Hi, my name is Kenn
Blanchard. I have been called to be a voice
in the wilderness
to help people who think that God has forgotten them. I have been sent
to deliver a smile, a Word, encourage, enlighten and share the peace,
love and light of God.
The Lord is using
me, a soldier, a gun toting, bible-believing servant to reach those just
like me. I was never a choirboy. My language used to be very colorful. I
have done just about everything or seen just about everything under
heaven. I am uniquely qualified to listen, to hear and to help. Through
God's grace and mercy I am given contacts, friends, blessings and words
to help you through your situation. God loves you. And He has sent me to
make it known.
Life is easy; we are the ones that make it complex. It is my prayer
that through this site you are blessed with a break through in your
life. It is my desire that the words found on this site bring you in a
closer relationship with God. It is my hope that you become a brother or
sister in Christ with me. It is my hope that I thwart the attempts of
the enemy to steal and destroy your life. You can do better. I know
because I am a living testimony to what God can do with a sinner.
My
calling in life has been to protect and to serve. I have been a
Crossing Guard/Safety Patrol, Boy Scout, Lifeguard, US Marine Embassy
Guard, Police Officer, Bodyguard, Anti-terrorist Protective Agent and
now a Baptist minister. I am internationally known as the Black Man With A Gun.
I am a
bearded, earring wearing, motorcycle riding, rough, tough, can’t get
enough follower of Jesus Christ. I am politically and socially active
in fighting against gun control in
addition to my ministerial duties. I am not the only brother that knows
that:
Gun control is racist
The 40,000 gun laws
already on the books don’t save our children
Americans suffer from
what they don’t know about gun politics
I am one
of the most audacious advocates of safety, security and personal
responsibility. When not working in the church or with my two children,
I am writing, speaking or providing families with information to protect
themselves.
While
you may disagree with my style and maybe my approach, I’ll still be
there for you when trouble comes and you have questions,
need my assistance or need someone to pray with. I serve an awesome
God.
I am easy to reach
for speaking at your church, organization, and book signing events or
interview by calling 202.437.1972. You can also visit my web site at
www.itwm.org.
Rev. Kenn Blanchard Discusses Freedom and The
2nd Amendment
Gun Owners in DC
In late June, the US Supreme Court reversed a thirty-two
year old prohibition that made handgun ownership legal
for its residents. Unfortunately, it will take Herculean
effort to comply with the law after the system put in
place by the Mayor of the District of Columbia and his
political partners. This system equals the
“Twelve Labors of Hercules” to prevent the good
citizen of the District from exercising their right.
If you want to legally own a handgun in DC you have to
be like Hercules in addition to being law abiding.
While you don’t have to “kill the hydra” you do have to
provide more personal information about yourself than
you do anywhere else. You can only register a
revolver because under DC law, a semi-automatic is
considered a machine gun. You don’t have to
“retrieve the golden apples” but you do have to buy your
gun only from a licensed firearms dealer from DC.
There are no dealers at of the time of this writing.
To comply with the registration process you have to
surrender your firearm for ballistic testing with no
written guarantee that the city won’t confiscate it.
You don’t have to clean the Stables of Argus but you
can’t own ammo without this permit. You don’t have
to bring in the “three-headed dog of the underworld”
like Hercules had to do to satisfy the evil king but you
do have to prove your residence, surrender to
fingerprinting, take a written test and questionnaire,
and pay for this permit.
Fortunately, more and more people are realizing that
everything they have heard about gun control is a lie
and starting to seek the truth for themselves.
Request for firearms have increased. They see it
in the increasing numbers of criminals that prey on the
unarmed. They see it on the numbers of people
killed, raped and robbed by people that do not
compulsorily get fingerprinted, submit to a FBI
background check, volunteer to go through a waiting
period for their handgun and register it with their
city, town or state. Laws only affect the law
abiding. There have been increasing numbers of
people that are traveling out of the city to learn from
renowned instructors.
The story is still unfolding and the jury is still out
on how politicians are going to work this issue but you
can believe I’ll be in the mix.
We live in an increasingly violent and uncaring world.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once quoted the
poignant Sir Edmond Burke who said, “Evil triumphs when
good men do nothing.” A friend of mine is the
namesake plaintiff in an important upcoming US Supreme
Court case originating from the “Parker
vs. District of Columbia” that some people
don’t want you to know about.
This professional African-American woman just added her
name to the likes of Cruikshank, Dred Scot and Ossian
Sweet, in that she as a person of color is defending her
right to legal self defense in court. This “gun
control” argument is important to us because it seeks to
undo a historical precedent of the racist practice of
making the places in the United States where there are
more people of color more restrictive to protect
yourself. In states where there are less so-called
minorities, citizens can get a permit to carry a
concealed firearm without hassle. What this does
prove in statistics, crime reports and in quality of
life testimony is that it lowers crime and provides for
the general welfare for even non-gun-owners.
