We’ve run a number of stories in recent weeks about the influx of firearm purchase, particularly among African-Americans. For some, this represents a clear problem, but for us it’s a good thing. Gun owners often become gun voters and more minorities owning guns means that Democrats are likely to start backing away from their anti-gun push if they don’t want to lose those minority votes.

Regardless of that, though, there are practical reasons why black Americans should have guns.

Here’s one really damn good example of why.

Cleveland Heights police are aware of a circulating social media post that alleges a man with a gun walked around town threatening to kill Black people.

Cleveland Heights police acknowledged there was an incident and told 19 News that it occurred around 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

Police said the man was exercising his second amendment right to openly carry a weapon.

Police said no one called the department to report a threat, and no laws were broken.

But the President of the Euclid NAACP of NE Ohio says, “If this allegation is proved to be true then we need to ensure that number one the person does not have access to any weapons, number two we need to look at the mental capacity of the person that has the weapon. Number three, Cleveland Heights Police need to enforce state laws as well as local laws that deal with ethnic intimidation, as well as intimidation and menacing.”

In a press release to 19 News, the Cleveland Heights Police Chief Annette M. Mecklenburg said, officers responded to the 3500 block of Blanche Avenue on Saturday, and immediately spoke to the man. After speaking with the man, officers determined the man was not breaking any laws and it is within the law to carry a firearm in plain sight. Again, on Saturday police said no one notified them of any threats.

Police can’t do anything if no one tells them the guy is making a threat.

However, threats aren’t protected speech, so if he was, he broke the law.

Meanwhile, though, while an NAACP official may decry this person having access to guns, the truth is that you’re not going to stop him from getting guns, particularly if he’s a threat to others.

Instead, black Americans buying guns and learning how to use them will do more to shut down someone who acts on threats like these far better than anything else. After all, if this guy was making threats about killing black folks and he’s carrying a gun, all it would take is one wrong move with that gun to justify lighting his butt up.

Saying your going to shoot someone while having a gun on your person, then making an aggressive-looking move with that gun sure as hell looks like a justifiable reason to fear for your life.

So what really happened, though? I don’t know. I’m inclined to believe there’s more to the story than what the man likely told police, though, because people don’t just walk around with long guns just for fun. Doing that while making threats makes sense to some degree, as does doing it just to stir up trouble.

Either way, though, don’t do this kind of thing. It’s stupid and if you get shot because you mouthed off then moved wrong, I’m not going to feel the least bit of sympathy for you.

Meanwhile, something like this should show that it behooves more black folks to buy guns. If you’re concerned about racism–and racism still exists, even if its threat is potentially overblown these days–then it just makes sense to be able to fight back.