Why Did Conservatives Support Gun Control?
But what turned committed conservatives like Mulford and Reagan into pioneers of gun control legislation? The answer, it appears: Black people.
Mulford claimed that his gun control bill had “nothing to do with any racial incident.” But that was simply not true, according to UCLA law professor and gun rights historian Adam Winkler. In 1967, a new organization had suddenly appeared in California. Based in the East Bay, where Mulford’s district was located, it was known as the Black Panther Party for Self Defense, or Black Panthers for short. The group made gun ownership and—more alarmingly for white conservatives and the police—the public display of guns a central tenet of its platform.
Mulford freaked out. With the Panthers carrying their guns around Oakland, often following police cruisers, he quickly drafted his gun control bill. When Black Panthers co-founder Huey Newton heard about it, he immediately saw the proposed legislation as a move to disarm the Panthers, and the Black community in general. Newton decided to press the issue. On May 2, he led a group of about 25 Panther members to the state Capitol in Sacramento—fully armed.
“The Black Panthers’ invasion of the California statehouse launched the modern gun-rights movement,” Winkler wrote.
LinkBut what turned committed conservatives like Mulford and Reagan into pioneers of gun control legislation? The answer, it appears: Black people.
Mulford claimed that his gun control bill had “nothing to do with any racial incident.” But that was simply not true, according to UCLA law professor and gun rights historian Adam Winkler. In 1967, a new organization had suddenly appeared in California. Based in the East Bay, where Mulford’s district was located, it was known as the Black Panther Party for Self Defense, or Black Panthers for short. The group made gun ownership and—more alarmingly for white conservatives and the police—the public display of guns a central tenet of its platform.
Mulford freaked out. With the Panthers carrying their guns around Oakland, often following police cruisers, he quickly drafted his gun control bill. When Black Panthers co-founder Huey Newton heard about it, he immediately saw the proposed legislation as a move to disarm the Panthers, and the Black community in general. Newton decided to press the issue. On May 2, he led a group of about 25 Panther members to the state Capitol in Sacramento—fully armed.
“The Black Panthers’ invasion of the California statehouse launched the modern gun-rights movement,” Winkler wrote.