Thread by @fawfulfan

Right-wingers hate talking about the Black Panthers because they‘re a stark example of how “gun rights” has its roots in white supremacy.

As Reagan’s response to the Panthers shows, GOP isn’t about deregulating guns so much as letting white men arm themselves against Black men.

The fact is that Black men who carry legally in red states, under laws GOP pass, still get tackled and shot by police as if it’s illegal.

When George Zimmerman is acquitted for stalking and killing a Black kid but John Crawford is shot on sight by cops, you see how this works.

Open carry, “constitutional carry”, stand your ground etc don’t explicitly say they‘re just for white people, but they’re enforced that way.

Step 1: pass gun laws that broadly expand right to carry but leave ambiguous how to conduct yourself or when you can shoot in self-defense.

Step 2: Use that ambiguity to acquit white men who shoot Black men by letting them claim they perceived a “threat” to their safety.

Step 3: ALSO use the ambiguity to let police officers arrest or shoot any Black man just for carrying legally under the exact same laws.

And boom, you’ve created a neo-Jim Crow regime without ever having to mention race in the text of the laws.

It’s that simple.

The Panthers tried to flip that script. They used open carry to defend THEIR right to be in public spaces. The Right’s answer? Gun control.

So it’s no surprise modern Republicans — and the police unions who covertly enforce this principle — don’t want that history told.