‘Gun Appreciation Day’ Founder Says Slavery Wouldn’t Have Happened if Slaves Were Armed

The chairman of Gun Appreciation Day Larry Ward is taking 'Django Unchained' a little too seriously.

By Jorge Rivas Jan 11, 2013

Is someone taking "Django Unchained" a little too seriously? On Friday, the chairman of Gun Appreciation Day Larry Ward told CNN slavery wouldn’t of happened if slaves had been armed. "The truth is, I think Martin Luther King would agree with me if he were alive today that if African Americans had been given the right to keep and bear arms from day one of the country’s founding, perhaps slavery might not have been a chapter in our history," Ward said on CNN. A coalition of gun rights and conservative groups announced on Monday that January 19, 2013 is "Gun Appreciation Day." Organizers hope "Gun Appreciation Day" rivals "Chick-fil-A Day" as a public statement of protest against government policies, [according to a press release.](http://gunappreciationday.com/articles/broad-coalition-of-gun-rights-conservative-groups-proclaim-january-19-gun-appreciation-day) (h/t [Raw Story](http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/01/11/gun-appreciation-day-chairman-slavery-wouldnt-have-happened-if-slaves-were-armed/))