🌴🔫 Trump & NRA Stay Winnah, We Get Chance Fo’ Blame 🔫🌴

Da first time we wen know he stay coming, was wen da lady wit da red, white, and blue tight pants and “U.S.A.” earrings wen make plenny noise. Thousands oddahs stay waiting hours fo’ get one seat at da NRA’s annual Leadership Forum on Friday, and everybody stay looking da stage wen Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.” wen play loud on top da speakers.

Den, Trump wen show up and tell dem all da tings dey like hear. “Wit me at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, nobody going touch your guns,” da former President Trump wen say, and everybody stay clapping. “Dey like take away your guns, let da criminals out of jail, and send ’em fo’ live in your neighborhood.”

Fo’ sit down and listen to Trump, like how I wen force myself fo’ do in Indianapolis, sitting wit all his supporters and NRA members, you going tink he no mo’ connection to da real world.

📊 Polls show plenny Americans, especially da ones who save their patriotic outfits fo’ da Fourth of July, like mo’ gun control. Gallup wen do one poll dat shows people no like how easy fo’ get guns, and dat number stay da highest in ova 20 years – and dat was before da mass shootings in Tennessee and Kentucky.

So, you tink any politician who like support da kine policies wea you can carry any kine gun, any wea, any time going lose, especially if dey like be president.

But den, as I wen listen to Trump – and da oddah politicians who wen talk before him – I wen start fo’ tink maybe he stay right wit his political calculations. Cuz da NRA not only no lose, but dey stay winning. In fact, maybe dey wen win already, no mattah wat da polls say.

Why I tink dis kine stuff?

No because of da pilikia I wen hear NRA Chief Executive Wayne LaPierre say last week, like da Founding Fathers wen make da 2nd Amendment so from da day you born, Americans get da “God-given right” fo’ carry one gun fo’ protect demself, and nobody can take ’em away.

No even because, like former Vice President Mike Pence wen tell da NRA peeps, “freedom stay undah attack,” and Americans no like let da government take their guns. I no going tell you ’bout da peeps I know who stay tink dis so strong dat dey wen bury boxes of semiautomatic rifles and bullets in their backyards.

I tink dis cuz of all da tings I wen see and hear in liberal California ova da past few years – and how similar stay to wat I wen see and hear at da NRA convention in da conservative state of Indiana last week.

Da last three years stay da most profitable in modern history fo’ gun makers, even dough da country stay dealing wit mass shooting aftah mass shooting. In 2020, wit all da worry ’bout da pandemic, sales to new gun ownahs wen hit one all-time high of 21 million, according to da trade group National Shooting Sports Foundation, who stay track applications fo’ background checks. In 2021, da industry wen have da second-biggest year wit sales of 18.5 million. Last year, sales wen go down to 16.4 million, but still stay mo’ than da 13 million sold in 2019.

Even California, wit all our progressive politics and strict gun laws, no stay immune to dis trend. You remembah da line outside da Martin B. Retting gunshop in Culver City dat wen go ’round da block in 2020? According to researchers at UC Davis, 110,000 peeps in da state wen buy one gun cuz of da pandemic dat year — ’round 47,000 of dem was first-time ownahs.

Now, we get mo’ guns den peeps in dis country. And we still buying mo’.

🚫 No mattah wat da NRA say ’bout needing guns fo’ fight one bad government, living in one place wea get plenny guns no stay safe fo’ nobody. Like da studies show, and like how da old-fashioned common sense go tell you, mo’ guns only mean mo’ guns goin’ get stolen and mo’ peeps goin’ get shot, on purpose or by accident.

No surprise den dat da numbah of peeps who wen die cuz of guns, by homicide or suicide, wen reach record high in 2021, up 23% from 2019, before da pandemic and before we wen get all these guns ’round.

But get da data, and get da feelings. And feel like da only one without one gun in one place wea get plenny guns no stay safe eithah.

