For one, Indian tribes are pre-constitutional, and their sovereignty predates the formation of the United States. There are several possible explanations for this lacuna in the gun rights literature. But, as the United States continues to set itself apart as a nation in which gun rights seemingly flow in one direction – more guns and greater gun rights – the issue of how Indian tribes govern the ownership, use, and control of guns remains relatively unexamined. Since that article was published almost a decade ago, there have only been a few scholarly works that have contributed to the conversation around guns and gun rights in Indian country. The complex historical and legal dynamics discussed therein were animated by three intertwined theories, articulated as exceptionalism, citizenship, and race, respectively. That article traced the relationship between Indians – individually and as members of Native Nations – and firearms, stretching from the earliest days of contact between Natives and colonizers, up to present day. In 2012, I published an article examining the interplay between Indians (Indigenous Americans) and guns.
The efforts of his father, family, and tribesmen eventually led to the permanent demise of the Imamate's 11 centuries rule."Īmong his many business interests, al-Ahmar owns Sabafon, a mobile phone company which has been providing a messaging service for anti-Salih protesters.Native Nations and The Right to Bear Arms in a Post McGirt World By Angela Riley on JanuCategories: History, Race, Second Amendment, Supreme Court "The heinous murder of ambitious uncle and grandfather led his father to mobilise the Hashid tribes, normally supporters of the Imam, to the side of the revolution when it broke out in north Yemen in 1962. The Hashid are a force to be reckoned with in Yemen.
In a TV interview last month, he described the ruling party's efforts to change the constitution and abolish presidential term limits as "political dementia".
No one was hurt in the attack and the Ministry of Interior was notified about the incident."Īl-Ahmar ( profiled here in the Yemen Times) has been prominent among those calling for President Salih to step down. "When his guards went away from the house, more than 30 gunmen opened fire at them. Later that evening, as al-Ahmar returned from a meeting of the Preparatory Committee for National Dialogue (which he chairs), his guard spotted a pickup truck bearing an official licence plate, according to Arab News: The Yemen Observer reports: "The governor’s security were able to get two of the four cars and confirmed to the interior ministry that they belong to Hamid al-Ahmar."Ī statement from the ruling General People's Congress condemned the attack as "a terrorist act violating the conduct of difference in opinion, the values, laws and norms and traditions of the Yemeni people" and called for those involved to be brought to justice. On Saturday, though, armed supporters of al-Ahmar arrived at Duwaid's house in four vehicles and opened fire, killing one bystander and injuring three others. This was deemed as an insult to the honour of the Hashid tribe and Duwaid's Khawlan tribe duly apologised "according to the tribal norms". Governor Duwaid, meanwhile, is a sheikh of the Khawlan tribe and a member of President Salih's party.Īt a political rally last week, Duwaid accused al-Ahmar of having gained his wealth from looting public property. National politics or tribal politics? In Yemen it's often difficult to tell the difference, as illustrated by a violent spat on Saturday involving Hamid al-Ahmar, one of the most outspoken opposition MPs, and Nu'man Duwaid, the governor of Sana'a province.Īl-Ahmar is a prominent figure in the Hashid tribe – his father, besides being speaker of parliament and head of the Islah party, was paramount chief of the Hashid and, in his day, the most important tribal figure in Yemen.