Martin Luther King is the most active and famous human rights activists, or it can be said that he projected him as a leader of civil rights movements. He worked hard to end the racism from the world and thus he gave his life to stop racial discrimination in the United States. He lived from 1928 till 1968, and he served most of his life serving humanity. He started human rights work and then he ended up contributing for Civil Rights Movement. He delivered various speeches to encourage people to adopt methods of nonviolence. To pursue civil rights goals and to overcome the injustice that was facing the African Americans he started a nonviolence campaign.
In this paper, a brief discussion will be presented on the efforts of Martin Luther King in which his strengths and weaknesses will be highlighted. Also, his arguments will also be discussed on the issue of gun control. The reason due to which Martin Luther King highlighted gun control is that once he asked for a permit to carry a gun after multiple shooting incidents but his application was rejected as he was an African-American. Thus, he aimed to focus on two things equality and nonviolence. It was the reason that he had various debates on the gun control issue and for which he asked for a public policy over weapon use and amendment in the gun control act (Curtotti).
Martin Luther King presented his arguments on the use of guns, according to him there are already gun control laws, but none of them are strict. Moreover, people are using guns for protection, but they kill people over small conflicts. To make his point strong, he highlighted different incidents in which multiple shooting with assault weapons resulted in increased death ratio. Therefore, one of the positive and strong steps that Martin Luther King took was that he started a non-violence campaign. According to this campaign, there are four basic steps that should be considered as important. Those are: determine the existence of injustice, direct action, negotiation, and sacrifices. People appreciated his campaign as it was the best step to make the government realize that what are the unjustified things through which African-Americans are going through? Moreover, in return what they are asking for is only protection and justice. In return, they are making sacrifices too (Kirk 20). The positive thing is that through his speeches Martin Luther King always stressed the importance and benefits of non-violence campaign. It was the reason that non-violence campaign factors all together became a reason for the success of the US Civil Rights Movements. The main aim of the non-violence campaign was to defeat evil rather than people.
In simple words, it can be said that the Martin Luther King was against the racist gun control laws in which an African American was not allowed to defend himself by using the gun. He claimed that how a leader of Civil Rights Movement, who is already receiving death threats can not get permission to carry a gun. He mentioned that the criminals carry the guns illegally they do not ask for permission to carry guns. Thus, gun laws should be for the protection of unarmed people. He was against the racism because White Americans were allowed to carry guns but Blacks were not allowed to carry guns. According to him, it is increasing the threats to blacks. Therefore, he wanted non-violence campaign to be promoted so that every man and women must have the right to defend themselves also they can fight to defend their families. Therefore, considering the threats and oppressions people should be given protection and equal rights (Jobin 56).
All these points he highlighted were strong enough to support his position and his claims. It was the reason that many people were supporting him, and they were with him in his protests. The increasing number of his followers was a sign that he is going on a right path, and the government should consider his non-violence campaign and change the gun laws. Martin Luther King was a leader for civil rights movement, and his popularity was a reason due to which he was receiving death threats. Once after facing rejection for the gun permit he decided to never to carry a gun, but he wanted to stop this unjust rule. It was the point where he lacked, or it can be said that it was his weak point which led him to get arrested and then target killing (Engler and Engler 3).
Martin Luther King always mentioned this statement in his speeches that guns are the reason for deaths. However, government officials presented the counter argument that guns never kill anyone people does it. It is the reason that guns should be given to those who know how to use it. To answer this King rejected all forms of violence. It can be said that there are various strengths and weaknesses of King’s gun control movement. However, it will not be incorrect to state that the weaknesses led King towards various problems. He faced difficult time after getting arrested (Curtotti 12).
The most disappointing thing was that the Civil Rights Movement and gun control movement leader who was fighting for equal rights for all shot dead. He also won Nobel Peace Prize and after his death, the gun control law was amended. However, in his life, he never stopped his efforts to get this amendment done. Support from people was his strength and it was the reason that he continued his efforts to support humanity. He never stopped his fight for civil rights it was the reason that he delivered various speeches and motivated people to fight for themselves. He presented his arguments on the illegal use of guns and he wanted that the illegal use of guns should be banned. For that, government was questioned about the laws to limit the use of guns to promote nonviolent culture and peace. Therefore, people participated and appreciated his non-violence campaign.
While concluding the strengths and weaknesses of Martin Luther King for gun control law, it can be said that the steps he took for non-violence campaign were his strength. However, the weak point was that he didn’t do anything to protect himself. Although his application was rejected to carry a gun for self-defense he had no fears of any death threat. Moreover, he got arrested as well because he was unable to understand the dirty game of politics. The political parties were using his speeches against him and his protest to provide equal rights to all to carry gun was presented in a negative manner to the government.
Works Cited
Curtotti, Michael. "Martin Luther King Jr – Civil Rights Leader and Peace Advocate." 21 09 2014. Beyond Forgiveness . <http://beyondforeignness.org/2130>. Online.
Engler, Mark and Paul. Engler. "When Martin Luther King gave up his guns." 15 01 2014. Waging Non-Violence . <http://wagingnonviolence.org/feature/martin-luther-king-gave-guns/>. Online.
Jobin, D. L. GUNS AND GUN CONTROL EXPOSED: The Guide To Understanding Guns and Gun Control. New York: AuthorHouse, 2014. Print.
Kirk, John A. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement. New York: Routledge, 2914. Print.
