Maj Touré is an activist, politician, hip-hop artist, and representative for Black Guns Matter. He is heavily involved in activism regarding Second Amendment issues and responsible gun ownership. He has spoken at the Conservative Political Action Conference, preached a pro-gun message on radio and in magazine interviews, and ran for Philadelphia City Council on the Libertarian Party ticket. He has also released several rap albums.
At this year’s FreedomFest in Las Vegas, where Touré participated in a debate about the future of freedom alongside presidential candidate Cornel West and 2022 New York gubernatorial candidate Larry Sharp, Touré wore a T-shirt with the slogan “All Gun Control is Racism.”
Larry Sharp (left), Cornel West and Maj Touré at FreedomFest (Fox News)
Ahead of the event, Touré spoke with Fox News Digital about his libertarian philosophy, the importance of Second Amendment rights in modern society and urban communities, and the relevance of 19th century reformer and abolitionist Frederick Douglass today.
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Touré said he believes urban Americans, who are most vulnerable to issues like crime, aren’t properly educated about the Second Amendment.
“The Department of Education provides very little information to the public about the right to life codified in the Constitution, or the Second Amendment to the Bill of Rights. There are ongoing attempts to deny the most vulnerable Americans the ability to safely and responsibly exercise their Second Amendment rights. So we don’t need Black Guns Matter,” Touré said. “We should be behind the times. If America actually lived up to the principle on which it was founded, that the people have the right to keep and bear arms without government restriction, Black Guns Matter wouldn’t exist. But we are, and we have over 20,000 unconstitutional ordinances that directly infringe on the people’s right to keep and bear arms. So we’re going to the places where the public is most misinformed and empowering them.” [people] Through that information.”
Touré said he has seen how the two major parties and big city organizations conspire to keep third-party candidates off the ballot.
“The amount of red tape and bureaucratic stupidity that goes into running is outrageous. The fact that I needed more signatures to run as a third party, Libertarian, than a Democrat or Republican, seems insane to me,” he said.
He has also been critical of Philadelphia Mayor Sherrell Parker’s job.
Philadelphia Mayor Sherrell Parker signed an executive order on Tuesday declaring a public safety emergency and directing the city’s police department to develop a “comprehensive plan” to address crime citywide. (Philadelphia Mayor’s Office/X)
“I don’t think the current mayor of Philadelphia is really doing constitutional justice, so maybe … in a couple of years I’ll run for mayor or something,” Touré said.
Touré says the idea that black society in the United States leans left is a fundamental misconception, but he blames the Republican Party and the conservative movement for a lack of outreach.
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“Culturally, black people tend to be liberal or behaviorally conservative, right? … And historically, black people have definitely tended to be conservative. But when it comes to the level where many urban areas and black towns vote 90 percent Democratic, you can’t deny that that’s partly because of the other party,” he said.
Republicans have a rich tradition with the black community in America. I mean, Frederick Douglass. Obviously? They’re not talking about that. Libertarians are finally starting to have these conversations and reach out to urban demographics. But the conversation about freedom and limited government and that I have a right to protect what’s mine and I don’t want criminals in my neighborhood is not foreign to the black community.”
Touré added that while Democrats undoubtedly have a lot of influence in urban areas, they are misleading the black community.
“The Democrats are good at reaching out to people in those areas and lying to them. The Republicans and Libertarians were not there.” [The Republicans] It got off to a good start, but then it fizzled out. The Dixiecrat Party and the white nationalist conservative movement were successful in securing the black vote for the Democratic Party, but now they’ve done nothing to actually fix it.”
Touré supports the anti-police brutality movement that began in the wake of the 2014 Ferguson, Missouri, shootings, but has been critical of Black Lives Matter leaders and noted he was skeptical of others in the black community, such as Missouri activist Darren Shields, for a variety of reasons.
A Black Lives Matter flag was raised during a demonstration in Los Angeles. (Stanton Sharp/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
“This movement [BLM] It started with the Ferguson movement after Michael Brown was killed and grew out of that. People were active in ending qualified immunity because they felt like they couldn’t go a week without a black person being killed by police. The Ferguson movement morphed into the Black Lives Matter movement and leadership. The late Darren Shields said, ‘I don’t know about the Black Lives Matter people. That’s not the Ferguson movement,'” Touré said. “Google is [BLM] $500,000 checks and things like that. So when you talk about corporate structures, that’s a little different than an exercise.”
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Touré said he supports grassroots activism within the black community in the context of the Black Lives Matter movement, but believes the national movement has lost its way.
“When a narrative or an organization or a movement gets hijacked…I criticize the leaders of the movement that has been hijacked, not the overall theme the movement was created around. So when I say, ‘Hey, you guys are painting things with the words ‘Black Lives Matter’ as a hollow symbol’…what I’m saying is you’re just doing empty symbolism without law…So let’s begin. [talking about] How about the 1968 gun control laws? Why not start with the massive redlining that affected property values? [How about we] “Repealing gun laws and gun-free zones? That’s not going to help the people who get killed in gun-free zones,” he said. “What’s wrong is for leaders to co-opt a movement and present it as if it’s about solving problems, when it’s an empty gesture and virtue signaling that does nothing to repeal laws and economic policies that have been harmful to those same communities.”