So, 29% of Americans wen buy one gun fo’ protect demself or their ohana from gun violence, according to one recent survey from da Kaiser Family Foundation. Oddah 40% of Americans wen take one gun safety course or wen practice shooting. 🎯

I stay part of da latta group, and I wen meet plenny peeps from da oddah group in Los Angeles and Indianapolis. Patrice Johnson, one of da few Black peeps I wen see checking out da rifles and da bins of bullets at da NRA convention, wen tell me she carry one gun fo’ self-defense. As founder of one motorcycle club, she wen see mo’ guys in cars and on motorcycles try fo’ attack da female riders, sometimes by trying fo’ run ’em off da road. “I carry ’em on my person,” she wen tell me, tapping her hip.

One middle-aged wahine named Lynne wen tell me she get one double-pump shotgun wit one extended clip behind her front door fo’ home defense. She also wen buy one fo’ her 92-year-old maddah.

One of my Uber drivers wen tell me dat she carry one gun in her car wen she drive at night. Her husband wen buy her pepper spray and one taser, but she nevah feel like dat stay enough.

Charles Harrison, one pastor at Barnes United Methodist Church, stay doing crime intervention work fo’ almost 25 years as president of da Indianapolis Ten Point Coalition. Wen I wen live hea, I wen go wit him from neighborhood to neighborhood, trying fo’ stop teenagers from doing revenge gang shootings.

Nowadays, most of da 10-year-olds he stay see get guns, not only da teens. Adults stay so scared dat some in his congregation wen start fo’ carry guns in their purses and undah their suit jackets to church on Sundays.

Dey tell ‘um, “Pastor, we know dat you stay fo’ dis nonviolence and dat you stay out dea in da streets, trying fo’ keep da peace. But Pastor, I gotta protect myself.”

I like note dat Indiana’s governor, Eric Holcomb, wen sign one bill last year dat wen take away da license requirement fo’ one handgun, so most Hoosiers 18 and oldah can carry one in public without evah getting one background check. Dis scary idea, called “constitutional carry,” stay da law now in ’bout 25 states.

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NOW IN ENGLISH

🌴🔫 Trump & NRA Keep Winning, and We’re Partly to Blame 🔫🌴

The first indication he was coming was when a middle-aged woman in skintight red, white, and blue pants and “U.S.A.” earrings squealed. Like thousands of others who had waited hours in line for a seat at the NRA’s annual Leadership Forum on Friday, everyone was looking at the stage as Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.” played loudly through the speakers.

Then, Trump appeared and told them everything they wanted to hear. “With me at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, no one will touch your guns,” former President Trump said, and everyone applauded. “They want to take away your guns, release criminals from jail, and send them to live in your neighborhoods.”

To sit down and listen to Trump, as I forced myself to do in Indianapolis among his supporters and NRA members, you would think he has no connection to reality.

📊 Polls show many Americans, especially those who save their patriotic outfits for the Fourth of July, support more gun control. A recent Gallup poll found that dissatisfaction with the ease of obtaining guns is the highest it’s been in over 20 years – and that was before the mass shootings in Tennessee and Kentucky.

So, you would think any politician who supports policies allowing anyone to carry any type of gun, anywhere, anytime would lose, especially if they want to be president.

But then, as I listened to Trump – and the other politicians who spoke before him – I started to think maybe he is right with his political calculations. Because the NRA isn’t just avoiding defeat; they’re winning. In fact, they might have already won, regardless of what the polls say.

Why do I think this?

Not because of the nonsense I heard NRA Chief Executive Wayne LaPierre say last week, like the Founding Fathers created the 2nd Amendment so that from the day you’re born, Americans have the “God-given right” to carry a gun for self-defense that cannot be taken away.

Nor is it because, as former Vice President Mike Pence told the NRA crowd, “freedom is under attack,” and Americans are determined not to let the government take their guns. I won’t tell you about the people I know who think this so strongly that they’ve buried boxes of semiautomatic rifles and ammunition in their backyards.

