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A Black professional gun expert says Black-on-Black crime is a myth and urges African-Americans to be prepared to legally and properly defend themselves – no matter the threat.
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JULY 10 – JULY 16, 2015
VOLUME 23 NO. 28
TIME TO GET ‘STRAPPED’
Cosby admits to drugging women Criminal, other civil actions may follow COMPILED FROM WIRE REPORTS
PHILADELPHIA – Bill Cosby testified that he gave powerful sedatives to a 19-year-old woman in 1976 before the two had what he described as consensual sex, according to court filings unsealed Monday from a 2005 lawsuit. The 77-year-old comedian said under oath that he had obtained seven prescriptions for quaaludes, a depressant, with the intent to use them in sexual encounters with women. He later clarified, saying he gave them to only the one woman – the 19-year-old, who he had met backstage at a Las Vegas comedy show. He maintained that the woman knew what drugs she was taking at the time. “I give her quaaludes. We then have sex,” Cosby said. “I can’t judge at this time what she knows about herself for 19 years.” The statements were made during a deposition as part of a 2005 lawsuit from another Cosby accuser, former Temple University employee Andrea Constand. She alleged Cosby groped her at his Pennsylvania home in 2004. Cosby’s deposition was unsealed Monday by a federal court in Philadelphia over objections from his lawyers.
No privacy expectation
COURTESY OF CALIBER TRAINING GROUP
Longtime safety expert Samuel R. Hayes III says Black Floridians – including regular churchgoers – should get concealed weapons permits and personal self-defense training. BY KARSCEAL TURNER SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER
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‘NEGROES WITH GUNS’ PART 1 Editor’s note: The title of this series is taken from the 1962 book entitled “Negroes with Guns” by Robert F. Williams, a North Carolina native and Marine Corps veteran who advocated armed self-defense by African-Americans.
he summer of 2015 finds Black people living in a highly charged atmosphere reminiscent of the “long, hot summers” of the 1960s era. Fresh in the minds of many is the slaughter of a pastor and eight churchgoers during Bible study at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C. by a 21-year-old White racist named Dylann Roof. Here in Florida, various threats exist. In May, Central Florida prosecutors arrested 10 members of a racist, White supremacist skinhead group called the “American Front” who called themselves “protectors of the White race.” The group was training at a fortified compound in rural Central Florida with automatic weapons, shotguns and explosives for what its reputed leader called an “inevitable race war.” On the mean, inner-city streets of Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, Fort Lauderdale or any large municipality in Florida, violent assaults and gun killings occur with dismaying frequency. How can Black Floridians protect them-
selves, regardless of the threat? One man thinks he has some of the answers.
Seriously trained Samuel R. Hayes III is a U.S. Navy veteran, a certified weapons specialist, and the CEO of Caliber Training Group (CTG), based in Atlanta. Hayes and his firm specialize in firearms training, unarmed combat defense, and what he calls “urban preparedness” that teach his students and clients survival, evasion, resisting, and escaping tactics for hostile urban environments. The firm also teaches personal safety awareness training and rape prevention. Hayes has an extensive background in the security industry dating back to 1987, as well as various certifications in security awareness training, pistol instruction, personal protection and home defense, and concealed weapons instruction. He has trained thousands of private security professionals, law enforcement officers, private citizens and bounty hunters. He con-
The court challenge was brought by The Associated Press nearly 10 years after the deposition took place. It was prompted by more recent accusations of sexual assault from more than two dozen women – many of whom say they were drugged and sexually assaulted in incidents dating back four decades. Cosby has denied the allegations and has never faced criminal charges. His lawyers did not respond to calls for comment late Monday. In siding with the news organization Monday, U.S. District Judge Eduardo Robreno said the entertainer’s past outspokenness on moral issues diminished his expectations of privacy.
On ‘soapbox’ “Defendant has donned the mantle of public moralist and mounted the proverbial electronic or print soapbox to volunteer his views on, among other things, child rearing, family life, education and crime,” Robreno wrote. “The stark contrast between Bill Cosby, the public moralist and Bill Cosby, the subject of serious allegations concerning improper (and perhaps criminal) conduct, is a matter as to which the … the See COSBY, Page A2
See GUNS, Page A2
SNAPSHOTS
Court to consider guns in school dormitories BY JIM SAUNDERS THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
TALLAHASSEE – After a highprofile legislative debate this spring about concealed weapons on college campuses, a state appeals court will hear arguments in a dispute about whether guns should be allowed in residence halls and other housing at the University of Florida. On July 14, the First District Court of Appeal is scheduled to hear an appeal filed by Florida Carry Inc., which says people
ALSO INSIDE
have a legal right to possess firearms in their homes, including in university housing. An Alachua County circuit judge last year sided with the University of Florida in rejecting the group’s arguments in the case. In court briefs, Florida Carry cited a state law that seeks to ensure people can have firearms in their homes, and to the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment. It said the state law about guns in homes supersedes another law that generally bars guns at schools and colleges.
UF disagrees However, the University of Florida disputes that the federal or state constitutions guarantee the right to have firearms in university housing. “The Florida Legislature has struck a balance between preserving the right to bear arms for self-defense and protecting the safety and peace of mind of Florida citizens,” the university’s attorney, Barry Richard, wrote in a brief filed in March. “In service of the latter interest, Florida law has
long designated certain sensitive areas, including school and university campuses, as largely gunfree zones.” The appeals court arguments come after a closely-watched legislative debate this spring about whether people with concealed weapons licenses should be allowed to carry guns on college and university campuses. The proposal stalled in a Senate committee, but the National Rifle Association has already signaled the issue will come back during the 2016 legislative session.
FLORIDA | A3
State sees rise of kids in foster care NATION | B4
92 year-old gets library card denied her decades ago HEALTH | B3
Dye being removed from some kids cereals
COMMENTARY: LUCIUS GANTT: BE WARY WHEN SOMEONE TELLS YOU TO ‘GO WITH THE FLOW’ | A2 COMMENTARY: CHARLES W. CHERRY II: RANDOM THOUGHTS OF A FREE BLACK MIND | A4