For as long as there have been guns, there have been laws preventing Black and Brown people from owning guns. As mass shootings continue dominating headlines, many are trying to understand the role race plays in everything

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As a Black woman, there has never been a time in my life when I was pro-guns. 

I saw what gun violence, compounded with immense poverty, did to beautiful Black neighborhoods. Any person of color can attest to the fact that gun violence has been a major issue in our communities for decades. News stories of Black and Brown neighborhoods pervaded with gun violence have existed for as long as the 24-hour-news cycle. Not only do Black Americans fall victim to 3 times more gun violence at the hands of police than white Americans, according to Everytown, they also experience 10 times the amount of gun homicides, and 18 times the amount of gun assault injuries. 

Despite this glaring data, white conservatives' main claim as to why guns are such a dire necessity is their ability to remain safe. Yet, they’ve repeatedly refused to pass legislation the U.S. would need just to be on par with the low levels of gun violence other countries. Which is especially interesting for such asupposed “developedt” country. 

It begs the question of who exactly white conservatives are trying so desperately to remain safe from.

Mass shootings have dominated the U.S. news cycle for weeks, spiking in recent summer months, with more people outside leading to a greater likelihood of conflict. No matter what angle you observe the issue through, the tragic stories of violence attached to guns far outweigh any noble use they may hold, and the statistics of their danger hardly support a pro-gun narrative. 

According to a comprehensive Washington Post analysis, there have been over 300 mass shootings in 2022 alone, less than 7 months into the year. Shootings where 4 or more people, not including the shooter, are injured or killed average at least one per day. Since the tragic shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas claimed the lives of 19 children and 2 teachers, there have been a little over 100 mass shootings. 

While much of the national media focus in recent months has centered around issues of gun violence, minimal conversation is being had about gun control. There’s plenty of talk about the regulation of gun accessories, such as the limiting of large magazines and silencers, but no real plans for lasting change. Instead, conservatives send thoughts and prayers to the same towns they then refuse to pass gun reform legislation in. 

It is clear from the confusion of their conflicting rhetoric that white conservatives do not want to limit their own consumption of guns, but that of Black and Brown people. Nearly every piece of gun legislation proposed or passed in the U.S. has disproportionately restricted Black and Brown gun ownership.   

Since their origins, American gun control laws were rooted in racism. Some of the first gun laws in the history of the world were created specifically to bar Black and Brown people from owning guns. The pre-Civil War “Slave Codes” made it illegal for any Black person, freed or not, to own guns for they would rise and abolish slavery. Following the end of slavery, the “Black Codes” were instated, continuing the illegality of Black gun ownership. 

In the past three years, Black Americans have seen the highest growth in gun ownership - numbers spiking drastically at the start of 2020 when racial tensions in the U.S. were at an all-time high. I and most of the POC in my life remain firmly against the ownership of guns for all people, but I will be the first to say that if I continue living in America, I see myself purchasing a gun within the next five years. 

Kendi is currently a student at New York University and is the author of multiple award-winning poems, short stories, stage, and screenplays.

Contact: kendi@thenorthstar.com