An Open Carry Moment in Walmart.

by Staff January 15, 2019 5 Comments News Opinion Weekly Columns

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(ThyBlackMan.com) Americans owning guns has never been an issue to me, though I champion gun control. The concept is rather simple to me. If there are laws and regulations I must follow as someone that owns a vehicle there should be laws and regulations for those that own guns. Open carry laws in a sense are a bit different. Before my previous encounter I never found an issue with open carry laws. My only problem is they open carry laws don’t seem to work the same for everyone that carries. Though the biggest American terrorist is a white male, black men are treated as a greater threat by law enforcement in the area of open carry. When many officers see a black person with a gun its as if open carry no long exists. I can admit I often feel more comfortable, as would many others, in environments with faces that are familiar to me.

There is so much in the news about tragic events that happen at Walmart. The one that was in my mind as I was in Walmart was a black woman in West Monroe, La that was harassed in the Walmart parking lot by two white men. I find that where I see brothers in a position of authority, I feel a little bit more at ease when I places like Walmart.

There are certain places that open carry doesn’t apply federal building, schools, churches, and maybe Walmart should be added to the list. I’m not sure what it is about this particular store, but it doesn’t have a reputation for customers behaving in a civil manner. I was in the customer service line one night waiting for my husband and son as they parked the car. I stood in line behind a white gentleman with a very beautiful service dog. Though the dog was a pitbull she appeared to be mild manners and was simply gorgeous. As I was looking around my eyes fell on the man’s pistol on his side.

It was hard to explain the anxiety that begin to settle within me. I found myself backing up further than I was already standing, I was looking for my husband constantly, and I was protectively holding my stomach and I’m almost 6 months pregnant. As many times as I have shopped at this particular Walmart I never felt that sense of dread. Immediately I felt guilty because I was internally questioning myself asking if I would feel this uncomfortable if a black man would have been carrying the weapon instead. I quietly began to question how I felt about open carry…was it in general or just in places like Walmart.

The bottom line was I was truly afraid. My anxiety didn’t begin to calm down until my husband was next to me, and I saw the gentleman in front of me conversing casually with a black man about dogs. I know we deal with crime in our communities, however in that moment I was fearful of white man with a gun in Walmart. I acknowledge that not all white people that open carry are a threat to me, just like every black person that open carries isn’t an ally. Yet, I couldn’t get past the fear what I saw…the fear of not knowing. That fear made me feel ashamed inside, and I am still questioning my feelings.

The climate of this country for Black Americans has never been safe; we are just being reminded of such due to a rise in open racist behavior. Honestly, I don’t think I will ever feel comfortable in the situation I found myself in…I acknowledge that I didn’t create the environment that led to my fear. Maybe there should be more public business that don’t allow us to open carry.

Staff Writer; Christian Starr

May connect with this sister over at Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/christian.pierre.9809 and also Twitter; http://twitter.com/MrzZeta.

5 Comments

Pelvo White, Jr. says:

January 19, 2019 at 6:01 pm

Mr. Stollenwerk, yours is a tortured interpretation of District of Columbia v. Heller( you haven’t cited any cases supporting your interpretation of ruling per the doctrine of stare decisis ), and of the First, Second, First, Fourth, Thirteenth,Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution whose passing into law date back to a time prior to ” District of Columbia v. Heller “,and ‘United States v. Cruikshank,,92.U.S. 542,553 ( 1876 ) et alias. Legislatively,Congress and the Supreme Court have made sure that the laws herein referenced are not misinterpreted. Your attempts at trying to separate the letter of the law ” Confrontation “, from the letter and spirit of the law heretofore reassured via” writs of certiorari ” found in the First, Second, Fourth, Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments which apply to all American citizens, white or black, whose rights, if not legally modified by a legal court of jurisdiction at the federal, state or local level are in error. Quite frankly,I am simply delighted that the predominately black citizens of the District of Columbia have the right to bear arms.The District of Columbia is so disposed as a ” District “, and not a ” State “deliberately by Congress who prefers to use the law to strictly control the predominantly black citizenry of the District.African Americans have been denied their constitutional rights since 1865.The still do not have the right to politically organize as a state of the American union.It is shameful that Anglo American corpus juris reflects this duality of the law ( i.e. lexis duo )treatment of the rights of white and black citizens for hundreds of years. There should be one law for all Americans, not a law for white, and yet another law for African Americans. Your argument for the continued application of this kind of law that separates the citizens is therefore overruled !

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Mike Stollenwerk says:

January 19, 2019 at 1:04 pm

In 2008 the Supreme Court ruled in District of Columbia v. Heller that “the Second Amendment guarantees the individual right to keep and carry weapons in case of confrontation.”

Putting all of these textual elements together, we find that they guarantee the individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation. This meaning is strongly confirmed by the historical background of the Second Amendment We look to this because it has always been widely understood that the Second Amendment , like the First and Fourth Amendment s, codified a pre-existing right. The very text of the Second Amendment implicitly recognizes the pre-existence of the right and declares only that it “shall not be infringed.” As we said in United States v. Cruikshank, 92 U. S. 542, 553 (1876) , “[t]his is not a right granted by the Constitution. Neither is it in any manner dependent upon that instrument for its existence. The Second amendment declares that it shall not be infringed … .”16

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Sean Woods says:

January 16, 2019 at 8:05 pm

This is exactly why I open carry: because of your irrational fear of your fellow law abiding citizen having the ability to defend himself. If open carry becomes more normal, people like you will stop seeing firearms on their neighbor’s hips as a threat (because the norm is never considered a threat). You became less afraid when the man started talking about dogs because your previous Pavlovian response was overcome. If you were to have more interactions like that – witness daily decent people being decent while carrying a gun that you can see they’re carrying – you’ll instead of associating that carrying with a threat, associate it with decent people.

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Pelvo White, Jr. says:

January 15, 2019 at 6:48 pm

We live in a brutal world. The United States of America is part of this brutal world. We protect our portion of the world mainly with guns. African Americans should not only own guns, but also have the resolve to use them in protection of themselves, and their friends, and families. It is entirely foolish for an African American to think that a racist white man, or woman will risk, or sacrifice their life protecting an African American,therefore we should become more familiar with guns, and defend ourselves if need be. America is a gun country. Many of our presidents and other politicians their wives carried guns. Be brave enough to master the use of a gun.

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Travis says:

January 15, 2019 at 4:50 pm

That the dumbest thing I’ve ever read. I’m against open carry, but having a panic attack over seeing a gun? I’d have to say you need to seek help.

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