New Moms Leader Brings out the Misogyny in Pro-Gun Movement
There’s something about strong, powerful women advocating for better gun laws that really brings out the misogyny in the pro-gun movement. And with the emergence of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, pro-gunners are frothing at the mouth like never before.
The founder of Moms Demand Action is Shannon Watts of Zionsville, Indiana. She started the group on Facebook immediately after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, in which six adults and 20 children were slaughtered. As a stay-at-home mother of five children (following a successful 15-year career as a communications executive), she could sit and watch no more. “We don’t want to have to put bulletproof backpacks on our children,” Watts told the media. Enough was enough.
In a matter of weeks, Moms Demand Action blossomed into a national grassroots organization with chapters in all 50 states. That has earned Shannon and her group the enmity of pro-gun activists everywhere, as the following emails will attest to…
The first is from pro-gunner Scott Dapson, who had some sweet nothings for Shannon. “You Are the biggest asshole I’ve ever heard that’s trying to sissify America,” he told her. “guns are good asshole!”
Not to be outdone was a pro-gun activist going by the moniker “Indy Southsider.” Getting right to the point, he told Shannon, “I personally feel you and your kind should lose your citizenship and be removed from this country.” He then politely added, “Furthermore, i sincerely hope that you are your family soon meet with a horrible and painful demise … You will be hearing from me again, on the battle front..”
Then there was gun aficionado “Joe Mama,” whose message was targeted seemingly not just at Moms Demand Action, but women in general: “Have you ever heard of the 2nd amendment? what the hell is the matter with you people? get back in the kitchen and take those damn shoes off! its people like you that are going to destroy our 2nd Amendment right. stupid bitches!”
The next joyful missive came from a guy that probably used his wife’s email account when she wasn’t looking. “Im sorry but you are an idiot. you are the reason that women should have never been allowed to vote,” he told Shannon. “You should be more afraid of giving kids drugs in the schools to help them function, B.S. what the libs are teaching them, tolerancy with fags and lesbians and what foods you feed them AND IMMUNIZATIONS which Im sure you give your kids. ETC.ETC. You are the scary ones and I am so sick of stupid ignorant women(and men) some women don’t even know how they want their eggs cooked!” Thankfully, he was kind enough to offer his services as a vigilante: “Like I said, one of these days hopefully you WILL need one of us and we will be there. You people just don’t listen and come around sometimes with action. Why don’t you go after the government to to put to death these child molesters and rapists WHICH I KNOW OF AND I COULD HAVE GOTTEN RID OF HIM EASILY!!!!!!!! IDIOTS. Wake up. Im glad you are not my moms.”
Little doubt Shannon is glad as well…
You can’t have pro-gun activism without conspiracy theory, and Lyle Courtsal was there to oblige. “you’re the same paid off wackos who did mothers against drunk driving; sucks big,” he told Moms Demand Action. And then he added, almost as an afterthought, “Oh,yeah, seems there were two shooters at Sandy Hook not one. Keep on pretending to care.”
The commentary from the pro-gun community is strikingly similar on social media sites. Consider this thread from the Hypocrisy and Stupidity of Gun Control Advocates Facebook page about Moms Demand Action where Shannon is called a “bitch,” “cock sucker,” “traitor,” and “liar,” all within the first 15 comments! Not to be outdone, pro-gun activist Daniel Nelson of Indian Head, Maryland suggests that Moms Demand Action “sounds like a cheap porno site.”
Pro-gun activists are certainly right to be worried about the grassroots activism of Shannon Watts and Moms Demand Action. But as for the blatant misogyny we see from pro-gunners, it feels more like an unsettling form of nostalgia for an America where women “knew their place.” Thankfully, those days are long gone and never to return. And because of groups like Moms Demand Action, we will soon be able to say the same about senseless and preventable gun violence.
The Discussion
Joe Mama said “….. its [sic] people like you that are going to destroy our 2nd Amendment right. stupid bitches!”
Ha, just as I’ve long suspected! They all know, deep down, that it’s only a matter of time before this troubling anachronism in our Constitution gets corrected, so that owning a gun becomes a privilege that has to be earned rather than a supposedly un-infringeable and God-given right that we’re born with. How else to explain all this ugly vitriol, and how irrationally exercised and on-the-march the gun lobby is these days, much like a swarm of Africanized bees that feels threatened and under siege? So keep up the good work you magnificent and heroic ‘Bitches’ out there on the front lines!
