Guns 'key' to African American equality: NAAGA NEWS / GUN VIOLENCE US & Canada Gun violence Gun control Racism United States SIGN UP NAAGA Vice President Douglas Jefferson believes gun violence should be remedied with a 'holistic' approach [Photo provided by NAAGA] The United States' recent history is filled with mass shootings and a lack of political will to initiate reforms to curb gun violence. The past two months have seen two of the deadliest shootings in the nation's history. As of November 24, there had been 321 mass shootings in the US this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which tracks gun-related violence. October saw the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history in Las Vegas, when Stephen Paddock killed 59 and injured more than 500 concert- goers at the Mandalay Bay hotel. On November 5, Devin Patrick Kelley killed 26 and injured 20 at a Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, the deadliest shooting in a place of worship in the US' history. These tragedies have energised calls for increased gun control legislation. Simultaneously, the far right has seen a surge in support after the election of Donald Trump, whom they view as sympathetic to their cause. US hate crimes have risen for the past two years. Minorities have taken to arming themselves for self-defence as a result.

Gun control has been used to limit African Americans self-defence groups in the past, most notably the post-Civil War "Black Codes", which disarmed African Americans, and the 1967 Mulford Act, which was supported by the National Rifle Association (NRA) and attempted to inhibit the gun rights of the leftist Black Panther Party .