- Load your firearm
and make ready. Fire at will. - At a gun range in Maryland, a class of Black students
and gun owners are training to get
their conceal carry permits. It's just one of many classes
of mostly Black students
training here almost every day. - This is the first time
in history that I can say that, uh, this amount of Black owners
has come into effect, but also, we never really
had access to doing so. - In 2020, Black people made up
the largest increase in gun purchases out of every
major racial demographic. Then, in June 2022, the Supreme
Court expanded gun rights by striking down a New York law that limited who could receive
a concealed carry permit. The ruling affected
several other states with strict gun laws,
including Maryland. There, conceal
carry applications and handgun purchases surged
in weeks following the ruling. Between June 23 and July 11, 5,314 new people applied
for conceal carry permits, compared to just
609 the year before. - Well, business has been
crazy since June. Classes have gone from five
to ten people, to 30 to 40 people. The Supreme Court ruling has
really changed things in a sense that everyone is now trying to
get their conceal carry permit, they are taking
a lot of classes, buying a lot of conceal
carry handguns. - I own a Glock 19x. Same exact slot length as a 19, which makes it easier
to conceal. That's why I chose it. - While Black gun ownership
is on the rise, gun sales spiked
among all demographics during the coronavirus pandemic. Sales remained high
through the protests that followed the police murder
of George Floyd and the attack
on the US Capitol. - With everything going on
in the world and the way things are,
it's really been one of those things where people want
to protect themselves, they want to feel safe, and this gives them a way
to be able to sorta take that and have their own power, right? To be able to protect
themselves, to be able to protect their
families and their loved ones, and to know that
they have that option. - When we have
a critical situation, that person's movin'
into your direction, they may trip,
they may rush you -- so, you gotta be ready to. - Galen Muhammad is a firearms
safety instructor. He teaches his classes,
often of mostly Black students, how to safely respond to police
encounters like traffic stops while legally carrying
a firearm. - What we did is
we present ourselves as least of a threat
as possible. As we went over last week
about what to do, how to respond
when a police responds to a situation where we are,
where we're armed. This is called a range walk. I'm thankful that most times
they react the same. You know, Black person is
treated the exact same way that the white person
is treated. And, again, that's why I say I'm pro-police
and I applaud that. But it's that -- it's those
times where they don't treat us the same,
therein lies the problem. Slide in.
And put your magazine in. Take your slide.
- Just let it go? - Just let it go.
I tell my students, we're still not gonna create
static where there is none, even though, or even if
the police is creating static. - You just need to give what's
asked of you, and that's it. So, it's that simple. 'Cause, at the end of the day, I'm just trying to avoid
all problems and make it home
to my family. - Black gun owners who spoke
to the Post said that there can be
a negative stigma attached to owning a firearm, but they also said that
the culture around gun ownership is changing
in their communities. - Black people, when we have
firearms, we're demonized in the media, so anytime that a Black person
has a firearm, they're looked at
as a bad guy, or they're gonna point
their finger and say, yeah, this person
isn't fit to own firearms, so, because that's been
the narrative for so many years, and all the propaganda has been
pushed for years and years, Black people have been
shied away from firearms. - We as Black people were always
told it's not a good idea, there's always that nega--
like, people always assume something bad
when you have a gun, right? You don't get that benefit
of the doubt. - So, we gon' make sure
everybody's qualified. Still pass. Mean, either way
you wanna look at it, it's a pass, so you good. - Now that, uh, you have more
Black people owning firearms, that's gonna change
the perspective of people, uh, owning firearms,
because now that they see, okay, when you have
this group of people who previously looked at
as demonized, or they weren't fit
to own firearms, now that you see them
demonstrating proper gun safety, uh, proper gun,
uh, use and efficient skills, that's gonna allow people
to change that narrative. - Fire at will.
