Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Stellar

(5,644 posts)
Mon Jul 18, 2016, 11:15 AM Jul 2016

Armed Black Protesters Cause Cleveland Police To Call For “Temporary Suspension of Second Amendment”

More: Counter Current News



The head of Cleveland’s largest police union has just called on Ohio Gov. John Kasich to temporarily restrict the state’s open carry gun laws and the Second Amendment during this week’s Republican National Convention.

This call comes as members of various Black “Open Carry” and self-defense organizations began arriving in the city.

When various “gun rights” groups, with predominantly pro-Republican agendas and predominantly Caucasian members said they planned to show up, there was still no call from the police. Suddenly, as more and more African American armed protesters began checking in on the streets of Cleveland, the police made the call to the governor.

“We are sending a letter to Gov. Kasich requesting assistance from him. He could very easily do some kind of executive order or something – I don’t care if it’s constitutional or not at this point,” Stephen Loomis, president of Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association, audaciously said.

Ohio police, like police in every other state, are sworn to uphold not only the federal and state constitutions, but also the laws of the state they work in. This was a clear call for the police to write the laws themselves, on the fly.

“They can fight about it after the RNC or they can lift it after the RNC, but I want him to absolutely outlaw open-carry in Cuyahoga County until this RNC is over,” he continued.

State law in Ohio allows legal firearm owners to carry their weapons in public. In fact, this is in the Ohio state constitution itself. There’s no getting around that, even by a proposed executive order.

More astonishingly, this shows how little even the higher ups in the Cleveland police understand the way the law actually works.

With the small exception of a so-called “secure zone” set up inside and around the Quicken Loans Arena, protesters are legally allowed to walk around the city – including within its 1.7 square mile regulated “event zone” – with any firearm that is legal in the state.

Kasich, for his part, responding to the request, saying: “Ohio governors do not have the power to arbitrarily suspend federal and state constitutional rights or state laws as suggested.”
24 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Armed Black Protesters Cause Cleveland Police To Call For “Temporary Suspension of Second Amendment” (Original Post) Stellar Jul 2016 OP
chicken-hearted Kasich... chillfactor Jul 2016 #1
I don't care for Kasich, but there isn't a damned thing he can do. tonyt53 Jul 2016 #4
Amen JustAnotherGen Jul 2016 #6
I hope he says JustAnotherGen Jul 2016 #8
Who didn't see this coming ... 1StrongBlackMan Jul 2016 #2
Except - I think John Kasich is basically fair JustAnotherGen Jul 2016 #5
Being from Ohio, I have long known of ... 1StrongBlackMan Jul 2016 #11
Yep JustAnotherGen Jul 2016 #15
Since I have a Sister that lives less than 5 miles from the convention center ... 1StrongBlackMan Jul 2016 #16
I don't want people hurt JustAnotherGen Jul 2016 #17
Ronald Reagan signed a gun control law in CA because the Black Panthers started carrying tblue37 Jul 2016 #9
1SBM, perhaps black protesters will be the ones who finally tblue37 Jul 2016 #14
Strange if this had been white tea baggers the NRA would be all over it awake Jul 2016 #3
See my post #9 above. nt tblue37 Jul 2016 #10
We have a long and (dis)honorable history of disarming Black folks ... 1StrongBlackMan Jul 2016 #12
Yep. I was wondering why the police took so long to request this. underpants Jul 2016 #7
In a nutshell HassleCat Jul 2016 #13
Several thoughts here ... 1StrongBlackMan Jul 2016 #18
Problem is HassleCat Jul 2016 #19
No a specific threat is NOT required ... 1StrongBlackMan Jul 2016 #20
Why TSA can search you without a warrant HassleCat Jul 2016 #21
Your first statement is true, the second is not ... 1StrongBlackMan Jul 2016 #22
So many years and so much blood shed in this country... Basement Beat Jul 2016 #23
I got blasted in GD for saying as much Ellen Forradalom Jul 2016 #24
 

tonyt53

(5,737 posts)
4. I don't care for Kasich, but there isn't a damned thing he can do.
Mon Jul 18, 2016, 11:37 AM
Jul 2016

The lawmakers in the state made that bed, now everybody that goes into Ohio have to lie in it.