Because just as we…. well, most of us, at least!…. finally came to our senses about slavery, suffrage, and civil rights, and eventually decided to take on and prevail against the once hugely powerful automobile industry regarding car safety, and just as the death penalty is on the decline even as gay rights are gaining traction, so is it inevitable that we’ll eventually join most of the the rest of the ‘civilized world’ in realizing how disastrously wrongheaded it is to permit such a chillingly efficient killing tool as a handgun — infinitely more lethal, statistically, than rifles and shotguns — to be as unregulated and easy to get as they are, thanks to this inconsistent hodge-podge of unenforced, and often unenforceable, rules and regulations around the country that anyone can, and many clearly do, navigate their way around.
Of course we should be able to hunt, shoot recreationally, and protect ourselves and our families in whatever way we choose to (though preferably non-lethally so we’re not judge, jury and executioner!) as long as it doesn’t endanger other people and their families. But shouldn’t we at least be TRYING to make sure that whoever is in possession of a firearm is reliably responsible, properly trained, and mentally/emotionally stable?! How we go about achieving that ambitious goal in a country that’s already awash with guns clearly needs to be a matter of measured and thoughtful debate. But please, let’s all debate it together at the same table so we can finally get it right instead of just yelling at each other and continuing to pass and repeal laws that merely perpetuate the problem. We need the invaluable experience and expertise of all those legal and 100% responsible gun-owners out there to help keep everyone safe, not just them. But instead of helping us to reduce the horrific death toll many of them just hunker down and prepare for some delirium-induced fantasy about a black-booted ‘pinko’ assault that — were they to read the other 26 amendments — they’d know that our Constitution already protects us from. That’s not just ‘stupid’, it’s also pathetic. Something that these courageous and determined women most certainly are NOT!
Women are the largest voting block in this country. Every time you speak at a government function you should be recording what is said and what the return comments are. If women can hear what the “good old boys” think of women in general, there is always a good chance women will finally say that “good old boys” need to be replaced by “smart new people”. You might have to get a foot in the fray however. “Indy Southsider” made a threat and should be investigated by the police. The rest of these comments need to be broadcast in as wide a forum as can be had. Women need to know that many gun rights advocates consider women to be inferior and something to be controlled. Voting is all about taking control and women need to take control of their own destiny. I am a male and it makes me sick to think that someone would think that God created an inferior product when I know that inferiority is always the product of a ill-informed mind.
The argument “we are defending our 2nd amendment rights” would be fine if that indeed is what we are defending . However the amendment reads “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” Its that well regulated portion that is must often swept under the carpet when the radicals argue their gun rights. A right includes responsibility if we want rights we must be responsible for what our rights might mean to others. If our right to do something tramples on the lives of innocent people who are damaged by that privilege then we need to perhaps reevaluate. Perhaps the argument should revolve around the term “rights”. A dictionary definition of rights includes several listings. Rights=”In accordance with what is good proper or just = right conduct” however we can also find Rights = “most convenient desirable or favorable=Omaha is the right location for a meat market”. Lets make this a discussion which focuses on proper conduct not convenient or desirable.
Shannon deserves a hug. The 2d Amendment was written for a very different reason. Why can’t we be more like the civilized world (Europe and Australia)?
It’s hard to shrug off remarks like that. Believe me, I know. But hang in there Shannon. Think of ourselves as a huge team going for the same results. To reduce gun violence, making this country a safer place for everyone.
I have experienced all of the above.
