Thread by @magpiekilljoy

dear liberals,

gun control will disproportionately affect marginalized groups, both in terms of enforcement and in terms of removing access to the tools required for self defense.

sincerely, a heavily-doxxed trans woman in the rural south

to make clear my own position: i do not believe "an armed society is a polite society." I do not believe in universal gun ownership. I believe that access to the appropriate tools for self-defense is a human right.

I believe that in the current US climate, semi-automatic small arms (rifles and handguns) are the most effective tools for self-defense in many situations. I believe, frankly and after years of thought, that owning a firearm makes me less likely to be murdered by a transphobe.

I believe it is unethical to pass laws that criminalize not behavior but the potential for certain behavior. A curfew might reduce muggings, but "being out at night" is not wrong even if "robbing people at gunpoint" might usually be.

I believe that it is nonsensical and counterproductive to give more carceral power to a racist and authoritarian state.

I believe that both sides of the gun control issue are rooted in racism: gun control comes from "we don't want Black people to have guns" and its attendant laws are used primarily against marginalized communities and will continue to be so.

gun advocacy and the second amendment, in turn, seem to be rooted in "we want every white man to be able to kill indigenous people and capture enslaved people." America is so racist that both sides of this issue are rooted in racism.

I believe that most people advocating gun control misunderstand what the gun means as a symbol and a tool to rural people in the US--left, right, and center. It's like telling people they can't own a chainsaw because chainsaws are dangerous (god, chainsaws are so dangerous)

i also don't believe that my beliefs need to be your beliefs. i believe many people on the other side of this issue have real grievances that need to be heard out and are speaking from a place of personal pain and trauma, which is too often ignored by gun advocates.

but I believe that gun control being a central position of liberalism is terrifyingly bad strategy at a time when an increasing number of people are being seduced to right wing politics. It alienates huge numbers of people needlessly and also our need for self defense only grows.

Learning about the role of firearms in the civil rights struggle was pivotal for me. "This Nonviolent Stuff'll Get You Killed: How Guns Made the Civil Rights Movement Possible" by Charles E. Cobb Jr. for example.

I've said my piece and am putting this thread on mute.

Please try to actually listen to each other if you're engaging though. There's good faith and bad faith on both sides cause this is actually messy, even if i'm largely on one side of it.