Martin Luther King, Jr. was a complicated man who fought for equal rights for blacks in our country.  His lasting legacy is his ‘dream’:

 "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Like other great men, their greatness has been blurred by their human frailty.  We now know that MLK was a philanderer, was guilty of being a plagiarist and had associations with communists.  Ok.. Let’s scratch out that last one..  based on who our current president is, that really doesn’t seem to matter anymore.

However, despite his imperfections, he remains an inspiration to a majority of Americans and we celebrate his greatness with a Federal holiday today.

This day brings out the best and the worst from our elected officials.  They all go to some luncheon or another and invoke the late Dr.’s name.  They make a statement, take a picture and go on their way.  Some of these statements are heartfelt and give us goose bumps.  Others are cringe worthy attempts to hijack the holiday.. and just like the politician who adds unrelated pork to a spending bill, they take advantage of the MLK brand to sell their own politics.  This happens almost every year.

2013 is no exception.  Which politician will use MLK to sell his wares?  None other than New York state Governor Andrew Cuomo.

From the New York Daily News:

Gov. Cuomo stood with the Rev. Al Sharpton in Harlem on Saturday to tout the state’s tough new firearms laws — and how they can help neighborhoods plagued by gun violence.

Cuomo, in an address to the National Action Network to mark Martin Luther King Jr. Day, suggested the gun control legislation was another step on the road to the slain civil rights leader’s vision of social justice.

“We passed new gun laws, and we passed new gun laws on Martin Luther King Day,” Cuomo said. “Why? Because, it’s simple enough — innocent people have died.”

If you aren’t familiar with the National Action Network, it is a not for profit ‘civil rights’ organization founded by Al Sharpton.

Gov. Cuomo spoke to the group with emotion and conviction.

What he didn’t explain was how his new gun laws were going to help protect black kids in a city that already has tight gun control laws.  He also didn’t mention the epidemic of blacks shooting blacks in Chicago, Detroit, D.C…in speaking to the National Action Network, no less.

He also didn’t mention the fact that MLK, Jr. was a gun owner.  His own house was referred to by a friend as an “arsenal”.  MLK, Jr. believed in citizens owning weapons for self-defense, and who could blame him?  MLK also applied (three separate times) for a concealed carry permit, and all three times he was denied because of the color of his skin.

What Gov. Cuomo did yesterday was shameful.  New Yorkers aren’t surprised.  They already see that they no longer have a governor, but have a presidential candidate (2016) instead.

Don’t expect the national media to criticize Governor Cuomo for this obvious pandering to the black community on MLK day.   As long as you speak out against guns, the media is on your side no matter the fallacies in your argument.