“Guns don’t have much legitimate purpose in cities outside of the hands of trained law enforcement,” Cook said. “I think many cities would want to reinstitute a blanket ban or licensing requirements on carrying in public.”Philip Cook is the ITT/Terry Sanford Professor Emeritus of Public Policy Studies at Duke University. He is a well-known researcher in "gun violence" (sic) with a significant anti-gun bias. The quote above comes from Duke's student newspaper, The Chronicle, in which Cook was interviewed about past and proposed firearms-related legislation in the North Carolina General Assembly.
He advocated much tighter restrictions on concealed carry as well as doing away with state preemption so that cities like Durham where Duke is located could enact their own gun controls. As to enacting a ban on carrying in public, at least for open carrying, it would be an unconstitutional act. The North Carolina Supreme Court decided that in 1922 in the case of State v. Keener where the court ruled that open carrying was a constitutional right.
Another gem in this article deals with a total mischaracterization of why North Carolina has the pistol purchase permit wherein one must apply for a permit from their local sheriff to buy a handgun.
“That is relatively unusual, especially among Southern states,” said Cook, who researches gun control and crime prevention...No, the wisdom of the time had nothing to do with handguns being used against people. The wisdom of the time was that blacks, union organizers, populists, and even Republicans had to be kept relatively disarmed. This was so that these people could not present a challenge to segregationist Democrats and their Klan allies. I have researched it extensively and have had many posts over the years on this subject. You can find some of them here, here, and here. I would note again that the co-sponsor of the 1919 bill was State Sen. Earle A. Humphrey (D-Goldsboro) who was the brother-in-law of ardent segregationist and Democrat party boss Furnifold Simmons.
“The wisdom of the time [in 1919] was that rifles and shotguns are used for hunting and target shooting and other sports uses. Handguns are used against people,” Cook said. “And I think that remains true today.”
Jim Crow is alive and well a century later in North Carolina.
ReplyDeleteWas he a member of the Group of 88?
ReplyDeleteI just checked. To his credit, no, he wasn't a member of the Group of 88.
DeleteThanks. I couldn't find a list.
DeleteI think it does speak to a bit of a cultural divide between the "city mouse" and the "country mouse." We have at least a couple of generations of folks who grew up in gun-controlled cities (especially in the northeast) where the only people who had guns were either cops or criminals. Thus to these people, there are only two types of gun owners, and if you're not a cop...
ReplyDeleteI have a problem with this article. Oh sure, Cook is a 1st class jerk but what I'm talking about is your reference to the decision in State v. Keener. You say it is upon that decision which open carry is constitutional. That makes it sound as if the Supreme Court is the arbiter of what is or is not constitutional. They are not even though they have usurped that power to themselves. To believe they do have that power is where I have the problem with this article.
ReplyDelete