One of Atlanta’s most famous sons, the rapper known as Killer Mike, is speaking out against stricter gun control measures proposed by Democrats in Georgia’s state legislature, saying he believes such measures will target the black community. Rather than restrict access to firearms, he argues that the black community should be trained in safety measures so they can exercise their constitutional rights.

In an interview with TMZ, the rapper — whose birth name is Michael Render — said that new gun control measures will lead police to jack up enforcement in black neighborhoods, leading to increased arrests and incarceration. 

“I’m a strong proponent of the Second Amendment, people know that,” the musician said. “I don’t want new laws because they’re going to affect my community first and worst.”

Mr. Render noted that under New York State law, no person may transport a firearm in a vehicle unless it is unloaded and secured in a locked container that cannot be seen from outside of the car. He said that “police roadblocks” are “more likely to be in Harlem rather than Long Island” and could lead to the disproportionate arrest of black men who are exercising their rights to bear arms as law-abiding citizens. 

“I think there are enough laws on the books to take care of it,” Mr. Render added of gun restrictions. “Criminals aren’t going to follow the law anyway.” 

He also argued that any person who does purchase a firearm legally should take strenuous safety classes on their own time, join gun clubs to better inform themselves, and take paramedic courses — known as “stop the bleed classes” at Atlanta — that would be useful should a firearm accidentally be discharged.

“You shouldn’t have a tool that you don’t know how to use and you shouldn’t have a tool that could potentially cause harm to people and not stop that harm like stop the bleed classes,” Mr. Render said. “I’m for more education than I am for more laws.”

He also offered advice on which firearms an individual should own, saying that any law-abiding citizen should have “just five” weapons — a revolver, a semiautomatic pistol, a shotgun, a bolt-action rifle, and a semiautomatic rifle. 

After listing the five weapons, one of the TMZ hosts, Charles Latibeaudiere, pressed Mr. Render on why it is necessary to own a semiautomatic rifle given the prevalence of so-called assault rifles in mass shootings. Mr. Latibeaudiere referred to semiautomatic rifles as “military-style” weapons, which Mr. Render immediately pushed back on. “I said semiautomatic,” he shot back. “Military is fully automatic, so it’s not military-style.”

“My thing is simply this: the Founders saw a need to fight tyranny at some point and they believed that that could happen again so they wrote that provision,” Mr. Render responded. “So to get the ultimate answer, you have to dig up those old white guys and ask them. I’m simply going by the rules that were given to me in the Constitution. Nothing more, nothing less.” 

The other TMZ host, Harvey Levin, questioned Mr. Render on whether or not he believes the prevalence of weapons in America could exacerbate violence, arguing that Americans are “armed to the teeth.”

Mr. Render responded that his freedom as a black man depends on the constitutional rights that have kept all Americans free for centuries. “Black people have only been free for 60 years,” Mr. Render said. “I’m not willing to give up one freedom that I’ve only enjoyed for 60 years. My mother and father were born in apartheid. The fastest growing gun ownership [demographic] in this nation is black women, and I don’t want to get in the way of that. I don’t want them to not enjoy any freedom they were promised.”

Gun crime is epidemic in Atlanta, where the number of homicides increased for a third consecutive year in 2022.  So far in 2023, as many as 50 homicides have been linked to guns. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been targeting rappers as part of an aggressive anti-crime campaign, prosecuting the internationally famous rapper Young Thug — whose real name is Jeffery Williams — for gang activity.