Women usually have more common sense than men, especially when it comes to protecting their children from dangerous things in our society. Shannon Watts is doing the right thing but we need to combine tactics with Violence Policy Center, the Brady Center, and Mayors against Gun violence. What should be done is to make this a super big organization on par or in excess of the NRA/ALEC corporate gun lobby. This may sound pie in the sky but a large scale organizations is needed to bring needed gun control to this country. The U.S. has the most guns of 27 industrialized countries at 88 guns per one hundred persons and the highest total gun deaths at 10.2 per 100,000 persons (this includes homicides, suicides, accidents, and undetermined gun deaths). The gun homicide rate is 3.2 per 100,000 persons in the U.S. The United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand have gun homicide rates of 0.1 to 0.2 per 100,000 persons. Canada has a gun homicide rate of 0.5 per 100,000 persons. Hunters and shooters can still shoot in these English speaking countries but no CCW permit carriers are allowed and handguns are tightly regulated. These countries prove that gun control laws can and do work.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2012/12/14/chart-the-u-s-has-far-more-gun-related-killings-than-any-other-developed-country/
I am retired from the U.S. Army after a military career of 20 years including combat service in the Persian Gulf with the 1st Infantry Division. I am married with one grown son and have two bachelor’s degrees and three years of technical training in the military. The appalling circumstance of our gun violence problems shows the big divide our people have over public safety issues. I do not mind law abiding hunters owning shot guns or single shot bolt or lever action rifles for hunting or even home defense. I have been writing on blogs for years now asking pro-gun people a simple question: “Why does any civilian need a military assault rifle with a high capacity ammunition magazine that can shoot 100 bullets in less than two minutes?” You will NEVER get a rational response from the pro-gun people because they are irrational. General Stanley McCrystal has appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe and said that military assault weapons belong on battle fields not in our schools.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/50400806/t/gen-mcchrystal-assault-rifles-are-battlefields-not-schools/#.UyNgNWfDWSp
Here is something many civilians are not aware of about guns like the M-16/AR-15 military assault rifle. The M-16/AR-15 shoots a .223 caliber/5.56mm round at about 3100 feet per second. The term high velocity bullet is loosely applied to bullets traveling at 3000 feet per second or higher. Upon impact with the human body, the bullet “TUMBLES” and “DISINTEGRATES.” Forensics science has a term called CAVITATION when a high velocity bullet hits a human body. The tumbling bullet makes a cavity about 11 to 12 times the diameter of the .223 caliber bullet or typically about 2.6 inches or more. This nearly three inch cavity is also lined with disintegrated pieces of the bullet. About 40% of the bullet mass will break apart and line the wound cavity. This process is called FRAGMENTATION. At close range, a high velocity bullet will literally leave huge gaping wounds blasted out of the human body. The CT state police report from CT Attorney General’s office said that nearly all of the victims of the Newtown shooting were shot multiple times. Many of the children would have been dismembered or had large three inch holes blasted out of them. On the battlefield a good burst of automatic fire from an assault rifle will cut a man’s body right in half. Those poor children literally were blasted to pieces by that Bushmaster assault rifle. Most of the funeral’s I understand were closed casket from the Newtown massacre for good reason. A head shot wound with an AR-15 Bushmaster rifle looks something like this. This patient below in this medical book does not need a medical doctor he needs a mortician. Senator Feinstein mentioned that the child victims at Newtown were dismembered. She is correct, the M-16/AR-15 is working exactly like George Stoner designed it to work. Don’t worry the Russians use a 5.45mmx39mm high velocity bullet that tumbles even better than the NATO 5.56mm bullet. Soldiers know they will not survive a serious wound from an assault rifle but most civilians do not understand these what these tumbling “buzz saw” bullets due to human beings.
https://www.inkling.com/read/rosens-emergency-medicine-concepts-and-clinical-practice-marx-hockberger-walls-8th/chapter-65/figure-65-15
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_m8omH47gI
http://www.ar15.com/ammo/project/Fackler_Articles/wounding_patterns_military_rifles.pdf
Most gun violence and gun deaths are committed with hand guns. The trouble are handguns that should be licensed, registered and regulated. We need Dianne Feinstein’s assault weapons ban and high capacity magazine ban plus 100% background checks on all gun sales. California has many good laws like “microstamping” that force all new semiautomatic guns to have stamped on it the owner’s identification on the bullet brass after being shot. Smith & Wesson, and Sturm & Ruger have left the California gun market because of microstamping. California smart gun laws outflank the whole 2nd amendment argument by regulating, licensing, and taxing ammunition and gun sales. Please go to the website below for more information about California smart gun laws.
