Posted on 07/29/2020 11:11:32 AM PDT by Kaslin
Last Saturday in Louisville, Kentucky, about 300 armed members of the NFAC (Not F---ing Around Coalition), a self-described "Black militia" based in Atlanta, had what the Louisville Courier-Journal called "a tense standoff" with about 50 armed Three Percenters, which the paper described as a "far-right... militia." While the incident, which ended without violence, could be seen as yet another sign that the country is descending into 1968-style chaos, it was also a striking illustration of the Second Amendment's enduring practical and symbolic importance that scrambled conventional stereotypes about the right to armed self-defense.
Since Kentucky allows open (or concealed) carrying of firearms without a permit, the two groups, both of which disavow aggression, were acting lawfully. And while their motives may look different, both are drawing on a long American tradition of wide gun ownership as a safeguard against tyranny.
NFAC members came to Louisville in support of protests provoked by the shooting of Breonna Taylor, an unarmed 26-year-old African American woman who was killed by white police officers during a fruitless drug raid on March 13. The circumstances of Taylor's death gave the guns carried by those militia members added significance.
Plainclothes police officers broke into Taylor's apartment in the middle of the night based on meager evidence that a detective used to obtain a no-knock search warrant. Mistaking the armed invaders for robbers, Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, grabbed a gun and fired a single shot that struck one officer in the leg.
The cops responded with a hail of bullets, at least eight of which struck Taylor and several of which entered a neighboring apartment. Prosecutors initially charged Walker with the attempted murder of a police officer but dropped that charge in May.
As Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., observed last month, "the invasion of a person's home is one of the most terrifying powers government possesses," and "every person in a free society has the right to take arms against an intruder in their homes." While McClintock was emphasizing the dangers posed by no-knock warrants, his comments also raised the question of how Americans, no matter their skin color, can defend themselves against police officers who behave like criminals.
NFAC has one answer. By parading with military-style rifles of the sort that Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, wants to ban, the militia's members show they are prepared to exercise the Second Amendment rights that gun control supporters typically portray as a fetish of white conservatives.
The assertion of those rights resonates historically since modern gun control laws have their roots in the efforts of Southern states to disarm freedmen, depriving them of a constitutional right that Chief Justice Roger Taney, author of the Supreme Court's infamous 1857 decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford, warned Black people would enjoy if they were recognized as citizens. Under Jim Crow and during the civil rights movement, the right to armed self-defense was vitally important to African Americans resisting government-imposed white supremacy.
The Three Percenters, by contrast, we're responding to NFAC's presence in Louisville, aiming to "aid police" (as the Courier-Journal put it) in maintaining order. Yet, the group, which rejects the "militia" label and disavows racism, also describes itself as defending civil liberties and resisting the illegitimate exercise of government power.
You need not endorse the tactics or ideologies of these organizations to recognize that both are relying on a legal legacy that makes mainstream Democrats like Biden uncomfortable. As the Supreme Court recognized in its landmark 2008 decision overturning the District of Columbia's handgun ban, the Second Amendment was based partly on the premise that "when the able-bodied men of a nation are trained in arms and organized, they are better able to resist tyranny."
The fact that two opposing groups are dedicated to defending the right of armed self-defense should not be surprising. The Second Amendment, like the First, is of value to people with divergent backgrounds and political views. Gun controllers should stop pretending otherwise.
funny how no democrat has come out and said that antifa/nfac folks don’t need assault weapons
Sounds like NFAC met the WNFAEC crew.
I am of the opinion that:
All county Sheriffs should be elected
Only the Sheriff’s office is authorized a SWAT team
Only the SWAT team is able to execute a dynamic entry
Warrants need to be issued by a judge for a dynamic entry and only after:
1) peaceful attempts have been made to contact the individuals inside the location
2) the individuals have been given the opportunity to surrender
Further that no knock warrants require the signature of both the Sheriff and a judge. Each asserting that they have been provided evidence that there is probable cause to believe that the occupants represent a life and limb danger to others. And that during the execution of a no knock warrant, the officers are REQUIRED to be in uniform, and announce “Police - Warrant” multiple times while entering the location
An armed society is a polite society.
BTW, this article speaks to one of the reasons I moved from Seattle to rural KY nine years ago. And also to why Louisville doesn’t have a “CHOP”. But if they did it would be on Bardstown/Baxter road in the Highlands.
Completely agree with you. This sort of situation shows exactly why we’re all so much safer when everyone is lawfully armed. Nobody escalates because they understand the dire consequences of doing so. Everybody goes home safe.
In a way, it’s the small scale and personal version of “MAD”. :)
but what if the inhabitants no habla ingles?
Well stated, and love your Tagline!
“...Since Kentucky allows open (or concealed) carrying of firearms without a permit..”
If Reagan were governor, he’d put an end to that...like he did in California.
” based in Atlanta”
I see no evidence of this repeated claim.
If only our black brothers would realize we are on the same team with same goals and stop voting democrat, we could get it done!
Ref the tagline. My dad used to say it with different emphasis:
STUPID should hurt - usually said after I did something really dumb
stupid SHOULD hurt - usually when I only hurt myself a little bit but complied about it anyway.
stupid should HURT - usually when I did something dumb ... twice. My dad’s way of saying that I did not learn my lesson the first time.
I thought Grandmaster Jay was whack as crap but overall NFAC behaved well, except for that nasty accidental discharge.
“...like he did in California.”
concealed carry in CA has always been at the sufferance of the local Sherriff or CoP.
No mention of it in the article, but three people were hit with shotgun pellets at this event. In my world, we call that being shot. No violence? Really?
I watched this even unfold, saw the people moving out of the way FAST. Also, the police were around the corner waiting for something to happen, but nothing did. They were very peaceful despite their presentation.
I listened to the words the man had to say and watched how his “soldiers” obeyed.
It was very interesting to hear him call out the main stream media as well.
There were some parts of what he said that I applauded. He’s not about racism, according to what he said. On the other hand, there were some other parts where I was like, “oh hell no”.
This man is the type of man you want at a table to discuss things with. He had some interesting things to say. I believe he’s filling the void that the vacuum left by elected officials have left open. Someone has to step up and this man literally seized the opportunity, whether or not you, we or I agree with him.
He claims that he & this militia will be back in 1 month. I guess that still remains to be seen.
Your thoughts? Would love to share.
If Reagan were governor, he’d put an end to that...like he did in California.
This was after the Black Panthers conducted a very loud armed visit to the visitor section of the California House while it was in session.
Considering what actually transpired, it was not violence.
Accidental discharge from a shotgun when the wielder fell asleep is what I’ve read, but maybe I’m mistaken.
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