Interview with Maj Toure, Founder of Black Guns Matter

U.S.A. –-(Ammoland.com)- Maj Toure did not grow up as a gun guy. Maj grew up in North Philadelphia. He saw a system of control there, but Maj is not a follower. Maj is a hard-core freedom guy. He believes in the freedom of speech and all the rights laid out in the Constitution. Over the years one thing that he has come to realize that none of the other rights are possible without a strong right to bear arms.

Maj saw Draconian gun laws around the country he loves. He saw good people not being able to defend themselves because the people in power decided that they did not want them to have firearms even though armed guards protect them every day. He thought this contradiction was fundamentally unfair to the average citizen.

Maj decided that he needed to do something about this so in 2015 he founded the group, Black Guns Matter. Black Guns Matter brings trainers into urban areas to help the citizens learn proper gun use and gun safety. It became his mission to strengthen the Second Amendment to protect against tyranny. His classes are about bringing people together of all races and genders. Only by banding together can we fight against the elites that want to control us and take our rights away.

I had a chance to sit down with Maj and speak to him about the Black Guns Matter movement. We spoke about what it means to him, and what type of reception he has gotten from people on both sides of the political spectrum.

John: What is your background when it comes to firearms?

Maj: It is limited. I am a beginner. I’m not a gunsmith. I am not a gun guy. I would never disrespect the time those gun guys put into learning. What I am though is a freedom guy. I am a guy who understands the importance of the Second Amendment. Buck Doyle is a gun guy. I am more of a guy that galvanizes people. I am more of a person that wants to get people together to preserve the right that gun guys learn and share.

John: How did you start black guns matter?

Maj: I started it because I kept seeing guys across my community catching the same case. People were all getting possession charges. Not like robbing the liquor store. It was crazy to think that the mere act of having a firearm would be a crime. I’m not talking about criminals. I am talking about people who might work at a bank or live in a rough neighborhood, and they’re not allowed to carry guns. Seeing that, I decided I needed to do something about that and we had a class in Philly, and so many people came from New York and New Jersey.

People were like “we would love to have this in our town”, and I already have the information since I know a lot of lawyers and I know a lot of trainers I said, “why not.” I have always been interested in firearms and firearms training, but sometimes it’s looked as so taboo you do it in secret.

I decided to reach out to people across the country to try to create something to have different classes in each one of these different cities. We started a 13-city tour. We had a goal to raise $25,000 for the tour. We reach that goal and hit those 13 cities. Then we decided we needed to go to every state in America. Now we are on a 50-state tour, and we already hit about 35 to 40 cities, and we raised about $112,000 for training. We have a few more dollars to raise and a few more states to hit, but then we would have hit every state in America.

John: Why is the Second Amendment important to you?

Maj: It is a way to stop tyranny. It is a way to stop the foolishness. It is a way to put the government on a timeout.

As a person of African descent and a person who is an American, our country has sometimes had an ugly relationship with people of color. The first federal gun grab was at Wounded Knee. These are the reasons why these things are important. The founding fathers knew that. The founding fathers knew that these things were universally understood. We got away from tyranny over there in Europe. We don’t want to recreate that tyranny here. Right after you say the things you believe in, you should be able to defend those things that you believe in. Freedom of speech! The right to bear arms should not be infringed!

Knowing the historical context shows why it is very important. One thing they try to tell you as a person of color is “that wasn’t meant for you”. Well, I really don’t care who it was meant for back then. I am a citizen of America. I am not a denizen. I am a citizen. This is mine. I’m going to take full advantage of everything that’s mine. Seeing in my demographic that there are so many people who were told something that was not true, they were told “they really don’t mean that for you” it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. My job is to change the prophecy.

That is why the Second Amendment is so important especially in those large urban areas where that misinformation is for the most part, and that is where you have to do the most work.

John: I talked to several Democrats I know about the term “Black Guns Matter,” and I explained that a person of color started it, but they still think it is denigrating to you Black Lives Matter movement. What is your response to that?

Maj: I say, “Have you been to the class?”

Most of the people that say that have never been to the class, and they have never met me.

I also get, “you must hate white people.”

Those people who have those preconceived notions have never had a conversation with me, and if you’ve never had a conversation about me, about my organization you have a very limited knowledge of what it actually is. If you are open minded to get information so you can actually make an informed opinion, then we are here for you. If you are biased and making an emotional commitment to staying wrong than I don’t care what you think.

We are trying to save lives. We are saving lives! You can’t let someone’s misinformed perception to deter the movement. If Black Lives Matter had an issue with us, they would reach out. They have the money and the resources to do so, but they haven’t. Some of our philosophy is actually line up with theirs, but their motto is “hands up don’t shoot” our motto is “life liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

John: It seems like it’s what I call “the Avatar philosophy” where white liberal Democrats want to save the minorities.

Maj: I think some that run anti-gun organizations know, but some of them don’t realize how racist they are. Let’s be very clear, America is a beautiful place. America is a great country, but she does have some stains.

Sometimes people will say, “Oh my God you speak so well.” You can tell when someone’s trying to be offensive. Most of the time they are not. They just don’t know.

