The Hidden Agenda of Gun Control: A History of Disarming the Vulnerable
Gun control has had a racist history from its beginning
For decades, gun control advocates have framed their cause as a noble pursuit of "public safety." But a closer look at the history of gun laws in America reveals a far more troubling pattern - one rooted in control, not safety. From the Great Depression to the present day, gun control has consistently targeted the poor, the marginalized, and the powerless, ensuring that the right to self-defense remains a privilege for the wealthy and well-connected.
A Legacy of Exclusion: The Early Days of Gun Control
Gun control in America didn’t begin with mass shootings or media-driven panic. It started with a calculated effort by those in power to disarm groups they feared: freedmen, immigrants, and the working poor. The laws weren’t about protecting the public - they were about keeping rifles out of the hands of sharecroppers, revolvers off the hips of immigrants, and shotguns away from the unemployed.
In 1934, the National Firearms Act (NFA) imposed a $200 tax on machine guns - a staggering sum during the Great Depression, equivalent to roughly $4,000 today. For struggling sharecroppers and laborers, this wasn’t regulation; it was a de facto ban. The message was clear: the right to bear arms was reserved for those who could afford it.
Fast forward to 1967, when California Governor Ronald Reagan signed the Mulford Act, banning loaded open carry. The law was a direct response to the Black Panthers, who had legally carried rifles into the State Capitol to protest systemic oppression. The political class panicked, and Reagan, often hailed as a champion of liberty, folded. Gun laws, it seemed, were Jim Crow by design and class warfare by effect.
The 1968 Gun Control Act furthered this trend, targeting "Saturday-Night Specials" - cheap pistols often owned by Black and working-class Americans. Framed as a response to political assassinations, the bill’s hearings reveal an obsession with disarming the poor, not preventing violence.
Reagan’s Betrayal: The 1986 Machine Gun Ban
Ronald Reagan’s legacy on gun rights is a study in contradiction. In 1986, Congress passed the Firearm Owners’ Protection Act (FOPA), meant to curb ATF abuses. But a last-minute amendment by Congressman William Hughes - the Hughes Amendment - banned all new civilian machine guns after May 19, 1986. Passed by a voice vote with no debate, the amendment slipped through, and Reagan, despite his rhetoric of freedom, signed it into law.
The impact was immediate and lasting. In 1985, a transferable M16 cost around $800. Today, due to artificial scarcity, that price has skyrocketed to $25,000 or more—a barrier that excludes all but the wealthiest Americans. Reagan didn’t stop there. He later supported the Brady Bill and praised the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban, becoming a convenient figurehead for those seeking to erode the Second Amendment.
Modern Gatekeeping: Turning Rights into Privileges
When race-based gun control became untenable, lawmakers shifted tactics, using economic barriers to achieve the same goal. Today, the Second Amendment has become a luxury subscription, accessible only to those who can afford the fees, permits, and training required to exercise their rights.
In Illinois, obtaining a concealed carry license costs between $465 and $615, including a $150 state fee, a mandatory 16-hour class ($250–$400), and fingerprinting ($65). In Cook County, a firearm and ammo tax stood for nearly a decade until the Illinois Supreme Court struck it down in 2021 as unconstitutional, but not before it disproportionately burdened the poorest neighborhoods.
California’s concealed carry process is even more onerous, with hundreds of dollars in fees, up to 24 hours of training, and sometimes psychological evaluations. Massachusetts charges $100 just to apply for a license to carry, while Maryland and New Jersey impose similar financial hurdles. New Jersey even proposed mandatory $300,000 liability insurance for gun carriers - a policy later enjoined but indicative of the state’s approach. These aren’t safety measures; they’re extortion, ensuring that only the wealthy can afford to defend themselves.
A 2024 Harvard study on New Jersey carry permits underscores the disparity: Black applicants are denied five times more often, and those in poor ZIP codes three times more often, than their wealthier, white counterparts. The right to bear arms has become a felony for the poor and a privilege for the rich.
The Inflation of Exclusion: A Visual History
The graph below illustrates the economic barrier imposed by the 1934 NFA’s $200 tax, adjusted for inflation. What started as a seemingly modest fee became a $4,000 burden in today’s dollars, a trend that mirrors the modern costs of permits and training.
A Call to Action: Reclaiming the Second Amendment
The Founders wrote the Second Amendment for farmers with muskets, envisioning a right accessible to all. Today, that right is out of reach for the forklift driver with a Glock, buried under a mountain of fees and regulations. Whether it’s the Left pushing restrictive laws or the Right enabling them, the result is the same: the poor remain disarmed, while the ruling class stays safe behind armed guards.
If we don’t learn this history, we’ll keep repeating it - state by state, tax by tax, permit by permit. It’s time to rip down the system of legalized gatekeeping and ensure that the Second Amendment is a right, not a privilege. The stakes are too high to let the powerful decide who gets to protect their family and who gets left defenseless.
~ Chris & ~ Jon