In a September 2024 presidential election debate, Kamala Harris said, “Tim Walz and I are both gun owners.” Nationally, democrats are becoming gun owners at a higher rate than conservatives. To talk about spiking demand for gun ownership and gun education, especially among queer-centered self-defense organizations, guest host Matvei Mozhaev is joined by Youtuber, Tacticool Girlfriend.

They talk about what self defense and protection mean within marginalized communities in the US. Tacticool says that US gun culture is too driven by consumption, and not driven enough by safety, including environmental safety, and suicide prevention. And US gun culture needs to do a better job of normalizing different gun owners who aren’t the typical cisgender, heterosexual male. But we also have to be careful to not sensationalize queer people with guns. 

Instead of leaning into the power fantasy of gun ownership, Tacticool says she leans into the realism of gun ownership. That means focusing on safety and education, as well as understanding that self-defense means a lot of other things, from pepper spray to martial arts, and other non-lethal options. Tacticool says that in most cases, firearms aren’t a good option for protecting marginalized communities and that there are other things we can do to protect people, like having more affordable housing, healthcare, food, mental health support, etc.

Tacticool says that people who favor gun control are not facing the fact that guns aren’t going away. And it’s ideologically inconsistent to say that private citizens shouldn’t own guns meanwhile the state, military, and police, are allowed guns without a second thought. 

Tacticool Girlfriend is a trans woman of Afghan descent. She curates a YouTube channel about self-defense.

Featured image of a person wearing gun safety equipment via Pexels.

The post Beyond Firearms: Reimagining the Defense of Marginalized Communities appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.