Second Amendment speaker says gun laws are racist, unconstitutional By Quinn Bowman
Athens NEWS Campus Contributor
Gun-rights advocate Reginald Jones used humor and a dynamic, informal speaking style to deliver his inflammatory message -- "Gun control is racist" -- at Ohio University Thursday night.
"People are surprised to hear that," Jones told a small crowd of about 25 people in Baker Center's 1804 Room. Jones maintained that gun-control laws were used to keep blacks from defending themselves against the Ku Klux Klan in the old South and against the "criminal class" in the urban ghettos of today.
Jones, whose visit was sponsored by the OU Second Amendment Club and conservative group Young America's Foundation, is a 25-year veteran of the entertainment business and has appeared on national television news broadcasts.
"The inception of (gun-control) laws were to keep blacks down," he said. "Blacks are at the mercy of the criminal class. We can't hold criminals accountable, so we hold guns accountable."
Jones noted that no one supports the banning of knives, which also can kill.
Jones advocated getting rid of mandatory trigger locks and waiting periods for firearms sales because they violate the Second Amendment by restricting a citizen's ability to arm him- or herself.
"Sure, I support a five-day waiting period for guns. I also support a five-day waiting period for free speech," he quipped. "What if I get mugged on the third day (of my waiting period)? Do people even think about the folly of the stupidity of these laws?"
Jones argued that one cannot interpret the Second Amendment without seeing it as endorsing the unrestricted use of all firearms.
"There is a reason you see the Second Amendment right after the First Amendment," he said. "I have a right to do and think as I please, and if you don't respect that, I'll bust a cap in your ass."
Jones also touched on the role of the news media in the gun-control debate. "There is a media bias against black conservatives and libertarians, and there is a definite bias against guns," he said. Americans are taught by the media to be afraid of guns, even though by themselves, guns are harmless, he said.
Americans also don't get to hear stories of gun owners defending themselves against criminals, he claimed, because it doesn't fit the news media's negative message about guns. "You don't hear stories of criminals being killed or injured by potential victims," he said.
This message has reached into our society as well, according to Jones. "Little boys used to be able to play cops and robbers, but now they have to play Dr. Phil and Oprah," he joked.
Gun control prevents individuals from protecting themselves, especially in black neighborhoods where police are not willing to protect citizens, he said. "When I lived in New York, I was armed, and I didn't care what the government said," he stated.
Now, Jones said, he teaches his children safe and responsible gun use. "As a husband and a father, I would not be doing my duty if I did not own a gun," he declared.
Audience member Ashley Diaz, an OU freshman, said before the presentation that she had a feeling Jones would be "some kind of neoconservative scary guy."
Afterwards, she said she still felt Jones was a little extreme. "The part where he compared a five-day waiting to a limit on freedom of speech just didn't add up for me," she said.
http://www.athensnews.com/issue/article.php3?story_id=19607
