Rapper Vic Mensa Performs At March For Our Lives – Accidentally Makes Case For CCW Reciprocity

Amid all the festivities (and ignorant signage) at the “March For Our Lives” rally in Washington DC was the participation of celebrities and performers intent on drumming up support for restricting the rights of millions of law-abiding Americans.  CNN listed some of the performers who “took to the stage” to promote the cause:

In Washington, Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande, Common, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Ben Platt were among the performers who took to the stage to pay tribute to the 17 lives lost in the deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida, last month, as well as people impacted by gun violence elsewhere.

Missing from CNN’s list was rapper Vic Mensa – to be frank, I had never heard of him before Saturday, but I also hadn’t heard of Lin-Manuel Miranda or Ben Platt.  CNN likely chose to omit Mensa from their list when conservative news jumped on his checkered past:

Vic Mensa got pulled over for a traffic violation, but ended up spending the night in jail for having a gun in his car with a permit — the wrong one, allegedly.

The Roc Nation rapper was stopped in Beverly Hills last week for running a stop sign and having tinted windows … according to law enforcement sources. We’re told he informed cops he had a gun in his car and showed them his concealed carry permit. The problem is … cops say the permit is for another state. 

According to the police report … Vic was arrested and booked on a felony count of carrying a concealed weapon. After one night in jail, he was released on $35,000 bail.

Yes, Mensa performed at “March For Our Lives” just one year after he was arrested for felony firearm possession.  Not a good look… and thus, no surprise CNN left him off their list.  

In the morass of Bloomberg’s money which funded the march, it appears liberal organizers declined to even scrape the surface of the performers’ backgrounds.  Then again, given Bloomberg’s history with “Mayors Against Illegal Guns” – a gun control group which somehow managed to include several mayors convicted of weapons offenses – Mensa being cast as a performer shouldn’t be that big of a surprise.

Mensa’s commentary before his performance was particularly amusing, given his recent criminal firearms history:

“This song is dedicated to Stephon Clark, to Decynthia Clements and all the unarmed black men and women killed by police weapons,” Mensa said. “Until all of us are free, none of us will be free.”

After copping a plea deal, Mensa received two years probation and a $500 fine. The second charge of having an out-of-state concealed carry license was dropped.

Perhaps Mensa should thank the California police for being so polite to reduce his charges and spare him from jail time.  Is Mensa suggesting that the police be disarmed in a similar manner as everyday citizens?

And while Mensa was clearly breaking California law by carrying a concealed firearm in the state without the proper permits, it is quite ironic that the NRA, target of the ire of the “March For Our Lives” this weekend, has been promoting a law which would have made Mensa’s concealed carry (CCW) permit valid in any state in the nation, including California:

This bill has been at or near the top of the NRA’s and gun rights advocates’ “wish list” for legislation (including myself) since Trump won the election.  Though the removal of suppressors from NFA restrictions is a good first step, CCW reciprocity is the prize that gun rights advocates have wanted all along – and for good reason.

Currently, states all issue their own CCW permits, and while some have “reciprocity” with others (granting concealed carry rights to permitholders from other states), many (notably liberal states) do not.  The US Concealed Carry Association (USCCA) has a handy tool which allows you to see which states you can and cannot legally carry your firearm concealed in, depending on which states have issued you permits or not.

CCW Reciprocity and legal recognition of permits across state lines has been on the NRA’s agenda for a long time now, a fact which appears to be lost on Mensa.  And even though Mensa clearly broke California law, he demonstrated that he has no remorse for his actions:

While Mensa clearly has no regard for compliance with the law, he does “care about people’s lives” so much that he will perform in DC to restrict the rights of law-abiding citizens (which he is not) instead of focusing his attention on the never-ending tide of violence in his hometown of Chicago.

Of note, Chicago has seen 91 killed and 398 wounded from firearms so far this year, and basic firearms possession is all but illegal in the city.  I’d venture to guess Mensa’s priorities are misplaced, but then again, I’m not privy to his direct compensation or publicity value as a result of his “March For Our Lives” performance.

Sadly, Mensa has joined CNN in promoting gun bans against law-abiding citizens…

…when he should be working with gun owners to not only combat gun violence in this country, but to help him become a law-abiding gun owner, as he is only a criminal due to the interference of Bloomberg’s gun control lobby.  For a man named “Mensa” – he is rather uneducated on the intricacies of the same US gun laws he is pushing to change.