Criminals don’t rob people where they have the chance of
being injured. In states that allow its citizens
to carry legally, don’t have Wild West shoot outs, nor
does everyone chose to do so. What it does is give
you a choice and a better chance.
Too many African Americans falsely believe that gun
control works. The cities of New York, Washington,
DC, Detroit, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Cincinnati, New
Jersey, Baltimore, and parts of North Carolina have more
restrictive gun laws than the entire country.
Are you any safer because of
it? The definition of insanity is to do
the same thing repeatedly and expect a different result.
When will we get it? When
will we stop listening to the plantation mentality of
the apathetic masses, the uninformed and those that
don’t mean you any good?
Have you noticed all the references to becoming ready
for the next big emergency?
Not since Y2K has there been a push by the government to
provide information about emergency preparedness.
Are you ready for the next
pandemic, terrorist attack or natural disaster?
This gun issue is not about duck hunters, or old white
guys with long guns. The Parker case is
about self-reliance, personal protection and you.
It may be time to change your thinking and learn how to
protect what’s yours. Don’t let politicians
continue to speak erroneously and take away rights you
were born with. You have the right to live without
fear of losing your life.
Gun ownership does not equate to murder. Our
ancestors brought military arms back from the wars they
fought. Our brothers and uncles in law enforcement
still own firearms. Despite the fact that it’s a
sport you may enjoy, firearms are tools you need to
protect your family from predators. You don’t have
to be a victim.
Rev. Kenn Blanchard
is the host of a new weekly podcast supporting law
abiding gun owners, recreational shooters and
sportspersons that live in the nation's cities called
the Urban Shooter Podcast
on iTunes. Check out his site on urban-shooter.com.
He is also the author of Black Man with a Gun: A Responsible Gun Ownership
Manual for African Americans, found on
www.blackmanwithagun.com.
So what
do you think? If you would like to respond to this
article
click here and sign our
Guestbook to leave a public or private statement,
comment or reaction.
The Revolution
Will Not Be Televised
Gil
Scott Heron used to spout some scary prose back in the
day. As a baby of the sixties, I must have
inherited some of that too but my words are to protect
my people not destroy them. Unfortunately, the
filters that most have on their minds about guns still
operate really well and the truth is not getting out.
We are still losing our young people whose hope in
succeeding is smaller than their knowledge of life.
Some day we shall overcome. Until I
stop scaring my own people we’ll have this problem.
African American bookstores still look at my book with
disdain, judging it by its cover, and refusing to sell
it. I am still offering a FREE copy of a version
of it online from my
site to all that want it. And you can get it
on
Amazon.com.
When
I was employed by the federal government I am sure I was
under suspicion and surveillance for some time to see if
my pro-gun activities would take me in the direction of
a black vigilante. I am afraid to disappoint those
that thought so. I am as “red, white and blue” as
you can be as a descendant of the Original Man and
daughters of Africa. But in 2007, I will really
scare some folks.
I
have started a new weekly podcast, and a gun making
business. The podcast runs weekly and I just
started it called
The Urban Shooter. You can find it on
http://feed.urbanshooter.info and
http://urbanshooter.info. It is going to
fulfill a goal I had to get my message of safety,
responsibility and fun to all that want to download my
messages to their iPods, MP3 players or listen to it on
their computers. It too is free, though I am
asking for donations to help me keep this project going.
Money talks and bovine excrement walks. I have
failed at more stuff that most folks have tried and this
is by far the most positive thing I have done to get the
word out.
And
then if I haven’t scared enough people I am working with
one of the most talented African American gunsmith I
have ever met at
Special Weapons Unlimited, (www.spuweapons.com)
to make custom rifles, pimp your daddy’s old .45, or
create something special for gun collectors, competition
and sport shooters alike. Rev. Al Sharpton was
quick to point out that black folks don’t make the guns
when I was on his
show back in December
2006. Now I can say he is wrong on more than one
account. Well, that’s enough for one day; let me
know what you think.
Even though we live
in the information age, too many “free” people still “group think.” Are
we so busy that we cannot afford to choose what is right? Our actions
say so. Radio and TV host, Tavis Smiley ripped into me once during an
interview with him on the radio because I believe that “every sane,
law-abiding adult in the African Diaspora should own a gun. I still
believe it! We should also have money in the bank and a retirement plan
but that’s not my area of expertise. I’m your urban reality check that
the world is not as civilized as you think. I advocate for your
personal safety, security and responsibility.
It’s the responsibility
with the latter I want to draw your attention to here.
