BTR News: Who Is Allowed to Defend Themselves?

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Does America apply self-defense laws equally, or does race still influence whose fear is considered “reasonable”?

We’ll examine two recent cases that have sparked national debate:

• The Portland jury’s acquittal of a Black man who claimed self-defense after a confrontation involving the N-word.
• The Florida Walmart parking lot shooting, where a Black woman repeatedly retreated while an armed confrontation unfolded.

We’ll also explore the history many Americans have never been taught—from Virginia’s colonial slave codes that prohibited Black people from possessing firearms or resisting white authority, to today’s debates over Stand Your Ground, the Second Amendment, and equal protection under the law.

This isn’t a discussion about whether every claim of self-defense is justified.

It’s a discussion about whether every American is afforded the same right to defend themselves.