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Stephen Yorkman, 48, is president and founder of the Prince George's County chapter of the National African American Gun Association. He lives in Bowie, Md.
Were you always advocacy-minded?
Growing up, the narrative, especially in the black community, was that guns are a bad thing. I wasn't allowed to have toy guns. What made me want to do something at a social level was the killing of Tamir Rice. Within two seconds his life was just snuffed out. It's the narrative of blacks with firearms. That's when I started researching. What can I do about this connotation? What you see sometimes, the rap artists with the firearms, okay, but come look at us: other blacks who are doing safety education. We're not gangster. We're just like any Second Amendment enthusiasts.
President of a National African American Gun Association chapter shoots from the hip