Dr. Condoleeza Rice speaks out on gun control

In a November 17, 2004 story published in her home state of Alabama, Dr. Condoleeza Rice, current National Security Advisor and recently-nominated Secretary of State, spoke out on how growing up in a segregated South formed her views on many issues, including gun control:

Rice, 50, head of the National Security Council, was raised in Birmingham by parents who believed strongly in religion and achievement through education. Her mother taught at Fairfield High School. Her father was a minister at Birmingham's Westminster Presbyterian Church who also worked as a high school football coach to augment his salary.

Rice has said memories of Birmingham's racial turmoil shaped some of her core values.

During the bombings of the summer of 1963, her father and other neighborhood men guarded the streets at night to keep white vigilantes at bay. Rice said her staunch defense of gun rights comes from those days. She has argued that if the guns her father and neighbors carried had been registered, they could have been confiscated by the authorities, leaving the black community defenseless.

In his announcement of the nomination, President Bush said Dr. Rice has "an abiding belief in the value and power of liberty because she has seen freedom denied and freedom reborn."

No doubt our Second Amendment freedoms have a strong ally in Dr. Rice. And like her, the racist origins of gun control are fresh in the memories of some in Ohio. Why? Because for 150 years, Ohio suffered under a ban on concealed carry that grew from the seeds of racism.

Ohio's concealed carry ban had been challenged long before OFCC joined a legal effort to overturn it in 2003. Two early 1900’s Supreme Court rulings, State v. Hogan (1900) and State v. Nieto (1920), set the stage for a 20th century continuation of the ban.

In State v. Hogan, the Ohio Supreme Court upheld (in dicta) a prohibition against carrying dangerous weapons by “tramps”.

In State v. Nieto, which found a hispanic man guilty of carry a concealed weapon in his bed, a dissent from Justice Wanamaker noted the seeds of racism that spawned Ohio’s ban on concealed carry:

“The Southern states have very largely furnished the precedents. It is only necessary to observe that the race issue there has extremely intensified a decisive purpose to entirely disarm the Negro, and this policy is evident upon reading the opinions.”

It was these two court cases which the Ohio Supreme Court relied on in 2003 to uphold the 150-year ban. Fortunately, the story doesn't end there.

Following that ruling, a massive grassroots uprising, in the form of "Defense Walks" by citizens openly carrying firearms as permitted by Ohio law, generated sufficient momentum in the legislature to finally turn the tide towards freedom.

May we look back upon this past only to be reminded of where never to go again.

Related Stories:

Researcher: Ohio's concealed carry ban founded in racism
The fight to restore Ohioans' right to self-defense with a firearm has been going on longer than many realize. The following is taken from testimony offered by Clayton Cramer to the Ohio Senate Judiciary Committee, in support of a concealed carry bill, on March 22, 1995. Mr. Cramer's research on the origins of concealed carry bans are striking, and are something that every Ohioan, especially those who are minorities, should consider.

What's race got to do with it? A LOT.
As I described in my recent walk through the "Safest Neighborhood in the State", I mentioned that the most enjoyable part of my day was spent speaking to the many African-Americans who attended the event. I can honestly say that while we are often led to believe that minorities are nearly a block-vote against concealed carry legislation, EVERY single person of a minority race I spoke with at the 'Defense' Walk expressed interest in obtaining their personal right to self-defense. Every person but one, that is.

Blackmanwithagun.com
This site is about responsible firearm ownership. I use the taboo subject of race to show how people have been conditioned to fear the words "GUN" and "BLACK MAN" when used in the same sentence. I am against gun control and disagree with anyone that has a bodyguard, a political agenda or money that suggests I should get rid of my guns. I have been professionally taught about firearms. You can't fool me into giving up my freedom...