Calls for trans persons to arm themselves along with shirts showing weapons and emblazoned with the words “protect trans kids” have been cited.
Democratic officials and leftist activists have been encouraging an apparent surge in trans violence across the nation, critics claim. One recurring element in discussions is apparel and stickers featuring the slogan "Protect Trans Kids," often paired with images of rifles, knives, or other weapons.
While some left-wing trans activists argue that such merchandise symbolizes a strong defense of transgender youth amid anti-child mutilation legislation, critics interpret them as implicit threats or calls to violence. Some of this merch also feature the lines, “Trans rights ... or else” paired with guns.
Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, a progressive democrat, was lambasted on social media Wednesday after a photo emerged of her wearing a "Protect Trans Kids" shirt, which included a tactical knife, in the wake of a mass shooting in her home state.
Claims of a "trans-terrorism" epidemic surged on social media this week after it was revealed that the suspect accused of carrying out a mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Wednesday identified as transgender, sparking debate about a trend of trans violence.
Robin Westman, 23, born as Robert Westman, gunned down two children, ages 8 and 10, and injured 18 others, some critically, as they attended Mass inside the school's Catholic Church.
Westman's massacre mirrors the actions of other transgender mass shooters in recent years. This includes Audrey Hale, a trans-identifying female who killed three children and three adults at Covenant Christian School in Nashville in 2023; Anderson Lee Aldrich, a nonbinary male who shot and killed five people at an LGBTQ club in Colorado Springs in 2022; and Snochia Mosely, a trans-identifying female who gunned down three colleagues at a warehouse in Maryland in 2018, among others.
After Wednesday's mass shooting, some trans leftist accounts celebrated the killing of the Catholic children on social media, claiming the act as necessary on allegations that "Republicans" are trying to commit "genocide" against the trans community.
https://twitter.com/MrAndyNgo/status/1960974876770230341
Journalist Andy Ngo, senior editor of The Post Millennial who has covered violence committed by trans individuals, reported that radicalized trans-identifying individuals and trans activists believe the shooting was “revenge against Christianity and the Trump administration for not allowing transitioning children, and defining sex as biological.”
In recent years, some left-wing activists have encouraged the trans community to bear arms, conducting weapons training and combat-style fighting events across the nation, paving the way for violence against their political targets.
In June, the Oregon newspaper "Eugene Weekly" featured a piece on a trans-identifying male, who was featured on the cover holding an automatic rifle, along with the caption: "As the Trump administration attacks trans people, some queer folks are armed and ready to bash back." The publication of the piece has garnered additional claims that the liberal media have also been encouraging trans violence. Additionally, corporate media often avoids mentioning when a suspect is trans, such as refusing to report that Wednesday's mass shooter was born a male, purposefully omitting key details.
Also in Oregon, many of those arrested for recent attacks on the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Portland identify as transgender or nonbinary, adding to the apparent trend.
https://twitter.com/KatieDaviscourt/status/1960159157090488329
As debates around trans violence intensify, some individuals have urged focusing on root causes, such as mental health support and a prohibition on mentally ill trans folks from possessing firearms, to prevent further tragedies.
https://twitter.com/MostlyPeacefull/status/1960752473347645950
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