{{Short description|American gun rights activist (born 1983)}} {{Infobox person | name = Colion Noir | image = | alt = <!-- descriptive text for use by the blind and visually impaired's speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software --> | caption = | birth_name = Collins Iyare Idehen Jr. | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|mf=yes|1983|11|27}}<ref>{{cite AV media |people=Colion Noir |date=April 9, 2020 |title=Why I Fell In Love w/ This Rifle After Only 35 Rounds |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ulZDYAXDsg |publisher=YouTube}}</ref><ref name=latimes>{{cite web | url=http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-black-guns-nra-20130723-dto-htmlstory.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140513004002/http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-black-guns-nra-20130723-dto-htmlstory.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=13 May 2014 | title=NRA's black commentator becomes Web sensation | website=Los Angeles Times | date=23 July 2013 | accessdate=19 March 2016 | author=Hennessy-Fiske, Molly}}</ref> | birth_place = Houston, Texas, U.S. | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (death date then birth date) --> | death_place = | other_names = | alma_mater = {{ubl|University of Houston (BA)|Thurgood Marshall School of Law (JD)}} | occupation = Second Amendment rights activist | years_active = 2011–present | known_for = Gun rights activism | notable_works = | module = {{Infobox youtuber | child = yes | youtube_handle = ColionNoir | youtube_display_name = Colion Noir | youtube_years_active = 2016–present | youtube_genre = Arms rights | youtube_subscribers = 3.21 million<!-- PLEASE DO NOT CHANGE WITHOUT UPDATING stats_update BELOW --> | youtube_views = 682 million<!-- PLEASE DO NOT CHANGE WITHOUT UPDATING stats_update BELOW --> | stats_update = December 23, 2025 }} }} '''Collins Iyare Idehen Jr.''' (born November 27, 1983), better known as '''Colion Noir''', is an American gun rights activist, YouTuber, and lawyer. Colion has criticized gun control measures such gun-free zones and gun bans as being ineffective and tyrannical and has extensively criticized the killing of Philando Castile, a black concealed carry permit holder who was shot by police.
== Early life == Collins Iyare Idehen, Jr., more commonly known as Colion Noir, was born in Houston, Texas, to immigrants from Nigeria. His father is an executive chef and his mother is a registered nurse.<ref name="db">{{Cite web |last=Grove |first=Lloyd |date=March 29, 2018 |title=For NRA TV'S Colion Noir, Happiness Is a Warm Gun |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/for-nra-tvs-colion-noir-happiness-is-a-warm-gun |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180330163430/https://www.thedailybeast.com/for-nra-tvs-colion-noir-happiness-is-a-warm-gun |archive-date=March 30, 2018 |access-date=March 30, 2018 |website=The Daily Beast |language=en-us}}</ref> As an only child, he grew up in an apartment complex in the Alief neighborhood of Houston, Texas before eventually moving to Sugar Land with his mother.<ref name="db" /><ref name=latimes/>
Noir graduated from high school in Houston. He earned a political science degree from the University of Houston and in 2012, a J.D. degree from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University.<ref name="latimes" /><ref name="guardian">{{Cite news |last=Beckett |first=Lois |date=June 20, 2017 |title=Prominent black NRA defender criticizes ruling in Philando Castile case |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/20/philando-castile-shooting-nra-response-colion-noir |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170620151051/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/20/philando-castile-shooting-nra-response-colion-noir |archive-date=June 20, 2017 |access-date=March 30, 2018 |work=The Guardian |language=en-us}}</ref> He first became interested in firearms while a law school student.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Kelemen |first=Jasmina |date=April 24, 2018 |title=Meet the NRA's Most Visible Black Supporter, Colion Noir |url=https://www.houstoniamag.com/news-and-city-life/2018/04/colion-noir-nratv |access-date=September 29, 2025 |website=Houstonia Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=guardian/> He interned at a small personal injury firm in Houston after law school.<ref name=":0" />
