For National Trans Day of Visibility, I shared a meme on my personal social media featuring an older woman, “Aunty Fa,” wearing trans pride colors and holding an assault rifle with the message: “Protect trans folks against fascists and bigots.”
The meme is a nod to a cause I have long supported: Armed self defense for the LGTBQ community. Queer and trans people are disproportionately victims of violence, targeted because of their sexuality and gender expression, including in Wyoming.
Members of the LGBTQ community and their allies depend on Second Amendment rights for protection. Some even organize armed groups to ensure that events like drag shows and Pride parades can proceed without fear of violence. Last year, 31 members of a white nationalist militia were arrested for conspiracy to attack a Pride parade in Idaho, including two Wyoming residents.
The meme I shared acknowledges the sad truth that LGBTQ people and their allies need protection, but luckily in the United States we have the Second Amendment for just that purpose. Hence the message: Protect trans folks.
Shortly after I posted the meme, the Wyoming Freedom Caucus shared it with its national partners and claimed that it was an attempt to incite violence, since the week before a trans person had been the perpetrator of a mass shooting in Tennessee.
Defenders of the Second Amendment, including the Freedom Caucus, have for decades pointed out the clear difference between using guns for mass shootings and using them for self defense. I respectfully encourage my colleagues in the Legislature to remember these conversations, and to remember their response when anti-gun groups tried to use tragic mass shootings to paint all gun owners as violent.
I support the Second Amendment. I co-sponsored successful legislation this year to give non-violent felons their gun rights back. I do not wish violence on anyone, but I believe that Americans have the right to defend themselves and their communities—and that right extends to all of us.
That said, I apologize for failing to recognize the potential impact of my actions on social media, which have contributed to inflammatory and distracting online discourse. Especially in these divisive times, we must always maintain focus on working toward collaborative solutions to the problems facing our state and its residents. [Representative Karlee Provenza]And:
A social media post from Gov. Katie Hobbs' spokesperson suggesting the use of violence against those who disparage transgender people has prompted a backlash and calls for the governor to take action. Hobbs spokesperson Josselyn Berry late Monday posted an image on Twitter from the 1980 movie "Gloria," showing a woman with a handgun in each hand. "Us when we see transphobes," Berry wrote in an accompanying post that followed a prior message. The post was made hours after a mass killing at a Nashville school where the shooter was identified by law enforcement authorities as a transgender person. [AZ Central]
Kyle Rittenhouse says that he empathizes with Trump because he was also persecuted. Ted Nugent, who just spoke at Trump’s last rally, then claims that Michelle Obama is really a man and the Obama kids are adopted. pic.twitter.com/PKIl7GHCuu
— Ron Filipkowski 🇺🇦 (@RonFilipkowski) April 1, 2023
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