It looks like Adam Allan wants to be Milwaukee's new civil rights leader.
Seems like a strange role for a gun dealer, but Allan - the owner of Badger Guns in West Milwaukee - apparently wants to fight against injustice on behalf of his black customers.
So much so, he put up this sign outside his shop last week:
"Racist Milwaukee Police Department is Pulling Over African-Americans Leaving this Store. Sorry for the Inconvenience."
He has since removed the sign after saying he made his point.
Mr. Kane's opening remarks are entirely facetious, as he makes clear in closing.
I think Allan was way off base attempting to gain support from African-Americans by criticizing police officers with his sign. There has been so much despair and sorrow in the local black community as a result of illegal handguns - some of which may have come from Badger Guns - I doubt many would object to any police attempts to keep these instruments of death off the streets.
As long as laws are followed, black people should be able to buy guns just like anyone else. But clearly Badger Guns isn't holding up its end of the bargain, and that means some people end up paying the price more than others.
I noticed that Eugene Kane says "may have come from Badger Guns," but goes on to say Badger is not "holding up its end of the bargain." I think he was being generous in the first remark and dead-on accurate in the second. The reason I say that is because Badger Guns is famous. Everyone knows them.
“In 1998, Badger had the most crime guns traced to it among all gun dealers in the United States and then fell from the top spot, only to regain the spot last year. Badger has been criticized for selling cheap handguns, which were bought by "straw buyers" with clean records and then passed on to gang members. In a 1999 sweep, the majority of straw buyers bought the guns legally at Badger.”
So I suppose we've got the same old situation here that we've been talking about lately, an obviously dirty gun dealer skirting the law and enjoying support from gun owners who, if they had any sense would shun the guy. Then, as if that's not enough, he puts up a sign challenging the local cops to stop bothering his customers. These customers include gang members, criminals who Mr. Allan knows very well are breaking the law by organizing straw purchases in his store.
I call that action, putting the sign up, the Dick Cheney method of "the best defense is a good offense."
What's your opinion? Are the numerous guns traced back to Badger the unavoidable result of his high volume of sales? That's what people said about Eric Thompson.
Please leave a comment.
You know what I'm not seeing here? Any reason to believe that Mr. Allan has broken any laws.
ReplyDeleteI see he's criticized for selling inexpensive handguns--are the poor to be denied the means to effective self-defense? Hardly sounds "progressive."
I do not like guns outright, but I understand if people need it for their self protection.
ReplyDeleteBut I think that assault weapons do not belong in our communities. YOu really need an M-16 or AK-47 to protect you? And explosives and ordinance should not even be discussed.
I also think that passengers should not be able to carry guns on planes...
I happen to agree with MikeB on this one in that I find it absolutely appalling that black people think thay have the same rights as white folks.
ReplyDeleteAs MikeB correctly indicates, Whites are superior and deserve more rights than the mud people.
Long live MikeB!!!
"But I think that assault weapons do not belong in our communities. YOu really need an M-16 or AK-47 to protect you? "
ReplyDeleteYou do understand that M-16, AK-47, and Explosives have been heavily regulated since the 1930, and that none of the above are "Assault Weapons", which is a made-up term invented for certain rifles with cosmetic features.
"The semi-automatic weapons' menacing looks, coupled with the public's confusion over fully automatic machine guns versus semi-automatic assault weapons — anything that looks like a machine gun is assumed to be a machine gun — can only increase that chance of public support for restrictions on these weapons." — Josh Sugarman, 1988, Violence Policy Center.
Wisconsin has the #1 crime gun gun shop? How is that possible? The state doesn't even allow concealed carry.
ReplyDeleteSlashingtongue, Keep coming around, man. We desperately need people with common sense commenting on this blog.
ReplyDeleteSlashingtongue - Good luck finding explosives and ordinance anywhere.
ReplyDeleteThe only way you'd get your hands on that would be
1. Make it yourself
2. Know people on the black market to buy it from.
Your average civilian quite simply cannot get the stuff. It's illegal, and most folks wouldn't have the 1st clue where to get it on the black market. I sure as hell wouldn't.
Also, you clearly don't have a clue what an "assault weapon" is.
Hmm--this doesn't sound like something one would expect from a store and owner who cared more about profits than about working with police to keep society safe (excerpt):
ReplyDeleteWEST MILWAUKEE - West Milwaukee Police confirm they arrested a suspect wanted on warrants after getting help from a controversial gun store.
Authorities had notified the store that the suspect, Carlos Flores, might come in.
Flores did come in and the store called police. West Milwaukee Police arrested Flores.
Odd, isn't it, that the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel had not a word about it? Or perhaps not so odd after all--this story doesn't fit very well with the narrative the Journal Sentinel has been so busily weaving, and is therefore apparently not "news."