"Rainbow Reload" is an LGBTQ+ gun group
I've come to have strong feelings on gun control which amount to "get rid of them all" - but this was an interesting read about one of the gun groups growing on the left.
In March 2023, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson did a segment on Democrats and gun control. At the top of the show, he called out Rainbow Reload, an LGBTQ+ gun group in New Hampshire. "Rainbow Reload. They're packing heat," he said. "You can't have guns, but faithful servants of the Democratic Party can."
After being spotlighted on national television, Rainbow Reload's social media got hacked and members received death threats. But instead of scaring people away, the attention prompted more supporters to join and new Rainbow Reload chapters sprouted in Tennessee and Vermont.
Gun owners are an anomaly within the LGBTQ+ community. According to research from UCLA and the Pew Research Center, gun owners in the U.S. are more likely to be straight and Republican, rather than queer and Democratic. While there is no specific data on how many gun owners in the U.S. identify as LGBTQ+, queer gun rights groups across the country are noticing that more LGBTQ+ people are becoming interested in gun ownership, and they are turning to their own community to learn.
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"7 people have been killed in 2 related shootings in Half Moon Bay, California"
Just heartbreaking. For a community to suffer through two shootings like this so close together.
If only there was a way to stop this...
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Alec Baldwin charged with involuntary manslaughter from 2022 movie set killing
This is truly a shame and I have complicated feelings on how I think the judgment should go. Coincidentally I was just discussing Baldwin last night with friends while playing Boardgames, his scene in Glengarry Glenross came up.
As a child we didn't have guns in the house (I would later learn dad had a revolver in case of emergencies) but it was pounded into my head to not even point toy guns at people, only at "rocks and trees." And when in Boy Scouts they taught careful weapon safety with guns and with bows and arrows. On a movie set, obviously they have to operate differently, which is why they are supposed to have careful and very strict controls over these weapons.
When I worked at the theme parks, some of the park attractions also made use of weapons (the stage shows) and I recall hearing about them also going through very strict safety protocols. The people handling the stage weapons were never alone, always triple checked, always locked away, etc.
It's a tragedy which has to be pursued and investigated, but also shines a light on the thousands of other deaths which don't have the rigorous public eye because they don't involve someone from Hollywood. In the wake of school shootings my gun control ire spikes, but I don't fall on the "take all the guns" - many people have legitimate reasons for wanting them, however the need for strict licensing, buying limits and cool off periods, background checks, and gun safety education are paramount if we are to continue to allow such relatively unfettered access to them. Also, the idea that private individuals need AR15 style weapons is absurd. Those people are delusional.
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As gun ownership increased in Brazil, gun violence decreased
Noting I am far from an expert, and have not done extensive reading, my suspicion here is that they are in a phase where the increased gun ownership is causing would-be criminals to rethink their plans. But that at some point the downturn will reverse as the criminal class shifts to be even more aggressive and armed to overcome the change.
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"Fact Check: Joe Biden Says Guns Are Biggest Killer of American Children"
User /u/LibraryGeek on Reddit gives the following summary:
"True.
Statistics from the CDC show that firearm deaths were the leading cause of death for children aged 1-19. Although that analysis does not count infants, firearm deaths would still be the leading cause of death among children if they were."
But you know, the 2nd amendment and all...
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At Last, a Bipartisan Effort on Gun Safety
Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Let's move the ball on gun control. I think the fear is that if we give them this, they won't give more. That's a fallacious way of thinking. Not taking this only furthers the message on the right that Democrats want to take their guns and the fact the law doesn't do that is why the Dems didn't pass it. It also shows voters that these rights CAN change and are not immutable, meaning more change in the future is still possible.
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The Daily - Why the Police Took 78 Minutes to Stop the Uvalde Gunman
A good episode that shines a bit more light on what happened in Uvalde. Far from conclusive, and it left me angry and frustrated that this keeps happening.
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The Science Is Clear: Gun Control Saves Lives - Scientific American
What research we have is clear and grim. For example, in 2017, guns overtook 60 years of cars as the biggest injury-based killer of children and young adults (ages one to 24) in the U.S. By 2020, about eight in every 100,000 people died of car crashes. About 10 in every 100,000 people died of gun injuries.
While cars have become increasingly safer (it’s one of the auto industry’s main talking points in marketing these days), the gun lobby has thwarted nearly all attempts to make it harder to fire a weapon. With federal protection against some lawsuits, the financial incentive of a giant tort payout to make guns safer is virtually nonexistent.
[...]
A study comparing gun deaths the U.S. to other high-income countries in Europe and Asia tells us that our homicide rate in teens and young adults is 49 times higher. Our firearm suicide rate is eight times higher. The U.S. has more guns than any of the countries in the comparison.
As we previously reported, in 2015, assaults with a firearm were 6.8 times more common in states that had the most guns, compared to the least. More than a dozen studies have revealed that if you had a gun at home, you were twice as likely to be killed as someone who didn’t. Research from the Harvard School of Public Health tells us that states with higher gun ownership levels have higher rates of homicide. Data even tells us that where gun shops or gun dealers open for business, killings go up. These are but a few of the studies that show the exact opposite of what progun politicians are saying. The science must not be ignored.
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Firearms are leading cause of death among U.S
Firearms are now the leading cause of death for children and adolescents 0-19 years of age, with a staggering 83 percent increase in youth firearm fatalities over the past decade, according to a commentary published in Lancet Child and Adolescent Health. Nearly two-thirds of youth firearm deaths were from homicides. Strikingly, Black youth had an unprecedented 40 percent increase in firearm fatalities between 2019 to 2020.
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The fact that Ted Cruz has landed on the "Just one door with an armed guard" as a reasonable answer is mind boggling.
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Secret recordings of NRA officials after Columbine school shooting show strategy (2021)
This article is from 2021. I remember reading it back when it first came out and being angry. I'm reading it again this morning and even angrier.
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Oregon School Shooter, Kip Kinkel, is interviewed for the first time
This article is a long one, as I post it on the blog I'm only about a 1/4th of the way into it. So far it is a recounting of Kip's childhood, as far as I can tell it's almost entirely based on Kip's retelling of it and some corrolating notes or research by the author. The article touches on a number of topics, including mental health, prison reform, and gun control. I don't know enough to take any position as it relates to Kinkel, I only vaguely recall his shooting incident. Enjoying the read and getting a look inside his head, even if it has to be taken with a grain of salt since it's coming from him.
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