I think this because of what I’ve seen and heard in liberal California over the past few years – and how similar it is to what I saw and heard at the NRA convention in the conservative state of Indiana last week.

The past three years have been the most profitable in modern history for gun manufacturers, even as the country has been plagued by mass shooting after mass shooting. In 2020, with widespread unease over the pandemic, sales to new gun owners hit an all-time high of 21 million, according to the trade group National Shooting Sports Foundation, which tracks applications for background checks. In 2021, the industry recorded its second-biggest year with sales of 18.5 million. Last year, sales fell to 16.4 million, but that’s still more than the 13 million sold in 2019.🎯

Even California, with its progressive politics and strict gun laws, was not exempt from this trend. Remember the line outside the Martin B. Retting gunshop in Culver City that snaked around the block in 2020? According to researchers at UC Davis, 110,000 people in the state bought a gun in response to the pandemic that year – roughly 47,000 of whom were first-time owners.

We now have more guns than people in this country. And we’re still buying more.

🚫 Despite the NRA’s insistence that we need guns to protect ourselves from a tyrannical government, living in a heavily armed society isn’t safe for anyone. Studies and common sense show that more guns mean more thefts and more people getting shot, both intentionally and accidentally.

It’s not surprising that deaths from firearms, both homicides and, more often, suicides, reached a record high in 2021, up 23% from 2019, before the pandemic and the influx of guns.

But there’s a difference between data and feelings. Feeling like the only one without a gun in a heavily armed society doesn’t seem safe either.

As a result, 29% of Americans have bought a gun to protect themselves or their families from gun violence, according to a recent survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Another 40% of Americans have taken a gun safety course or practiced shooting.

I’m in the latter group, and I’ve met plenty of people in the former group in Los Angeles and Indianapolis. People shared their reasons for carrying a gun, such as self-defense, protection from assault, or home defense.

Charles Harrison, a pastor at Barnes United Methodist Church, has been doing crime intervention work for almost 25 years. He mentioned that some members of his congregation have started carrying guns to church on Sundays because they feel the need to protect themselves.

In about 25 states, “constitutional carry” laws now allow most people 18 and older to carry a handgun in public without a background check, thanks in large part to the NRA.

However, the ability to carry a gun hasn’t made people feel less afraid of being victims of gun violence. Fear is real here, even if the data don’t always justify people’s feelings.

Of course, this was the NRA’s grand plan all along, arming America to the teeth. It’s a lobbying organization for gun manufacturers, after all. Beneath the patriotism lies naked greed.

Most Americans probably know this by now. We didn’t have to follow the NRA’s grand plan. LaPierre didn’t force us to buy more guns, and Republicans didn’t make people carry sidearms to the mall like we’re in an old western.

Sure, the NRA has made it easier to do all this. But we can’t blame the gun lobby for the number of people in coastal California who are rushing to capitalize on last year’s Supreme Court ruling that made it easier to get a concealed carry license before state lawmakers can close the loophole.

We made these choices. Now it appears we’re stuck in a “doom loop,” where the sheer number of guns owned by Americans and the violence they cause prompts more Americans to buy guns, leading to more violence and death.

As much as I applaud Gov. Gavin Newsom for taking on the NRA and its political lackeys in his so-called Campaign for Democracy, we’ll have to fix much of this ourselves. We need to break our addiction to guns.

We can’t just focus on the proliferation of assault-style rifles, though they do need to go. Mass shootings account for only a small fraction of all gun violence each year. Far more people die from handguns – the very guns Americans have been stockpiling for the last three years – and the victims are often Black and brown people who are increasingly getting lost in the partisan battle over firearms.

While Trump was ranting and convention attendees were browsing booths of AR-15s downtown, at least three people were shot to death, and two were injured in two predominantly Black neighborhoods of Indianapolis.

“We’re beyond trying to get guns off the street. There are too many of them out there,” one person told me. “All you can do is be prepared to protect yourself and be aware of your surroundings.”