In Louisiana, slaves were forbidden to use a firearm even in self-defense. In South Carolina, slaves could not possess guns without a master=s permission. .
After the Civil War, several southern legislatures sanctioned comprehensive Gun control laws and ABlack Codes@ to keep black people disenfranchised. The codes varied from state to state. Some states allowed Blacks to own guns, but they had to obtain a license or get it registered through a county judge or sheriff; Some states made it impossible to purchase arms because of the high taxes and exorbitant price tags, making ASaturday-Night-Specials@ the only affordable weapon for self defense. Incidently, the term ASaturday Night Special,@ comes from the racial epithet "Niggerrtown Saturday Night" - Describing cheap handguns Blacks allegedly used to commit crimes in "Niggertown" on "Saturday night." Notwithstanding the fact that firearms used by racist white police and Klansmen to commit murder in black areas were simply called "firearms". Of course these ASaturday Night Special@ were banned just after the Civil War, to insure that former slaves would not get weapons for self-defense. The mere sight of a black person with a gun was terrifying to whites.
Let us focus on the authoritative opinions regarding gun control from those responsible for the administration of justice in the land - The Judges. .
Justice Warner delivered a Court opinion, in the matter of Cooper and Worsham v. Savannah, 4 Ga. 68 (1848), that says AFree persons of color have never been recognized here as citizens; they are not entitled to bear arms, vote for members of the legislature, or to hold any civil office. They have always been considered as in a state of pupilage (the state of being a pupil), and been regarded as our wards, and for that very reason we should be extremely careful to guard and protect all the right secured to them by our municipal regulations.