Dear NRA,

 

You know, usually I don’t give much thought to you guys and girls because I’m a peaceful sort of gal. Guns, or weapons of any kind, scare me. But ever since your executive vice president, Wayne LaPierre, seems to be fed up with the black president, I thought I should pay attention.

 

After all, the Republican party helps to fund your organization. Ted Nugent, who happens to be one of your board members, totally rebuffed the Ferguson protests by saying black people kill each other every day, as if that is in any way relevant to state terrorism. I researched your website along with the organization’s mission statement.

 

Fancy.

 

I thought you might benefit from an idea of mine since I’m an educated black woman and your organization is seriously lacking this demographic, or just black folks in general.

 

Studies have shown that white officers kill black people twice a week. Between 2003-2009, the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics revealed that black people were four times as likely to die in custody or while being arrested than whites. Now, since your organization wants to “defend and foster the Second Amendment rights of all law-abiding citizens,” how about you set up an initiative for inner-city blacks to defend themselves against trigger happy cops?

 

Oh, it’ll be lots of fun! You recruit inner-city blacks who have no criminal records, like Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown (but of age, of course), teach them how to correctly use a gun, and at the end of the eight-week program, give them a free gun funded by the money Republicans use to support your mission.

 

Think about it! You have tens of thousands of people who come to your NRA convention every single year but last time I checked, a few years ago, only a measly twelve black souls attended. Ouch. You gotta strengthen your numbers. Black people are loyal to those who are good to them. Help us avoid being shot down like dogs. After all, ain’t that what the Second Amendment advocates: “the right to bear arms?” If I have to watch another black person gunned down on video followed by the police officer getting nothing but paid administrative leave–well, I think that’s more than enough reason to bear arms.

 

Prove yourself. Put your money where your mouth is. You say that you’re “in support of educational programs,” well then, teach a negro how to shoot a terrorizer in the kneecaps, giving said negro enough time to run, get back into his car, and drive off into the distance. You state that you specialize in civilian education and have over 55,000 certified instructors around the country. Let them flex their skill and teach black people how to bear arms with accurate precision, not to kill, oh heavens no. Teach ‘em how to shoot trigger happy cops in the ass, like Tupac did or in the ankles to slow them down. These police killings aren’t coming to an end any time soon. There’s even black folks in Israel protesting police violence. It’s worldwide, bruh. You advocate for sustaining the hunting community, but what about black people who are game? Teach us something!

 

Or do you only want white people to be able to carry guns? Black people are citizens as well, that is unless you still consider us to be 3/5ths of a person. Tuh.

 

Just a thought, y’know.

 

 

Smooches,

 

 

 

Morgan Jerkins

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Morgan Jerkins (not "Jenkins") is a writer and editorial assistant who likes to nap and talk about food when she's not eating it.