Donald Trump’s scheduled rally in Tulsa on Saturday remains the hottest ticket in Oklahoma this weekend. And now, there’s an open carry walk in OKC to coincide with the Trump rally. The goal of the open-carry walk with long guns is to draw attention to how gun control disproportionately impacts black Americans.
Let’s not kid ourselves. Gun control is deeply rooted in race control, not crime control. And black Americans, along with other disfavored classes of people, tend to suffer most from gun control laws. Meanwhile the elites, with their money and privilege, either exempt themselves, pay for armed security, or have taxpayer-funded police protection.
Led by African-Americans, the open carry march will begin around 2p.m. at Ralph Ellison Memorial Library. From there, the group will walk to the Governor’s Mansion. Omar Chatman, one of the organizers who spoke to the media said it will be a peaceful march to raise awareness both about the racist past of gun control and how African-Americans today are increasingly embracing gun ownership to defend themselves and their families.
He expects hundreds of mostly blacks to turn out with their guns for the walk.
From USA Today:
They will be arriving in peace, and hoping to carry a message.
Omar Chatman, 41, is one of the organizers for 1,000 brothers and sisters in arms, a pro-Second Amendment walk planned for Saturday led primarily by Black gun owners in Oklahoma.
The demonstration, which will begin at 2 p.m. at Ralph Ellison Memorial Library, is intended to bring attention to the fact that Black Americans’ constitutional rights to carry firearms are not often respected, Chatman said.
All are welcome to march in solidarity with the group, which expects between 200 and 300 people to attend in what they are saying will be a peaceful mile walk to the Governor’s Mansion.
“As an African American, it’s important to send a message to the governor and president that we aren’t going to allow people to come into our communities and brutalize us,” Chatman said. “That goes for corrupt police officers, white supremacists and criminals. Criminals have no color. It doesn’t matter if you are a Black man, white man, Asian or Hispanic.
“If you come into our community, know we are armed.”
It might prove to be the safest rally of the day as Antifa and other troublemakers are reportedly planning to converge on Tulsa to cause problems.
Tusla’s Mayor G.T. Bynum has, in fact, announced a curfew around the Trump rally.
🚨CURFEW IN EFFECT FOR DOWNTOWN🚨
As part of our preparations for President Trump’s Rally this Saturday, we are working on making the area secure for everyone’s safety.
As posted earlier, the area illustrated in this map will need to be free of vehicles and pedestrian traffic. pic.twitter.com/uT76N0IWRc
— Tulsa Police (@TulsaPolice) June 19, 2020
Obviously, those attending the Trump rally will be unarmed when they come out of the BOK Center in Tulsa. Hopefully police will be able to protect them as they depart the event.
President Trump himself has warned that Tulsa is not Seattle and black bloc violence will not be tolerated.
Any protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters or lowlifes who are going to Oklahoma please understand, you will not be treated like you have been in New York, Seattle, or Minneapolis. It will be a much different scene!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 19, 2020
Maybe Mr. Chatman should take his rally participants from Oklahoma City the hour and forty minutes to the periphery of President Trump’s Secret Service security zone in Tulsa to help ensure the safety of the disarmed Trump rally attendees as they leave. After all, Antifa has a nasty history of fascist violence against those with whom they disagree.
But great photos of Second Amendment-supporting black gun owners protecting others from attack doesn’t fit the mainstream media narrative and likely wouldn’t make the front page of the New York Times.