In the most recent school shooting at the time I write this, the shooter was trans. Seizing an opportunity, Republicans are now discussing banning trans people from owning guns. Which as noted at the second link is nonsense: even laws that allow taking guns away from the mentally ill require individual threat assessments, not a blanket prohibition.
This, like the endless right-wing bullshit about gay people being groomers, is just an excuse to pick on a minority right-wingers hate — and possibly to ensure that if someone assaults a trans person, they don’t have to worry about getting shot. It ignores that 99 percent of shooters are straight white men, which makes a much better argument for denying men access to guns. That ain’t going to happen.
I am less bothered by this as a precedent — if they can do it to trans people they can do it to others — than as a wrong thing in itself. “They came for the trans people and I did not speak up because I was cis, and they never came for anyone else” is not how these things play out but even if it did, trans people have the same rights as the rest of us. Acquiescing if Republicans strip them of rights is not acceptable. Especially given right-wing willingness to place trans people in danger.
It’s also a noted departure from Republican “principles” that the solution to gun violence is more guns, more guns everywhere, including schools. They try to pretend this makes sense by default — states with strict gun laws still see shootings, ergo more guns! — but ignore that their own claims are bullshit. We still get mass shootings, even in states with few restrictions on gun ownership; the “good man with a gun” who’s supposedly going to save everyone never materializes. But the gun industry wants to keep pushing its product so Republicans keep lying.
I’m pleasantly surprised the NRA sides with trans gun owners. It’s one of the few times I’ve ever agreed with them about anything.
One more point worth considering: Republicans have been consistently and completely wrong about LGBTQ people. They claimed gay marriage would destroy straight marriage, that anti-gay churches would be silenced, that churches would be forced to marry gay couples, that gays are pedophiles. All wrong. They claimed they only opposed gay rights because of those disgusting icky things they saw watching gay pride parades, then it turned out they opposed gay couples putting on matching tuxes and having a traditional wedding ceremony. They have nothing accurate to say about gay or trans people; it’s unfortunate they have enough power we have to listen.