== NRA work and YouTube == In 2013, the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) recruited him to appear in NRA News videos.<ref name="usnews">{{cite web |author=Fox |first=Lauren |date=March 4, 2013 |title=NRA Recruits YouTube Gun Enthusiast for Minority Ad Campaign |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/03/04/nra-recruits-youtube-gun-enthusiast-for-minority-ad-campaign |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130305062130/https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/03/04/nra-recruits-youtube-gun-enthusiast-for-minority-ad-campaign |archive-date=March 5, 2013 |accessdate=March 19, 2016 |website=U.S. News & World Report}}</ref> Later that year, he appeared at its convention in Houston.<ref name="latimes" /><ref>{{cite news |author=Fuller |first=Jaime |date=May 15, 2014 |title=Which NRA member are you? |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2014/05/15/which-nra-member-are-you/ |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305063204/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2014/05/15/which-nra-member-are-you/ |archive-date=March 5, 2018 |accessdate=March 19, 2016 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> Since then, he has been described in ''The Guardian'' as the NRA's "most prominent black commentator" and in ''<u>Houstonia</u>'' as its "most visible black supporter."<ref name=":0" /><ref name="guardian" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite news |date=2018-05-03 |title=NRATV's Colion Noir on black gun ownership, the Parkland students and why he finds the AR-15 'beautiful' |url=https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-nra-colion-noir-20180503-story.html |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250319144252/https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-nra-colion-noir-20180503-story.html |archive-date=2025-03-19 |access-date=2025-12-23 |work=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> When Noir received blowback for being a black man joining the NRA, he initially expressed frustration that his race was treated as significant, but later reported feeling encouraged by supporters who welcomed the visibility of a nonwhite representative of gun owners.<ref name=":0" />
Idehen created the alias "Colion Noir" in 2011 when he began posting videos about guns to YouTube to avoid harassment towards his family.<ref name=":0" /> {{As of|2025|December}}, he has 3.21 million subscribers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Colion Noir |url=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC193r5YXcpQJV34N99ZbhzQ |access-date=September 29, 2025 |website=YouTube |language=en}}</ref>
== Political views == Noir voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election, mainly over Second Amendment concerns.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Hennessy-Fiske |first=Molly |date=May 3, 2018 |title=NRATV's Colion Noir on black gun ownership, the Parkland students and why he finds the AR-15 'beautiful' |url=https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-nra-colion-noir-20180503-story.html |access-date=September 29, 2025 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2018, he considered himself "right of center."<ref name="db" />
In 2016, Noir criticized the decision in the case on the killing of Philando Castile, saying the acquittal of Yanez is "just wrong" and that "covert racism is a real thing."<ref name="guardian" /> At the same time, he disagreed with accusations of the NRA being a racist organization and blamed the mainstream media for promoting "conflict and division over race in America."<ref name="guardian" /> In response to the 2018 Parkland high school shooting, he disagreed with those advocating for stricter gun regulations, instead advocating for more good guys with guns.<ref name=":1" /> Colion has criticized gun-free zones, stating that it's "just a sign in the window saying 'Gun-free zone" and that he does not think, "a mass shooter’s going to see that sign and turn around."<ref name=":2" />
== Personal life == Noir has stated that he prefers an AR-15 to a handgun for home defense, arguing that it is more accurate and easier to fire, and asserting that, "the very reasons they want to condemn it are the same reasons I want it."<ref>{{Cite web |last=scudder |first=charles |title=Why I own an AR-15: Four Texans say how they use the most popular rifle in America |url=http://interactives.dallasnews.com/2016/gun-owners/ |access-date=2025-12-23 |website=interactives.dallasnews.com |language=en}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{official website|https://www.mrcolionnoir.com/}} * [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC193r5YXcpQJV34N99ZbhzQ YouTube Channel]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Noir, Colion}} Category:Living people Category:American gun rights activists Category:YouTubers from Houston Category:21st-century African-American lawyers Category:21st-century American lawyers Category:Activists from Houston Category:Place of birth missing (living people) Category:University of Houston alumni Category:Thurgood Marshall School of Law alumni Category:1983 births Category:20th-century African-American people Category:American activists of Nigerian descent