Constitutional carry has been signed into law law in Tennessee, and it’s great. It truly is. However, there are those who think that such laws are bad for minorities, particularly black gun owners. Then again, there are those who think the Second Amendment is rooted not in our civil liberties but in racism for some idiotic reason.

However, what do black gun owners think about the law? Well, it seems at least some of them like it.

For Tanea McClean and Denzel Caldwell, shooting and training people on guns isn’t just a hobby, it’s a way of life. McClean is the President of the Middle Tennessee Black Gun Club, and Caldwell is the Sergeant at Arms.

The goal is to train and educate the community, not just about use and safety, but about current laws surrounding gun ownership.

“What I would like for our culture and to help the Black community to understand more of the legislation, keeping up with it before it starts to change, using this as an educational tool to show the importance of voter rights and things like that in addition to your self defense and safety,” McClean said.

Both McClean and Caldwell are happy about the new law, pointing out that it will benefit those who can’t afford to go through the permit system, and in the end, keep more people out of prison for not going through the proper procedures.

Those are excellent points. I’ll also go so far as to point out that it’ll also stop a lot of law-abiding citizens, particularly black men and women, from getting unwarranted police attention simply because they’re carrying a firearm. After all, police can’t ask for a permit if no permit is required.

And yeah, it happens. It’s bad enough when it happens to everyone, but when you live in a world where the media bombards you constantly with the idea that the police want to kill you, it’s not difficult to imagine becoming uncomfortable with police attention.

Black gun owners don’t deserve that and in Tennessee, they won’t get that.

Let’s be honest, a lot of people carry a gun without a permit because they figure it’s better to be tried by 12 than carried by six. They feel threatened and they want to protect themselves. However, the permitting process–any permitting process–is a drawn-out process that leaves people vulnerable for weeks or months, all to get a piece of paper that says they’re permitted to carry a firearm.

Remove the permitting requirement and those individuals, many of whom are minorities and live in rough neighborhoods, are now free to protect themselves.

For all the hate thrown at the gun rights movement by those who claim it’s racist, the truth is that gun rights legislation does far more to benefit the black community than gun control ever did. It keeps a lot of people out of jail and allows people to protect themselves. That’s a win at every level.

Unfortunately, some folks would rather see young black men incarcerated on weapons charges than acknowledge their basic civil right to keep and bear arms.