Last September, Ríhanna Kelver was standing outside the Crowbar & Grill in Laramie, Wyoming, preparing to start her bartending shift, when she noticed a group of men across the street. One of them was shouting in her direction, and Kelver heard several homophobic and transphobic slurs as he began approaching her. Moments later, according to court testimony and surveillance footage, the man shoved Kelver to the ground hard enough to injure her tailbone.

Kelver responded by drawing a pistol from her bag, chambering a round, and pointing the weapon at the man who had pushed her. She kept the safety on and never fired. The man and his companions retreated.

Today, Kelver, a 28-year-old trans woman, faces two felony charges—aggravated assault and possession of a deadly weapon with unlawful intent—which could carry up to 15 years in prison. The man who shoved Kelver and who allegedly initiated the confrontation, known only as “S. Durham,” has not been charged.

  • SupraMario@lemmy.world
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    8 days ago

    And this is why you don’t want a “mental illness” check for owning a firearm. They would absolutely label all LGBTQ+ people “mentally ill” and bar them from owning a firearm. It’s also why a national registry is how you allow criminals to keep their firearms and make a list of all LGBTQ+ people who would own firearms…that list should never exist.

    An armed minority is harder to oppress.

    • discocactus@lemmy.world
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      8 days ago

      And if you don’t think they’ve already set the stage for the same maneuver with Democrats in general you’re living under a rock. They don’t want civil war two, they want another Rwanda.

    • ghen@sh.itjust.works
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      8 days ago

      That’s such a silly argument. You want to stop good legislation just because someone might use it wrong. Let me point out the entirety of government to you I guess?

      • SupraMario@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        That’s not good legislation, not even close. You’re logic is saying your ok with the current regime to dictate who is labeled mentally ill or not.

        • ghen@sh.itjust.works
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          8 days ago

          No, I’m not saying that. What I am saying is that it doesn’t matter what the law says the current regime will twist it to their will. Not putting out gun restrictions just because you think that they will use it poorly is denying the fact that they use any law poorly.

          • SupraMario@lemmy.world
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            7 days ago

            And putting in terrible laws doesn’t make a terrible law good because it’s got “gun control” stamped on it.