that the police officers defending the people of Dallas had to pay for the acts of others. This man did not see these officers as people; he saw them as a group -- a portion of a larger problem, which is the American government: a government that has continually ignored and stepped on the rights of Black citizens; a government completely inactive when addressing the race issue in America; a government that has demonstrated again and again, that for black people, a “free state” is not secure.
The Texas shooter, later identified as Micah Johnson, will not be justified in my writing. I do not support him or agree with anything he did. I will not play devil's advocate for someone who would kill another. I will not defend him, in the same way I will not defend unjustified, snap judgment killings based on subconscious or conscious racism from the police officers that killed Philando Castile and the officers that killed Alton Sterling.
But Micah Johnson, an armed civilian, is wholly supported by the second amendment. There for it could be said that anyone using the second amendment to defend low gun regulation supported him.
Johnson, as an American citizen and black man, who felt his rights were being infringed upon, took up arms against a branch representing our nation's government, the Dallas Police Force, and killed five officers. We have fought to keep a gun in this American’s hands. We have blocked legislature and created organizations all to make sure that if this man did not like the reality of this American “Free State” he could fight it. And that is exactly what he did Thursday night in Texas. Five officers in Texas answered for the negligence and inactivity of the American government and the stupidity of groups like the NRA for supporting this man’s right to bear arms.
But the NRA would never come out and say that. No person in his right mind would admit that they had supported blocking legislature that resulted in the death of five police officers. This will be called black crime, and tied to the Black Lives Matter movement to be written off as thugs and criminals. In the same way Americans see all Muslims, or Arabic looking people as a potential ISIS threat, the peaceful protestors of the Black Lives Matter movement, will be tied to this mans horrible actions.
If this man weren’t a black man would his right to bear arms be defended? If this weren’t a “black issue” would it make waves in Congress?
I do not support this mans actions. He wrongfully killed American police officers that were doing their job. But I ask you, is the Free State of Black Americans being infringed upon? Do their lives not fall under the same constitution as white lives? Do they not have the right to make the American government answer for the atrocities committed against their people?
As long as the government refuses to take action against gun violence in America innocent lives will continue to be taken wrongfully. Inaction has killed too many of our black brothers and sisters and too many of our brothers and sisters in blue.