It’s the same thing with the white liberals. You’re advocating for policies, especially those white liberal Democratic politicians who live in safe neighborhoods. I have been living in Chicago for a month. I moved here to do conflict resolution. They live in their Ivory Towers, and that’s cute. They also have armed security details that roll with them. So, why do their lives have more value to defend than mine?

Some of those guys know what they’re doing, but a lot of them don’t. The ones that do we call them straight out. Dana Loesch put up a post a few days ago on Instagram (Dana follows me, that’s was a baller moment) about Pete Kinder who resigned his post and concluded that the position was an unnecessary waste of tax dollars. That is him putting principles in action. A lot of these politicians say, “no guns” or “don’t have guns.”

I say, “Why do you have armed security? Especially since you live in a better neighborhood!”

John: It is a double standard.

Maj: Absolutely it is a double standard. That shit is like night and day.

If one of these politicians said, “I am not going to have armed security. I’m going to live by that.” I could honor that. He really believes that.

But if you are saying one thing and doing the opposite then no! It’s just like the Alyssa Milano’s of the world who preach on this anti-gun stuff, and yet you have all this arms security. An armed security detail flanks you. Just stop! You are a contradiction, and my job is to expose the contradictions.

John: You get lumped in with one side because your pro-gun views, but liberals never look at what you are saying on other issues. Does that frustrate you?

Maj: No, it is not frustrating, It’s all teachable moments.

It’s like the Colin Kaepernick situation. He was protesting police shootings, and the Liberals was like “yeah that’s wrong!” I can understand that.

I would say, “If that’s the case and you feel that way why don’t you come to our side so we can get this information for people to defend themselves, so they’re not even in that position.”

“Well hold on now. You’re talking about guns now. They are bad.” It is an opportunity for me to teach them something about the little vacuum that they are living in. If they are open to the fact of the matter, then it’s a teachable moment. So, no I’m not frustrated at all.

I identify as conservative. Most people are. They just don’t know it. Most people in the urban and poor areas are very conservative.

John: Their votes are taken for granted by the Democrats. The Democrats don’t do anything for them because their vote is already a guaranteed Democratic vote.

Maj: Why take her to a fancy dinner if she’s going to put out? Oh yeah, we are getting screwed! That is what’s happening. That is what will happen until people come around and say no this is not it a clear and easy vote.

That was exemplified when I was at the NRA annual meeting, and I DM’ed Donald Trump Jr and said, “Let’s hang out while we’re down there.”

We were able to sit down and talk for a while, and that was making people say, “What!?”

Not even from his side. I’m hanging with him. First of all, I don’t move like a token. I don’t move like, “happy to be here master!” That’s not how that goes. Some people say I’m pandering, but no, I’m not pandering. I’m me. This world’s going to be my world, and the people in it are going to be powerful people that understand this concept goes beyond middle-aged white dudes or hood dudes. The power is in the unity. When I went to those people, they didn’t ask me to talk a certain way. I’m talking about the conservatives.

The irony is the people on the liberal side say, “Can you take your hat off?”

“No, I don’t feel like it!” My message about freedom. They are trying to censor Freedom. We’re not talking about cussing and pulling our guns out on people and shooting at the sky. I have long locks, I have a lot of tattoos, and I have a bushy beard, but I speak very well, and we’re going to talk about issues that need to be discussed. The people that have a vested interest in keeping the chaos going are people who are also trying to silence people.

There’s a difference between a wolf and a fox. You understand what a wolf is. That is why I like my racism open and clear. There are wolves over there, but that’s cool because I’m a lion, and I don’t feel like fighting wolves. Lambs still getting eaten by foxes, but foxes seem friendlier. It doesn’t matter if it’s a wolf or a fox. The lamb chop is still going to be served on the plate. It’s my job to make sure none of my people, regardless of race, are lambs.

John: What’s the next step for Black Guns Matter?

Maj: Our next step is our class in Brooklyn in a couple of weeks. We are going to start founding chapters in all the cities that we have been to. People are going to have a constant hub and a support system. So, at any given moment that they need an attorneys, trainers, education, mental health system, or just someone that they can talk to they will have that. That is the next step for us.

John: How is Black Guns Matter and the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) working together?

Maj: We asked the NSSF for information and educational material, and they have been tremendous in that area. We are now working with them to get some funding behind us. We are working with them to get to more cities and knock our goal out.

We want to utilize our relationship with the NSSF to get with bigger companies because we can see things that they cannot. For example, I did a panel with the Second Amendment Foundation, and they had all the black people on one panel, and I’m like wait a minute we need to co-mingle we don’t want to segregate ourselves we have plenty of white people that come to our classes.

We don’t say, “All the white people sit over there, and all the black people sit over there.” We think we can help push inclusion. We can benefit from that and work together through the NSSF and strengthen the Second Amendment community. That is a little longer-term thing, but that is the next step.

Black Guns Matter’s website is located at http://officialblackgunsmatter.com/

Maj Toure can be followed on twitter at @majtoure and on Instagram at @majtoure.

About John Crump

John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. He is the former CEO of Veritas Firearms, LLC and is the co-host of The Patriot News Podcast which can be found at www.blogtalkradio.com/patriotnews. John has written extensively on the patriot movement including 3%’ers, Oath Keepers, and Militias. In addition to the Patriot movement, John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and is currently working on a book on leftist deplatforming methods and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, on Facebook at realjohncrump, or at www.crumpy.com.

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