It’s not ‘wokeness’ hurting children, it’s guns, says firebrand presenter Matt Ford
(The Good Trouble Show/Screengrab)
A presenter has condemned pro-gun lawmakers for introducing legislation banning drag shows and not guns, following the latest mass shooting in Texas.
Matt Ford, the anchor of The Good Trouble Show, ripped into AR-15-supporting politicians following the shooting at a shopping centre in Allen at the weekend, which left eight people dead – including three young children.
So far this year, the Gun Violence Archive has recorded at least 208 mass shootings, defined as an incident in which four or more people are killed or injured.
The number of gun-violence deaths, including people taking their own lives, sits at more than 15,000. Of that number, 634 were children up to the age 17. A further 12,007 people were injured – 1,530 of them under the age of 17 – in the shootings.
But, while there has been no effective legislation introduced to reform gun ownership, drag shows have been painted as a threat to children, with Tennessee, Texas, Alabama and Florida, among a number of states advocating for anti-drag legislation.
Ford spoke about this misdirection of attention during his show on Sunday (May 7) and criticised pro-gun politicians who attack drag queens under the guise of protecting children, while letting the real danger go unchecked.
“When did it become OK to love our guns more than our children?” he asked.
“When did it become OK to elect lawmakers [who] send out Christmas cards of their children holding the same weapons that are used to murder our children.”
Matt Ford showed pictures of a Kentucky representative Thomas Massie and Colorado’s outspoken right-wing politician Lauren Boebert posing with their families while totting firearms.
In March, The Washington Post reported that Massie got into a brawl with Democrat Jamaal Bowman, who blamed Republicans for gun violence.
Maisie reportedly responded: “You know, there’s never been a school shooting in a school that allows teachers to carry.”
Ford continued his impassioned speech, asking: “Why are Republican lawmakers harassing ATF [the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives] agents trying to do their jobs? Why do Republicans place so much value in an AR-15 and so little value in our kids? What should you be concerned about as a parent?”
He went on to say: “It’s not wokeness and it’s not drag shows. It’s the f**king guns and the lawmakers who love them more than our kids.”
The Small Arms Survey – a Swiss-based research project – estimated that there were 390 million guns in circulation in the US in 2018.
Meanwhile, Republicans have launched a culture war against the LGBTQ+ community, against books and against Black history. At the heart of it has been Ron DeSantis, the hard-line Republican governor of Florida.
DeSantis was the driving force behind the “Don’t Say Gay” law which was expanded recently to prohibit teachers from addressing students with any pronoun that doesn’t correlate to their birth certificate.
As of February, there have been seven mass shootings in Florida, leaving 50 people dead or wounded, according to The Ledger.
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