http://smartgunlaws.org/the-california-model-twenty-years-of-putting-safety-first/
The strategy here is to “crimp down” our horrendous homicide and suicide rates with guns by regulation, licensing, and heavy taxation and fees on guns and ammunition sales. No one gun law will by itself solve America’s terrible gun homicide rate. We need a FEDERAL 100% ammunition sales tax and ammunition permit fees of $50 for all ammunition purchases. We must tax ammunition just like we tax other health hazards such as alcohol and tobacco. The right wing is simply tying itself up in pretzel’s over California’s smart gun laws. Especially hated are the ammunition permit fees of $50 with large purchases of ammunition required to be registered with the police. The most hated law however, is microstamping that is highly supported by California law enforcement. California smart gun laws were written by smart lawyers who constantly revise and rework the language in their bills. These laws are designed to go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Here is what the national strategy should be for the people who want gun control. We need to form our own progressive version of “ALEC” and get our talking points, model agenda, and political agenda organized. Lone women like Shannon Watts are brave and can make a difference but we need to understand what America is rather than the myths we perpetuate. America is a corporatist oligopoly run by plutocrats for plutocrats covered with a thin veneer of democracy. Democrats need to organize their own progressive version of “ALEC” that stays focused on state and local elections all around the country. We are dealing with huge nasty corporate bullies that put corporate profits in front of human life. When we fail to make our country safer for our children and their female teachers we are all failing in our duty as citizens. California smart gun laws need to be in the Democratic platform in 2016 with microstamping, ammunition taxes and ammo permit fees at the forefront along with an assault weapons and high capacity magazine ban. Taxing ammunition highly is the best way to gut out the pro-gun radicals out of the gun business for good. High taxes on tobacco and alcohol have lowered use of these health hazards but ammunition costs us $174 billion annually, maims 105,000 people and kills 32,300 Americans annually while drunk driving only kills around 9,800 annually. Why aren’t we taxing ammunition at 100% or even 200% levels?
Wow- these rude comments are from “responsible” gun owners? It’s scary to think they have access to guns since some of them appear to have issues with both anger management and women. Furthermore, some display quite a bit of misplaced rage leads me to speculate that they may even have issues with their own mental stability. Thank you for fighting for this cause. Stay strong and stay safe.
I support you 100 per cent. , the people writing the foul replies must be very miserable unhappy people, most of the killing are from people with bad tempers, or mental illness , and it seems being bad tempered is quite prevalent now days.
It is not the 2nd amendment that is the problem it is the obsessive gun owners that are the problem, there must be thousands of gun owners that also want their families to be safe and have common sense , so lets appeal to them and work together, but I am with you all the way, thank you.
Thank you so much for your heroic stance, partcularly in the face of the withering vitriol that you have suffered from the lunatic fringe gun nuts. They obviously cannot conceptualize the image that they present. Someone who has such infinite capacity for anger possessing ample deadly force is an absolutely terrifying combination. I cannot fathom why they think that society should abandon all measures that PREVENT criminals, mentally ill and judicially restrained individuals from being able to arm themselves with any and all extremely dangerous weapons they choose without limitation. Why they should choose to align themselves with the idea of arming criminals, mentally ill and judicially restrained individuals is beyond comprehension. It is rich irony indeed that they consider the criminal law inefffectual to protect us (because the damage is already done by the time the crime is committed), while at the same time they demand that society eschew any preventative measures for protecting itself. Logic is not their strong suit. Rather, they seem to have limitless capacity for hysterical paranoia. Another bad combination with ready access to ample deadly force.
I live in a State for hunters. Right after that terrible shooting at Sandy Hook—-the very next day I was horrified to see big signs all over town for the big “Gun and knife” show for our local sports and exercise center here. We have gun shows all over our state and that just seems so wrong. Last week , because I work within one of our school ,I had to attend training for “active shooter and intruder”. It was very upsetting but most informative . It gave many of us nightmares about protecting your children. Sensible gun laws that prohibit the sales of some guns and a good system of registration and perhaps tougher penalties for crimes committed with firearms sound to me, as a MOM and Grandmother , like a very good thing indeed. That the women who stand up for such things are vilified in all sorts of places is a terrible accounting of the kind of men at the head of the NRA and our Government and elsewhere. I have 0 money to help this program but I support it with my words, every chance and every where I can.
I also believe in the right of people to own guns, however this does not give them the right to be abusive to others who don’t agree witht them. Like it or not there needs to be some regulation. The Second Amendment is more often than not misused by the NRA and gun owners. If you disagree you need to read about it’s history and opinions expressed by some conservative Presidents, Supreme Court justices, etc. And I believe the reason the emails posted on here were selected were to give examples of the threats and hatefulness expressed by radical gun owners. I wholeheartedly support Moms and all their endeavors.
Viewed from somewhere in the civilized world, American gun owners and the NRA look deranged. If a group of forty heavily-armed people assembled in anywhere else on the planet, they would find themselves dealt with by the police or army. That such a group could threaten four women who were chatting in a coffee shop is incredible. That nothing was done about them is utterly amazing.
A referendum repealing the Second Amendment would clarify the matter. I am sure the 80% of Americans who do not own guns would like to be free of intimidation by the other 20%.
Unfortunately, unlike my country (Australia), there is no provision in the US Constitution to allow its alteration by referendum.
