Gun lobby groups encourage Asian American gun purchasing after Atlanta mass shooting

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Media Matters
@mmfa
Just days after eight people, including six Asian American women, were gunned down during a mass shooting, gun lobby organizations pivoted on social media to promoting increased gun ownership as the solution for vulnerable communities

Gun lobby groups encourage Asian American gun purchasing after Atlanta mass shooting
mediamatters.org
2:14 PM · Mar 23, 2021

https://www.mediamatters.org/national-rifle-association/gun-lobby-groups-encourage-asian-american-gun-purchasing-after-atlanta

Just days after eight people, including six Asian American women, were gunned down during a mass shooting, gun lobby organizations pivoted on social media to promoting increased gun ownership as the solution for vulnerable communities.

On March 16, a gunman opened fire in three different Atlanta-area spas. The suspect, who had reportedly visited two of the spas prior to the shooting, legally bought a firearm less than an hour before he allegedly carried out the massacre. The gunman was apprehended by police, who uncritically repeated his claims that the shooting was not racially motivated but was meant to eliminate temptation because he had an alleged sex addiction.

Two days later, on March 18, the National Rifle Association shared a Forbes article on Twitter about the supposed number of Asian Americans buying guns as hate crimes spike. (Because there is no national database of firearms purchases, the article mainly relies on anecdotal evidence from gun stores.)

The following day, pro-gun organization Gun Owners of America tweeted that Asian Americans should “buy a rifle” if they want to stop hate crimes.

While encouraging self-defense in the face of rising racially motivated violence is understandable, indiscriminately insisting more guns is the solution has deadly, usually unintended consequences and avoids the real issues inherent in the racist rhetoric that gun lobby organizations promote.

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