I can teach you a
million things about firearms. I can introduce you to sports that don’t
require you to be as tall as Michael Jordon (MJ), as big as “The Rock,”
or as masterful as Tiger Woods. I can empower you with the skill to
protect your family, property and yourself but I can’t make you
responsible. That is where our problems are with firearms.
Gun
ownership doesn’t equate to murder. Guns don’t cause crime (if
so, mine are defective). We can’t save our communities or children
parroting the same old rhetoric, clichés and myths and expect different
results.
Education got us off
the plantation and onto Wall Street. Education advanced our people that
were denied the right to read. We are still denied the right to keep
and bear arms to a large extent but we allow that so it’s not anyone’s
fault but our own. We do this by continuing to support inane gun
legislation that helps the politicians not the people. We continue to
allow the government to disarm us with a mythical attempt for peace “on
the streets.” Get real. There was never peace on the streets.
Only law-abiding people turn-in their guns. Only good people submit
themselves to background and credit checks, fingerprinting, interviews
and investigation to purchase a firearm. Criminals don’t obey the law
and those who submit themselves and are caught are (1) dumb and (2)
probably not worthy of the statistic that they represent.
As you prosper, the
line widens that separates you from the “have-nots.” You become one of
them. And guess what? Crime happens. Carjacking, home invasions and
terrorism are not science fiction. The people that suggest you not buy
guns usually have bodyguards that your tax dollars pay for. What do you
have to protect your family? Believe it or not, you are responsible for
your own decisions. In this litigation-happy world, the police, your
homeowners association or your government is liable to protect you. If
you live in an area that allows you to purchase and own a firearm for
your protection (most urban areas do not) you are responsible for the
safe storage, care, and use of it. This is really where our problem
with guns starts. Criminals without consequences and kids use guns
inappropriately because we allow it.
You do a disservice
to your family for not knowing about firearm safety. If you choose to
bring a firearm in your home, you are required to as in law enforcement
or security occupations, educate everyone in your home in the realities
of firearms. Even if you don’t have to carry a gun for your job, that
knowledge is can save a life. The chances that someone in your family
may run across a firearm in their lifetime are enough incentive to
educate them on the "do’s and don’ts." Can your spouse make a handgun
found on the sidewalk “safe?” Will your children know what to do when a
gun is found at someone else’s house during a sleepover? You can be
found negligent for not teaching or “gun-proofing” them. Every time a
child is killed, injured or maimed, it was our fault. It’s time to stop
blaming “the Gun,” the industry or anyone other than us.
Guns represent great
power. That’s why it was denied to slaves. Jesus the Christ is quoted
in Luke 12:48 KJV as saying, “For unto whomsoever much is given, of
him shall be much required.” This quote has been paraphrased and
used throughout history and even is the credo of comic book character,
The Amazing Spiderman. Sir Winston Churchill, Presidents
Franklin D. Roosevelt, and JFK have used a version of it -- you’ll
recognize it as, “With great power comes great responsibility.”
As a man and faithful
reader of this web site, think about these things. We should be more
accountable and worthy of the trust given to us as husbands, fathers,
and men. Let’s stop blaming inanimate objects for deaths of our
people. Let’s be the “head and not the tai.” I’d like to see our Greek
organizations and concerned men’s groups do something original and lead
an effort to educate our communities in responsibility. Let’s be a
village. I’ll help police it. We can’t change our world repeating and
supporting the same ineffective strategies, politics and tactics every
decade. If you really want to make a difference in our community—get
involved!
You can learn more
about Kenneth V. F. Blanchard by visiting his web site at:
www.blackmanwithagun.com.
Black Man With A Gun Offering Free
e-Book!
The history, use and everyday
knowledge of gun ownership that many people of color don't know is
provided in a book I published in 2000 called
“Black Man With A Gun.”
It
was my intention that it would become an addition to every home in hopes
to stop accidents, educated and enlighten folks. I was wrong in
assuming the only book written about responsible firearm ownership and
safety by an African American would be accepted. I was shocked to learn
that folks you think would support you don't. Prominent African
American booksellers treat the book like pornography and will not sell
it in their stores.
Historically, it is said that "if
you want to hide something from a black man that you put it between the
pages of a book." If that statement offends you as much as it does me,
prove me wrong and check out the information I am now giving away in a
version of the paperback available on
BlackManWithAGun.Com
and
Amazon.com.
The catch is you'll have to register on my site to
get it on a new section labeled
Urban Shooter.
I am in the process of starting an international grassroots group for
all who choose to own a gun that do not live in rural areas and that
don't esteem the minuteman, Paul Revere-type, colonial tradition
rhetoric.
So get your free copy of
"Black Man With A Gun, People Fear What
They Do Not Understand"
today by signing in to
www.blackmanwithagun.com
and becoming a member. The file is
downloadable as an Adobe PDF file.
