MLK owned a handgun.

[Broomhandle]

I was supprised to learn this about Martin Luther King.
I respect the fact that he did not hire armed people to do the dirty work for him. I am struck by the odd statement at the end about sinking "to the level of the oppressors". I wonder if he was repudiating the violence of the north in the civil war, or Nat Turner, or John Brown - all of which was necessary to let him do his work. In any event it showed he was serious about non-violence, something I can respect if not agree with.

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"
After the bombings, many of the officers of my church and other trusted friends urged me to hire a bodyguard and armed watchmen for my house. When my father came to town, he concurred with both of these suggestions. I tried to tell them that I had no fears now and consequently needed no weapons for protection. This they would not hear. They insisted that I protect the house and family, even if I didn't want to protect myself. In order to satisfy the wishes of these close friends and associates, I decided to consider the question of an armed guard. I went down to the sheriff's office and applied for a license to carry a gun in the car; but this was refused.

Meanwhile I reconsidered. How could I serve as one of the leaders of a nonviolent movement and at the same time use weapons of violence for my personal protection? Coretta and I talked the matter over for several days and finally agreed that arms were no solution. We decided then to get rid of the one weapon we owned. We tried to satisfy our friends by having floodlights mounted around the house, and hiring unarmed watchmen around the clock. I also promised that I would not travel around the city alone.

I was much more afraid in Montgomery when I had a gun in my house. When I decided that I couldn't keep a gun, I came face-to-face with the question of death and I dealt with it. From that point on, I no longer needed a gun nor have I been afraid. Had we become distracted by the question of my safety we would have lost the moral offensive and sunk to the level of our oppressors.
"

From : http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/p...aphy/chp_8.htm

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[dmg1969]

Very interesting post. Interesting to see how times have changed. I often wonder if the mindset of today's African Americans would be drastically different. By different, I mean the mindset of entitlement that some have and the violence and out of weblock births you see so often in the inner cityu. In fact, I wonder if he would have even used the phrase or would have said that we are just Americans.

Dave G.

[Broomhandle]

He would surley be appaled by all that.
Yet I think it is a pardoxical question. I think that self-destructive behavior, and the government welfare programs that promote and enable it, are direct results of his murder. The whole country still pays a price for that crime. Very sad...