The liberal call for gun control as a “solution” to mass shootings has increased since the horrific and homophobic massacre in Orlando on June 12. In certain respects the call makes sense. Should we live in a society with fewer guns? Of course. Does the right wing’s commitment to guns reek of double standards? Definitely. Are gun lobbies such as the National Rifle Association absurdly powerful? Absolutely.
However, the current emphasis on gun control shifts the focus away from the core cause of the Orlando massacre: the injustice of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people of color. It also ignores the historic and ongoing racialization of gun legislation, while realizing a narrative that legitimates state violence by the police …show more content…
Since the Orlando massacre mainstream articles, analyses, and even cartoons about how easy it is to acquire a gun have expanded. Gun control was a major theme at the June 13 Stonewall Inn vigil in New York City. A call for politicians to “get the guns off the streets” was met with strong applause from the four-thousand-plus crowd, and every elected official who spoke commended the virtues of gun control and their record on the issue. Yet most politicians have shied away from discussing the social and political attitudes shaping homophobia, the actual motivation for the attack. Several members of Congress conducted a theatrical “sit-in” on the House of Representatives floor to push for a bill banning those on the “no-fly” list from purchasing guns, but those same representatives have had little to say on the climate of hate leading up to the massacre.
The Pulse nightclub massacre was a site of homophobic violence against …show more content…
They will argue that mass shootings pose a more immediate threat than the problems described above (homophobia, racism, the injustices of policing and American militarism). Mass shootings are horrific and traumatic for the communities that experience them, but finding and challenging the root cause is the only meaningful way to address them. Gun control in its current incarnation is a classic liberal solution. It’s a paint job for a crumbling house. Widespread approaches to gun control treat mass shootings as isolated experience rather than central features of a divisive capitalism that pits working-class people against each other and promotes violence as a method of expression. Assailants have had a lot more in common than guns, they often found themselves at the nexus of alienation, atomization, and xenophobia. If the Democratic Party actually cared about our safety they would create legislation that addressed poverty, racism, and homophobia. But they do not and they will not. It is up to us to push for a society where Orlando would never again
However, the current emphasis on gun control shifts the focus away from the core cause of the Orlando massacre: the injustice of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people of color. It also ignores the historic and ongoing racialization of gun legislation, while realizing a narrative that legitimates state violence by the police …show more content…
Since the Orlando massacre mainstream articles, analyses, and even cartoons about how easy it is to acquire a gun have expanded. Gun control was a major theme at the June 13 Stonewall Inn vigil in New York City. A call for politicians to “get the guns off the streets” was met with strong applause from the four-thousand-plus crowd, and every elected official who spoke commended the virtues of gun control and their record on the issue. Yet most politicians have shied away from discussing the social and political attitudes shaping homophobia, the actual motivation for the attack. Several members of Congress conducted a theatrical “sit-in” on the House of Representatives floor to push for a bill banning those on the “no-fly” list from purchasing guns, but those same representatives have had little to say on the climate of hate leading up to the massacre.
The Pulse nightclub massacre was a site of homophobic violence against …show more content…
They will argue that mass shootings pose a more immediate threat than the problems described above (homophobia, racism, the injustices of policing and American militarism). Mass shootings are horrific and traumatic for the communities that experience them, but finding and challenging the root cause is the only meaningful way to address them. Gun control in its current incarnation is a classic liberal solution. It’s a paint job for a crumbling house. Widespread approaches to gun control treat mass shootings as isolated experience rather than central features of a divisive capitalism that pits working-class people against each other and promotes violence as a method of expression. Assailants have had a lot more in common than guns, they often found themselves at the nexus of alienation, atomization, and xenophobia. If the Democratic Party actually cared about our safety they would create legislation that addressed poverty, racism, and homophobia. But they do not and they will not. It is up to us to push for a society where Orlando would never again