TYT: Open Carry Laws Aren’t For Black People

[WhoIsNumberNone]

Yesterday a grand jury refused to indict the police officer involved in the killing of Tamir Rice, because the prosecutor threw the case to help his political career. But Ohio is an open carry state… Cenk Uygur, host of the The Young Turks, breaks it down. Tell us what you think in the comment section below.

"Last year, police officers in Ohio shot and killed John Crawford in a Walmart in Beavercreek, and, in a separate shooting, 12-year-old Tamir Rice outside of a Cleveland recreation center, largely on the belief that Crawford and Rice were carrying real guns. Grand juries have now backed up the officers, deciding to file no criminal charges against the cops involved in the two police shootings.

Crawford and Rice were carrying toy weapons, but the killings have sparked questions about why police were allowed to shoot two people for holding what appeared to be actual guns in a state where it is legal to openly carry them.

But legal experts say that open carry laws and the laws that govern police use of force don't really have much to do with each other. Here's why...

However, the open carry laws have little to do with whether a police shooting is justified, experts say. As attorney and gun rights advocate David Kopel explained, police officers wouldn't be allowed to shoot someone just because he's wielding a gun where open carry is a legal. Under the two Supreme Court decisions — Tennessee vs. Garner and Graham v. Connor — that dictate police use of force, officers must show that they had an objectively reasonable belief that a suspect was a threat up to the moment the last bullet was fired. ”*

Read more here: http://www.vox.com/2014/12/13/7384813/black-open-carry

[CTyankee]

1. this is an excellent article. It points out the obvious, doesn't it?

It seems our media assumes the worse from a black carrier than from a white carrier. I'm glad this article lays it bare...

[Spitfire of ATJ]

2. The gun culture is what makes guns toys for kids.

[Baitball Blogger]

3. On the nose.

A white man can walk into a McDonalds restaurant with an artillery of guns and no one will touch him. A little kid plays make-believe cowboys and indians with a play gun in a park and doesn't even get the benefit of basic police practices.

Racist policies from the police have to be addressed.

[NoMoreRepugs]

4. Cenk is spot on with his comments - if you believe

otherwise look in the mirror and observe a racist

[zebonaut]

5. All Correct. Maybe they can sue the Toy company for making a non orange toy gun.

[zebonaut]

6. Can you prosecute that cop for "violating the second amendment"

[daybranch]

7. Thank you for remembering John Crawford and Tamir Rice. Living in the county where Crawford was shot,

an old white man myself, I at first was shocked to see no more than a couple of of white men at early discussions and probably 3 or four white women at early discussions. and their I was also highly surprised of the racist response in Beavercreek , blaming the victim and praising the police. I even found many progressive democrats living in Beavercreek did nit want to follow the case or see the video tapes, preferring police brutality I guess than seeing their town shamed for racist behavior . But over time, many of these progressives changed their tune as I and others they trusted talked to them and the tapes were released showing Crawford's cowardly murder.
A year after Crawford's death , another protest was planned and this resulted in the open carry guys offering and expecting to show up with the stated purpose of protecting us. Fortunately this did not occur and potential violence avoided. I cannot remember the reason why, just glad the two groups did not show up at same time.
Residents from the area where Tamir Rice opposed buses coming there from Dayton downtown to the mall and the Walmart bringing black people, young and old, but were blocked from stopping them by lawsuits alleging the discrimination.
Things are changing thanks largely by protests led by the Ohio Student Association and joined later by Black Lives Matter out of Missouri. Too slow for me but changing none the less.