The No More Black Targets campaign is putting forth efforts to stop the targets that are used at shooting ranges from being black silhouettes, saying that it increases trigger bias. They say that the all black targets are threatening are lobbying to end the practice.

“Young black men are 3X more likely to be shot by trained shooters than their white peers,” the group’s website says. “A disturbing potential correlation: The most popular target for shooters to learn to use their firearm is a black silhouette. Unconscious bias can be deadly.”

The group has filed a petition to end the use of black silhouette targets and plans to call upon the International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors. They argue that a study by University of Illinois researchers that concluded shooters were more likely to fire at a black target and they have associated this to the use of black silhouette targets.

Yara Mekawi, a researcher in the study said, people were “quicker to shoot black targets with a gun relative to white targets with a gun. And…people were more trigger-happy when shooting black targets compared to shooting white targets.”

Similar petitions have been brought forth. In 2015, a Pennsylvania lawmaker wanted to ban the use of human silhouette targets except for law enforcement use, claiming they propagate violence. The No More Black Targets petition had 18 signatures as of Feb. 17.

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No More Black Targets has designed alternative designs to be used as opposed to the traditional black silhouette targets.

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