Whatever else can be said about the acquittal of the police officer who slew Philando Castile, the killing and the verdict have further heightened already-high, experience-based fears in America’s black population that they will be stopped and blown away, too, with the justice system operating as it so regularly does—unjustly.
Like Minnesotan Castile, many black men have permits to carry concealed firearms on their person or in their vehicles, depending on the rules of the particular state they live in. Concealed-carry permit-holders are encouraged in many gun-training classes and by numerous law enforcement agencies always to inform an officer who stops them that they are armed so that no surprises lead to incidents like that which left Castile dead in his car with five bullets in his body.
But Castile’s informing Officer Jeronimo Yanez that he had a firearm and license for it seemed to trigger the cop’s worst instincts instead of relaxing him. He blazed away, firing seven times. Two of the bullets missed and could easily have struck the passengers, Castile’s girlfriend and her 4-year-old daughter strapped in a car seat in the back seat of car.
That, writes AP reporter Jesse J. Holland, has Gerry Martin unsure he, as a black man, would ever tell a cop that he has a license and is armed. Other black men agree:
Acknowledging that they have a weapon, they said, can open them up to violence from police, who can then claim they feared for their lives simply because of the presence of a gun, even a legal one.
"As soon as you say, 'I'm a concealed carry holder. This is my license,' they automatically are reaching for their gun thinking you're going to draw your gun on them, once again not realizing you're a good guy," said Martin, who lives in Glenside, Pennsylvania.
That’s not the worst of it.
Starting in the mid-’80s, the National Rifle Association began its highly successful campaign to get most states to loosen their laws regarding the issuing of concealed-carry permits. In 1986, only six states were categorized as “shall issue” jurisdictions, meaning just about anybody but ex-felons—already barred from gun ownership by federal law—could obtain a permit. Most states did not issue permits at all or were “may issue” under tight restrictions. By 2010, the NRA had pushed all but a few states into the “shall issue” category.
But in the past seven years, the NRA and other gun lobbyists have promoted a new loosening—no permit and no training required for concealed carry. In 2005, only Vermont and Alaska let any legal gun-owner carry a concealed weapon without a permit. But in 2010, the deluge began. And today, no permit is required for concealed carry in 13 states.
The Michigan House just passed a bill that, if approved by the state Senate and signed by the governor, will make the Wolverine State number 14. The other states are Vermont, Wyoming, Alaska, Arkansas, Maine, Nebraska, Wyoming, Kansas, Missouri, Mississippi, North Dakota, Idaho, West Virginia. Given the course of gun laws in general, by the time another 10 years passes, you can bet that most states will not require permits.
Five of the 13 states that have already abolished permits now require a person who is stopped to inform the officer that he or she is armed—without being asked. It’s hard to imagine that any black person in such a situation, but especially a black man, would not flash on what happened to Philando Castile and at least hesitate before admitting to being legally armed since conveying that information is obviously no protection from being gunned down.