JustAnotherGen

(33,735 posts)
8. I hope he says
Mon Jul 18, 2016, 11:43 AM
Jul 2016

Donald Trump 'got rid of me and this is his fault'


http://elections.ap.org/content/trump-rally-violence-offers-kasich-fresh-chance-contrast

Or - I hope he says -

"What did Trump expect from a baby and absentee governor?"
Same Link as Above

Trump called Kasich "a baby" at a rally in Dayton, Ohio, on Saturday morning, adding "he's not tough enough" to be president. On Twitter, Trump slammed Kasich for backing free trade deals, calling him "good for Mexico." He's running a new ad in Ohio that says Kasich "gave Ohio Obamacare," a reference to Kasich's decision to expand Medicaid under President Barack Obama's health care law.


 

1StrongBlackMan

(31,849 posts)
2. Who didn't see this coming ...
Mon Jul 18, 2016, 11:22 AM
Jul 2016

not unlike after Reconstruction, when states and communities made Black gun ownership unlawful.

That said, I would be happy if Kasich took the call a step farther ... and permanently "suspended" open-carry.

JustAnotherGen

(33,735 posts)
5. Except - I think John Kasich is basically fair
Mon Jul 18, 2016, 11:39 AM
Jul 2016

To me - he was the greatest threat to a Democratic Party President taking office in 2017.

Have you ever seen the exit polls from his Governor's race? Or who gave him who newspaper endorsements?

http://www.cnn.com/election/2014/results/state/OH/governor/


I'm not saying I *love* the guy - but he is trying to follow the rule of law. I almost feel like they (the Trump campaign) are trying to make him clean up THEIR mess.

He was pretty clearly disgusted with the vile crap that came out of Trump's mouth, has refused to endorse, and won't be present.

Do I want gun violence there? NO! Nope! Hell to the no!

I don't want innocent people to be hurt.

But he didn't let the genie out of the bottle. Trump did. It's his problem. He needs to go explain himself to the local PD.

 

1StrongBlackMan

(31,849 posts)
11. Being from Ohio, I have long known of ...
Mon Jul 18, 2016, 11:46 AM
Jul 2016

and wrote on this board that I feared his candidacy. As I wrote, Kasich knows how to tell white folks "Yes" without pissing off Black folks ... and he knows how to tell Black folks "Yes" without pissing off white folks. And he knows how to tell both groups "No" without being cast as the devil.

That is a rare political quality.

 

1StrongBlackMan

(31,849 posts)
16. Since I have a Sister that lives less than 5 miles from the convention center ...
Mon Jul 18, 2016, 12:21 PM
Jul 2016

I hope ... no, pray ... no suspends open-carry, as it will be unevenly enforced ... And that will be the match tossed into the tender-box.

JustAnotherGen

(33,735 posts)
17. I don't want people hurt
Mon Jul 18, 2016, 12:27 PM
Jul 2016

But I think - based upon Trumps many calls to violence ALREADY answered . . . things need to be even. *sigh*

tblue37

(66,035 posts)
9. Ronald Reagan signed a gun control law in CA because the Black Panthers started carrying
Mon Jul 18, 2016, 11:43 AM
Jul 2016

guns to defend their communities.

SNIP

Among other things, the Black Panthers’ agenda involved taking up arms and patrolling their communities to protect against rampant racism in policing. And that’s what they did in the first few months of the party’s existence, carrying guns openly in compliance with California law, driving around their neighborhoods, observing arrests and other law enforcement activity — effectively policing the police. Newton was even known for packing a law book alongside his rifle that he’d recite from when informing an officer that a civilian’s rights were being violated <emphasis added>.