Thank you Shannon for your passion to make this country a safer place. With 280 people shot every day, we are losing the right to feel safe and many have lost their right to life itself. The “right” to own a weapon capable of slaughtering 20 first graders and 6 of their teachers does not belong in a civilized country.
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There are many of us who are non abusive and intelligent gun owners who respectfully disagree with you. Do you print their statements also or just the ones who are nasty? I think it only fair that you listen to those who are trying in earnest to tell you their beliefs ,so we can have an open dialogue to solve the problems we face in this great country of ours. In this matter as well as others if we do not respect the opinion of others we will not ever find the solutions we need.
Shannon Watts is amazing. She is brave and earnest. America is lucky to have her, regardless of the opinions of any uninformed gun fetishists.
I am sorry you got these emails from these extremely opinionated idiots. Please understand that they do NOT speak for all 100plusMillion gun owners. These are the rantings of a few pissed of assholes. The comment someone made about “God given rights”, I agree (to an extent), but what they are usually referencing is the Declaration of Independence: That we are Nendowed by our Creator with inalienable rights”. The founders believed in the laws of nature (also mention in the declaration of independance). The first law of nature is self preservation. The right to protect your life and those around you. The best way I can sum it up, is with an old samurai ethos: “Satsu jin ken, katsu jin ken” :: “the sword which strikes down evil, is the sword which gives life to those upon whom the evil would prey”. This is a way of life for 99.99999etc% of gun owners, whether or not they have ever heard of this ethos. It is encoded in our DNA. I have felt this way since I was a little kid, and didn’t know the words for it, until I began studying samurai martial arts 5 years ago. My point is, please don’t judge all of us based on the words and actions of a very small number of morons. They make up a fraction of a fraction of a percent of us. Most of us just want to be left alone, most of us respect your choice not to be armed, but when anti gun groups keep attacking us all the time, some of us get really upset, and say things that shouldn’t be said in a 2 sided civil debate. Again, these emails were written by a few assholes who, maybe had enough of being bullied by the left wing mobs, and decided to get mean and push back, but please understand they do NOT speak for me, nor do they speak for my wife, who owns more guns than I do.
I am a woman with children and I am pro-gun, pro second amendment and all for people who want to carry arms. The comments included in this post are despicable and not anything that I would agree with. It’s also pretty disingenuous to insinuate that all people who believe in our second amendments rights, as well as the right to defend hearth and home from those who would do us harm, are all loose cannons and nut jobs. We can play that game all day, because I’ve had pro-gun control say those same kinds of things to me and about me.
But, let us reason together and leave the nutjobs out of it.
No one wants to be left defenseless with no one or nothing to help them in their time of need and danger. Some of us trust ourselves to defend ourselves and some of us trust professionals to do it. Either way, there are reasonable people at both ends and the only reason to vilify everyone of an opinion is to push an agenda. Is that really what you want?
I don’t think this is the way to make sense out of a senseless act. I’ve never seen a divided people be effective advocates of anything.
Perhaps the place to start is to assume first that everyone really just wants the same thing, the same goal, and recognize that we just see different ways of getting to the same place. We all want our kids to be protected. We want our schools safe, and we don’t want anyone’s baby, let alone ours, to be lead like lambs to a slaughter in their schools.
So let’s agree that we all want that and keep in mind that the ones we simply disagree with on HOW to keep such things from happening, are still our friends. They are still people who would do EVERYTHING to see to it that someone’s kid was as safe as they could make them. If your kid was in danger, and I knew I could do something to help them, I wouldn’t stop to consider your politics, or your religion, your familial status or your orientation. I’m gonna take care of your kid if you aren’t there to do it yourself or you can’t do it yourself.
With or without my firearm, I want to be your friend.
Surely, we can build on that.
as a Canadian who watches the news ( the REAL news, not Faux-News lol ) with mounting horror every time one of these whackjobs opens their ignorant mouths, nothing but respect and applause here for what you are doing.
Always amazes me when these dim-bulbs who haven’t been to church in their miserable life all of a sudden start bringing ” God ” into it when it suits their purpose… as in ” My GOD-GIVEN right to bear arms “… I mean seriously, besides that whole ” separation of church and state ” thing… God himself PERSONALLY showed up one day, wrote the 2nd amendment, and signed it into law?? That must have been quite the occasion!! Funny no one painted it on a huge canvas, or at least did a pencil sketch or something… you’d think they’d notice something like that!! lol
These gun-worshipping nut-bars have no respect for women, no respect for life, and certainly ZERO respect for the American Constitution which they keep wrapping themselves in… and are an insult to Intelligent Americans everywhere.
