I saw this on Twitter this morning, and was completely flabbergasted. The newscaster, who looks amazed, tried to tell him that it was ridiculous. She also pointed out, correctly, that slaves, like guns, were possessions. But he just kept talking, trying to make the point that Dr. Martin Luther King would have agreed with him.
Okay. Let's see how this could possibly make ANY sense:
1. Slaves were well-paid enough to afford guns: No. They WEREN'T paid. They were SLAVES.
2. Slaves had the freedom to just mosey over to a gunsmith and order a gun on their days off: No. They didn't have the freedom, usually, to go ANYWHERE.
3. Slaveowners were proud supporters of the Second Amendment, and thought that slaves had the equal right to defend the country: Ha. Slaves were 3/5 of a person. And bad slaveowners had every right to fear being murdered in their beds by gun-toting slaves.
4. Dr. King would have definitely thought that slaves should have had an armed uprising and revolted against the slaveowners, massacring them en masse: Unlikely. Dr. King was a peaceful man.
5. Perhaps, if the potential slaves had been armed in Africa and the West Indies, they could have killed the slave traders when they stepped on shore and prevented slavery THAT way. I'm sure there were plenty of gun dealers in Africa and the West Indies in the 18th century, perhaps one on every block. Kind of like Texas. *
Ugh. I'm out of ideas at this point. How embarrassing for gun owners that such a deeply stupid man is on television speaking for them. Then again, maybe they're nodding their heads and saying, "Yeah!"
I fear for our country.
*This is snark.