The Atlantic: Secret History of Guns

This week The Atlantic offered an interesting read, titled “The Secret History of Guns.” Here is the overview:

“The Ku Klux Klan, Ronald Reagan, and, for most of its history, the NRA all worked to control guns. The Founding Fathers? They required gun ownership—and regulated it. And no group has more fiercely advocated the right to bear loaded weapons in public than the Black Panthers—the true pioneers of the modern pro-gun movement. In the battle over gun rights in America, both sides have distorted history and the law, and there’s no resolution in sight.”

It is also worth noting that the article is adapted from Adam Winkler’s forthcoming book, Gunfight: The Battle Over the Right to Bear Arms in America, to be published by W. W. Norton in September. It could be one worth reading.

Not the First Time Guns Were at Rallies

The Chicago Tribune reminded readers that the recent wave of gun-toting citizens at various political rallies isn’t new. The paper explains in this passage:

“In 1967, for example, about 30 members of a new organization called the Black Panther Party marched with rifles and shotguns into the California State Assembly in Sacramento to protest a proposed ban on carrying weapons in public. Yes, children, the ’60s were not only about Woodstock.” Read more