Geographical Persuasion: Black, Feminine and Armed

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Blogger Krishana Davis writes at Clutch magazine that as a native of the East Coast, she did not consider owning a handgun until she moved to South Florida, where residents go to the shooting range for sport. She did not want to put her life in the hands of others by being the only unarmed person.

I never had a desire to own a gun.

I was born and raised in the inner sanctum of Baltimore, where possessing a gun always came with a negative connotation. Guns belonged to the hooded, pants-sagging, Timberland-wearing drug dealers who occupied the front stoops of corner stores that I passed on my way to school each morning. Guns belonged to the faces of countless suspects wanted for murder and robbery, which flashed across the TV screen when I watched the 11 o’clock news with my mother at night. Guns belonged on the waists of trigger-happy police officers who lined the streets of "Bodymore, Murderland" and were present at every block party, high school football game and summertime congregation of just "too" many black folk. 

Read Krishana Davis' entire blog entry at Clutch magazine.

The Root aims to foster and advance conversations about issues relevant to the black Diaspora by presenting a variety of opinions from all perspectives, whether or not those opinions are shared by our editorial staff.

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