The patrols weren’t meant to encourage violence. The Panthers were committed to using force only if it was used against them, and at first, their mere presence appeared to be working as a check on abusive policing. But the Panthers’ willful assertion of their rights — like the day Newton reportedly stood up to a cop in front of a crowd of black onlookers — was unacceptable to white authority figures who’d come to expect complete deference from black communities, and who were happy to use fear and force to extract it.

SNIP

As the rest of the group waited nearby, six Panthers entered the assembly chamber, where they found lawmakers mid-session. Some legislators reportedly saw the protesters and took cover under desks. It was the last straw: Police finally ordered the protesters to leave the premises. The group maintained they were within their rights to be in the Capitol with their guns, but eventually they exited peacefully.

SNIP

Mulford’s legislation, which became known as the “Panthers Bill,” passed with the support of the National Rifle Association, which apparently believed that the whole “good guy with a gun” thing didn’t apply to black people. California Gov. Ronald Reagan (R), who would later campaign for president as a steadfast defender of the Second Amendment, signed the bill into law <emphasis added>.

SNIP

tblue37

(66,035 posts)
14. 1SBM, perhaps black protesters will be the ones who finally
Mon Jul 18, 2016, 11:57 AM
Jul 2016

force the US to consider rational gun legislation.

After all, that is how it worked in California, even though the Black Panthers were actually not trying to get gun legislation passed, but rather carrying weapons specifically to defend their communities against racist aggression.

Since white Americans wet their pants at the mere thought of black men with guns, it is just possible that black men will be the ones to rescue us from the insanity of the NRA program of all guns everywhere at all times. If a rational approach to gun regulation ever comes about in the US, I suspect we will have black men to thank for it.

(And if that ever happens, those who favor reasonable gun control should have the decency to give credit where credit is due.)

awake

(3,226 posts)
3. Strange if this had been white tea baggers the NRA would be all over it
Mon Jul 18, 2016, 11:30 AM
Jul 2016

Seem like the NRA only stands up for whites guys gun rights.

 

1StrongBlackMan

(31,849 posts)
18. Several thoughts here ...
Mon Jul 18, 2016, 12:35 PM
Jul 2016

1) Until the passage of the XIV Amendment, the Constitution was never intended to apply to Black folks ... this call is a mere extension of the past;

2) "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

And, ignoring the above:

3) Public Safety is a well recognized grounds for restricting/regulating the Constitution. (See: Yelling fire in a theater/1st Amendment)

 

HassleCat

(6,409 posts)
19. Problem is
Mon Jul 18, 2016, 12:41 PM
Jul 2016

There has to be a specific threat, not just a general possibility that public safety might be compromised. When the armed black citizens and the armed white citizens actually confront each other, there may be cause to impose special restrictions.

 

1StrongBlackMan

(31,849 posts)
20. No a specific threat is NOT required ...
Mon Jul 18, 2016, 12:48 PM
Jul 2016

merely a likelihood of danger to the public, if the/a restriction/limitation is not applied. (See: TSA and the IV Amendment)

 

HassleCat

(6,409 posts)
21. Why TSA can search you without a warrant
Mon Jul 18, 2016, 12:58 PM
Jul 2016

First, you volunteer to have your person and your baggage searched, according to the fine print on your airline ticket. Second, it's a an administrative search, not a legal or criminal search, making it difficult to prosecute you if they find dope or drug money. That's how they sidestep the 4th Amendment.

If all we required was a reasonable likelihood of danger to the public, we would never allow anyone to carry firearms to public gatherings. There is a higher threshold than that. If the two groups start talking smack to each other, that might do it.

Basement Beat

(659 posts)
23. So many years and so much blood shed in this country...
Mon Jul 18, 2016, 05:56 PM
Jul 2016

yet we STILL aren't viewed as humans and citizens.

Ellen Forradalom

(16,179 posts)
24. I got blasted in GD for saying as much
Mon Jul 18, 2016, 06:46 PM
Jul 2016

"Preposterous" was used twice. But it seems pretty obvious to me that my black compatriots are stateless persons under police rule.

Latest Discussions»Alliance Forums»African American»Armed Black Protesters Ca...