RACISM + POLITICS

Why Do White People Think Gun Reform Can Stop White Supremacy?

It’s easier for them to attack the weapons than the white supremacist ideology responsible for the attack.

Photo by Bogomil Mihaylov on Unsplash

America has more guns than people, and during the pandemic, gun sales spiked and continues to rise. In 2020, the leading cause of death for children and teenagers was gun violence. However, after Payton Gendron, an 18-year-old White man, used an assault rifle, killing ten Black citizens, the debate over gun ownership sounds like white noise. As much as it hurts to hear, we can’t expect gun owners to relinquish their weapons — it’s an unrealistic proposition.

White people used Black people’s pain during a national tragedy to push a solution that won’t make a dent White supremacy. The Great Replacement Theory fueled Gendron’s murderous rampage, not gun ownership. Owning assault rifles gave him the method, but not the madness. If guns were illegal, he could have used a bomb because people with murderous intent do not stop to ask what’s legal.

For instance, rape and sexual assault are illegal in every state. Yet, a woman is sexually assaulted every 68 seconds in America, and one in six women will be raped in her lifetime. While laws offer some protection for…