2/01 Gun Rights Strenghthened By Strong Families

Gun Rights Strenghthened by Strong Families

by
Larry Pratt

I have frequently said that our freedoms are not likely to stand in isolation. Most gun owners agree that if the Second Amendment falls, the others will follow quickly behind. Perhaps we should give more thought to the reciprocal of that idea. If other freedoms fail, indeed, if key social institutions fail, gun rights will be seriously weekened. This point was made vivid during an interview I conducted on my weekly radio show Live Fire. This show can be found in the Live Fire archives on the Gun Owners of America web page at http://www.gunowners.org/radio.htm.

The interview was with a conservative, black pastor in Los Angeles, Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson. Rev. Peterson is staunchly pro-gun. His record in this area includes organizing a pro-gun rally in Portland, OR several years ago, and testifying before the Los Angeles County board against their prohibition of gun shows. (The ban was subsequently overturned in court.)

Rev. Peterson explained how the black family has been greatly weakened in the last several decades. Beginning with the War on Poverty, the federal government offered financial assistance, but only to single women (with or without children). The government’s message to the man was — get out, you’re not needed.

The next blow to hammer the black family was the rise of black racism being preached by Louis Farakhan, Jesse Jackson and others. As Rev. Peterson put it, “They hate whites more than they love blacks.” The problem is, constructive solutions to black problems (such as for the welfare mess) are overlooked because of the negativity of the black racist preachers.

Then enter feminism. Black leaders picked up this ideology with the liberal coalition that they march in lockstep with. Now the black single mom on welfare was dosed with hatred of men. This in turn kept them trapped in the system that had hammered their families, trapping the welfare moms all the more in the system.

Here is where another element of the liberal coalition enters the picture — unthinking acceptance of gun restriction and banning. Many in the black community accept gun control proposals because of uncritical acceptance of the liberal paradigm; the paradigm remains unchallenged because the hatred of whites engendered by the likes of Farakhan and Jackson substitute hatred for thinking.

So there you have it. Smash the family, and the new family head — the government — becomes responsible for providing the protection that is the responsibility of any head of family. Only now it is not a man but a bureaucrat. Get rid of your guns at home, says the new head of household.

I would strongly encourage everyone getting more familiar with the thinking of Rev. Peterson. In addition to listening to my Live Fire interview with him, his book, From Rage to Responsibility is a must read.