Maj Toure compares himself to Jackie Robinson, or better yet, to his Philadelphia 76ers hero Allen Iverson.

When Iverson came into the NBA in the mid-1990s, the league frowned on his baggy shorts, tattoos and cornrows. But over time Iverson's look became more acceptable and even commonplace in the NBA. "Every time you see cornrows and tattoos, that's Allen Iverson," Toure said.

Toure, a Philadelphia native and a self-described "solutionary rapper," uses the Iverson analogy to describe his mission.

"I'm the Allen Iverson of Second Amendment rights," he said.

As founder of the group Black Guns Matter, Toure sees it as his mission to inform people in urban areas about their constitutional right to own firearms.

His group is not affiliated in any way with the group Black Lives Matter, which protests police violence against African-Americans.

Toure is is midway through a 13-city tour and has a scheduled stop Friday at 6:30 p.m. at the Marriott Hotel in Springfield. The event is open to the public and free of charge.

On the surface, the purpose of Black Guns Matter would seem contradictory.

It seems to be saying that urban areas, which statistically are home to the highest rates of gun violence in the nation, would be better off with more guns.

"That's almost it," he said this week in a phone interview with The Republican.

The message of Black Guns Matters is not necessarily that cities will be safer when more residents are armed, but when more citizens are informed about gun laws and basic gun safety.

"It's a subtle nuance, but a significant one," he said.

The purpose of the Black Guns Matter tour is to provide information people need to know about owning guns responsibly and legally.

There's a presentation of federal and state gun laws, a question-and-answer session on the Second Amendment, and discussion of the legal, cultural and technical aspects of gun ownership.

"It's not to train idiots how to be better shooters," Toure said. "That's not what we're here for. We are not anti-law enforcement. We are a justice education, inform-the-community organization."

Self-defense

It's Toure's position that people in urban areas are substantially less informed about gun safety and gun laws than people in suburban and rural areas. This is to the point where, when he tells friends back in Philly that the U.S. Constitution gives them the right to own a gun, they look at him like he's crazy.

His work is to try to change that. The goal of Black Guns Matter is to provide urban populations with information about the Second Amendment, and what they need to be a "legally armed, legally responsible" gun owner.

"Tens of millions of people have been left out of that conversation," he said. "You can't make an informed decision about whether you want to carry a gun or not if you don't have the information."

In his neighborhood in Philadelphia, virtually every gun is illegal. The only people with guns are criminals or police officers, he said.

"And the people preying on people in my neighborhood know more likely than not that you cannot defend yourself," he said.

If more people in inner cities were aware that they have a universal right to protect themselves, and they have a right under the Constitution to own a firearm, cities would be safer, he said.

For one thing, the people with the illegal firearms would be reluctant to pull a gun on someone if they knew there's a chance the person could shoot back. Criminals with guns, he said, "are generally cowards. They would go away."

Toure said what he's talking about represents "a cultural shift" in how society thinks about urban areas and guns. Everyone knows about inner cities and gun violence, but no one can fathom how more guns -- lawful ones, that is -- could help prevent violence, he said.

"We're talking about shifting thought patterns. I'm putting a whole new thought in people's heads," he said.

He explains it this way:

"Look at Texas," he said. "Texas has a low homicide rate by firearms, a very low home invasion rate. It's because of the cultural component. The firearm become a deterrent."

The data on firearm deaths would seem to suggest things are not that cut and dried.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics, Texas, the second-most populous state, was second only to California for gun deaths in 2014, with 2,823. Massachusetts was 35th with 227.

On a per-capita basis, Texas had 10.6 firearm deaths for every 100,000 people, which is 22nd nationwide. Massachusetts had 3.2, the third lowest rate in the U.S.

The three highest rates per 100,000 were in Mississippi, at 18.9, Alaska at 18.8 and Louisiana at 18.

Knowing the law

One of the reasons Toure formed Black Guns Matter, he said, is because too many of his friends got picked up on unlawful gun possession charges and now face up to five years in prison.

"I have too many friends doing too many years in jail, not because they were violent felons, but because they didn't know the rules. They didn't know the law."

Another reason is a number of friends were murdered, presumably with unlawful guns and because they lacked a legal gun to defend themselves, he said.

"My job is to inform people about an actual thing that can save their life," he said. "I'm losing friends to (illegal gun possession) and to murder. You have to do something or you're just bitching."

As a result, Toure, a high school dropout, dove into the issue, learning as much as he could about gun safety, gun laws and gun ownership in the U.S. He has become an ardent defender of the Second Amendment in the process. He is also a registered firearms owner.

Toure said that back in his neighborhood, the idea of a legal gun owner seems foreign. He tells the story of a time he was driving with a friend and he had his AR-15 rifle in the car. The friend was afraid they would be stopped by the police and arrested for gun possession.

He said to the friend, "We could pull over to that cop, I could show him what I have and show him my license, and he's going to tell you it's legal."

They did exactly that, and the police officer, upon checking Toure's license to carry and the weapon, told the friend it was all legal.

"And my friend's face was like, 'Get out of here!'" he said. "That's the level of misinformation I'm dealing with."

Usually at some point in conversations with Toure, people bring up the name of Philando Castile. A black man and licensed firearms owner, Castile was shot to death by a Minnesota police officer during a traffic stop in July. The aftermath of the shooting and Castile's death were broadcast live over Facebook by his girlfriend.

"It's a hot-button topic," Toure said.

The police officer in the Castile case could have handled things better, Toure said, but he puts some fault with Castile, too. He said Castillo made a mistake of announcing that he had a license to carry and then reaching for the gun. Toure believes Castile should have announced he had a gun and then waited for the police officer to tell him to produce it.

"Everyone is saying it was because he was black," Toure said. "No, the officer was scared and had poor training, and then Philando Castile made in my opinion what is called a furtive movement."

The police officer, Jeronimo Yanez, is facing a manslaughter charge.

Toure said he is neither pro-cop or anti-cop.

"I'm not going to say that all cops are good because I've had too many experiences," he said. "But I'm also not going to say all cops are bad because I have too many friends and family who are police officers and they would give you the shirt off their back."

He said many police officers have sat through his presentation and then come up to thank him afterward.

Since he started Black Guns Matter, he has garnered a fair amount of attention. He's been featured on Fox News, Briebart.com and in some firearms publications. He's also been interviewed by NPR and The New York Times.

He said he understands that many suburban and rural whites could assume because he's talking about guns he must be "Mr. Angry." But he said he's not calling for racial unrest or an end to Western civilization. For one thing, if civilization collapses, Wi-Fi is likely to go with it, he said.

"I watch 'The Office.' I like 'Seinfeld.' Relax," he said.

"I know this is going to sound racist," he said, "but I actually have a lot of white friends."