Martin Luther King Jr., application for a concealed carry permit in Alabama in 1956 was denied in light of the state’s “May Issue” apparatus.

“May Issue” states, of which few remain, ultimately place the power of permit issuance in the local sheriff or police department. In the 1950s the Democrats held power in all aspects of Southern government and MLK’s request was rejected.

UCLA law Prof. Adam Winkler used a 2011 Huffington Post column to explain:

Most people think King would be the last person to own a gun. Yet in the mid-1950s, as the civil rights movement heated up, King kept firearms for self-protection. In fact, he even applied for a permit to carry a concealed weapon. A recipient of constant death threats, King had armed supporters take turns guarding his home and family. He had good reason to fear that the Klan in Alabama was targeting him for assassination.

Today, the men and women of the @NRA honor the profound life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King applied for a concealed carry permit in a "may issue" state and was denied. We will never stop fighting for every law-abiding citizen's right to self-defense. #MLKDay pic.twitter.com/wtSQOO5Kaq — NRA (@NRA) January 21, 2019

On January 8, 2017, Breitbart News reported that Democrats were the authors of Jim Crow and of policies which which kept southern segregation alive. These things, along with gun control, were part of the Democrats’ plan for communities of color.

Syndicated radio host Stacy Washington, who happens to be black, observed, “Martin Luther King Jr., was denied a concealed carry permit. His life was threatened a lot and he really wanted to protect himself with a concealed permit but he could not because he could not get one. This is hold-over racism from the Democrats and their Jim Crow era controls and all that.”

Washington went on to stress that armed people are harder to lynch. She opined on life in the 21st century and said, “For those who don’t believe that the gun is the equalizer, I can tell you now that someone would have a lot of trouble trying to lynch someone in our neighborhood.”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.