Well this HERE Canadians hats off to you, Shannon Watts!!!!
The more they yell and scream, the more it means they are running scared. They know we are not going quietly back to our homes to do laundry and cook meals. They have awakened a sleeping giant and now they will have to deal with us. MADD showed us all what could be done from the grassroots UP. As all the groups in the country come together, we will grow and be much stronger than the NRA. The cowardly congress with do our bidding or be defeated. We all know this is a long journey, but we will not be deterred. We are also raising the next generation to carry the torch into the future. They will make guns “not cool” as they have tobacco and drunk driving. WE WILL PREVAIL!
ONWARD,
Gail Lehmann
Ridgefield, CT
I have received similar comments, and worse, on my blog site. I stopped allowing anonymous comments which helped. I still get them occasionally but I fought back with them and published them. Sometimes the more reasonable gun guys got mad at the extremists who made the offensive comments and came to my defense knowing that it gives them all a bad name. Keep up the good work. You know you are making progress when you get under the skin of the gun rights extremists. Take heart. They are a small but ugly and small minded minority.
We, the sensible people, are not asking to take the guns away from pro-gun activists, for we all know that this is not going to happen in this land. All we ask are stricter measures so we can feel safer for our loved ones. I grew up in a place where only the law enforcement has gun. We have no fear of being hit by a stray bullet or getting robbed at gun point, and that is how everyone should live! I agree with Dale that this fight is getting more intense and personal. I have been observing comments from pro-gun activists towards people demanding for stricter measures, and all I read were mean comments and profanities. Such behaviors exhibit the level of education and upbringing of these pro-gun activists, and regrettably, I have little hope of changing the minds of these people! I fear for my life, and I worry for the future of America.
This is not surprising to me at all, and this is typically what I find to be true when I TRY [key word TRY] to have an adult conversation with a gun lover about gun violence. These 2nd amendment guns rights advocates will scream, name call, and stomp their feet, yet they are the first people to advocate against abortion and against rights under the 14th amendment, which I find ironic! Talk about cherry-picking the Constitution. There is definitely a misogynistic mindset that comes from worshiping the 2nd amendment for the right to “shoot stuff” and hating the 14th amendment for the rights it gives to women. But try to explain this to a gun advocate and they won’t see the connection. Not surprising there either.
Thank you Shannon. I belong to MAIG/Demand Action and am a strong advocate of gun law reform. It is scary that pro-gunners are becoming more and more misogynist,it implies to me that big guns are phallic symbols to them. Their obscene, offensive, and off-topic comments tell me that they don’t have a single, fact-substantiated, leg to stand on…this type of commenting is their last-ditch effort. They distort truths, cite “facts” they cannot prove. Ultimately, my biggest fear is how this “backwoods mentality”, this demand for “My Rights” as priority over the safety of fellow humans, an increasing vigilante presence in combination with paranoia over “approaching govn’t oppression/tyranny?” seems to be growing. I am more afraid of them now, than I am of encountering an Adam Lanza. Fear-bred hate is not a good combination. Thanks for sharing, Shannon, I thought I was only one who sees this side of pro-gunners. I had to deactivate my Twitter account due to the onslaught of hateful comments (100′s) I received after tweeting an innocuos statement re gun law reform.
The messages of the pro-gun folks should be displayed for all to see….the delusions, the threats of violence, the misogyny and racism. Once the general public realizes that they are the people buying weapons and ammunition with no oversight whatsoever, we may see some progress.
Yeah, one of the admins of that Hypocrisy site used his DoD security clearance to research the name and birthdate of my 4yo child, posted it on a large public site- and followed up with a map to my home posted on the same site. They’re a very sick bunch.
Lewis’s law – any article on women’s rights ,misogyny or feminism is validated by the comments that follow it. Proven once again
Guns have very little to do with all of this. As these comments make clear, these guys have a serious serious problem with women and feelings of inadequacy.
It is not unexpected that these men are incapable of conducting themselves in a debate without resorting to expletives and name calling. They simple don’t have the ability to argue their points civilly because there is no argument can justify their position. Just preaching the words, “The 2nd Amendment” gives any reader a forewarning that what comes next will be invectives and vulgarity. I applaud Shannon Watts for what she is doing. I support her. Our children and all citizens should be able to walk down the streets in our neighborhoods without the fear of being gunned down. Is this the 21st Century or are we heading back into a period of lawlessness and anarchy that was this country during the early 19th Century as territories were being inhabited and new states joining the Union?