Martin Luther King, Jr. and Guns

An often overlooked piece of his legacy

An overlooked piece of Martin Luther King Jr’s legacy and impact on America centers around the right to self-defense and the Second Amendment’s protection of the right to keep and bear arms. Unstated in the Amendment is for self-defense. The Founders thought this was obvious and not necessary, although they talked about self-defense of person and community significantly during the period.

The Reality: The Constitution protects your right to keep and bear arms

We discussed this reality  that the Founders, and their heirs and successors in the 19th century, believed that the right to keep and bear arms was in order to defend life and property. Just as importantly, it entailed the owning and using “weapons of war”. Throughout American history, political elites, governments, racists, and bigots have understood the importance of this as well. And worked to ensure that the minorities that they feared, distrusted, and hated were unable to exercise this right to protect themselves and their com…