Yesterday, several media outlets claimed or strongly implied that "transgender symbols" were found at the scene of the gun used by Charlie Kirk's shooter. This turned out to be false.
Of the 5729 mass shootings that have been committed since January 1st, 2013, only 5 have been committed by trans people. That is about 1/10th of 1%. 95.27% have been committed by cis-gender men. This is yet another attempt by conservative media to scapegoat trans people while deflecting attention away from the real issue, which is a proliferation of guns, and those guns ending up in the hands of radicalized men.
the adl has a breakdown of extremist attacks in the US, not quite the same, but it does show that most (over 75%) of them are perpetrated by the right. (it looks like the link is working again though)
The disgusting decline in journalistic standards is beyond the pale. Multiple mainstream outlets used terms like “transgenderism” and “gender ideology“ in their reporting yesterday - in the pages of actual journalism, mind you, not in the opinion and editorial sections.
These are vague terms created by right wing propagandists to brand trans people as illegitimate, the subjects of a radical ideology, rather than a pre-political way of being.
It’s almost as if at this point mainstream outlets have given up on fair and accurate reporting of trans issues and have just decided to launder right wing talking points about us as a substitute for real journalism.
Do we ever get to be trusted to be honest brokers about our own lives? Why must our experience constantly be filtered to others through people motivated by a virulent hatred against us? Whose lives matter in this country? The media has made it very clear that Charlie’s life mattered. Do any of ours?
Bless you, Erin. You’re not our only hope, but there are not a lot of others.
You’re so right! Literally as it happened Erin Burnett of CNN while interviewing people kept including the part that ck had just responded to a question about trans people. Completely omitting that his last response was about gang violence. Just trying to connect us in some way to violence. Attacking us is becoming increasingly vicious and coordinated. Many of the people bailing on us will be the maggots’ next targets. They won’t have my support when they need us if I’m around!
For much of the day, CNN’s “live updates” on their website front page led with “Charlie Kirk was answering a question about transgender mass shooters in America seconds before he was shot.” Presumably trying to imply that the shooter, I guess, had gotten into sniping position and then only fired because Kirk was talking about trans people?
Absolutely embarrassing and outrageous editorial choices by them.
Maybe it's time for class-action defamation lawsuits. Perhaps we could have a legal organization dedicated only to that purpose. All money collected could be "donated" by the class participants to mount further defamation lawsuits, to fund lobbying efforts, and to make campaign contributions to politicians who still support us. Fund all of this from all the hate we get.
The WSJ will not publish a retraction or an apology. They will identify the shooter, *maybe* include a note at the bottom of the article noting that there is no transgender connection, and leave it at that. Neutral or left-leaning outlets might be better, or they might not.
And none of that matters. The rumors have already accomplished their goal, and no amount of correction can undo that.
I wrote Governor Newsom (my governor) about his statement that people should honor Kirk by continuing his work. That work was based in large part upon attacking trans people. Considering that news outlets were falsely linking the shooter to trans activism, Newsom was irresponsible at best. It may have put trans people in further danger.
Personally, this whole situation stinks of a lot of Innuendo and Coverup! In my opinion and it’s starting to become more than just my opinion, that this was a inside job to get the most rabid MAGATS out for blood against our community! Kirk is being turned into a political martyr by the GOP that had him assassinated! Every Dictator has been guilty of this kind of behavior while consolidating their power and control over the country’s citizens! It’s only going to get worse from here on in…👿😡😢
I smell coverup also. The man had recently expressed his support for exposing the files. His death accomplishes one less strong voice supporting the release of files. His death stirs up the haters.
The WSJ needs to take out a front-page ad apologizing to the entire country for spreading vicious, hateful rumors that continue to divide our country. It's obvious they owe the trans community an apology, but they need to take more responsibility for their lazy, inflammatory "journalism.
They won't. They won't even admit we are human rights with equal civil rights and legal recognition under the constitution... they aren't about to extend such civility and humanity to non-human entities.
At this hour ABC still reports: "The spent cartridge was still chambered and three unspent cartridges contained wording on them expressing what some law enforcement officials described as "transgender and anti-fascist" writing, according to preliminary information shared with agencies."
This shit is so tiring. These people don't care about facts. They lie, stonefaced, and then tell you you're wrong when confronted with real sources. It's a type of frustration I've never experienced.
What's important about this is not so much the specifics as the indication of how important attacks on transgender people are to Republicans (and I use the word carefully - there is no need to speak directly of "fascists" or "ultrarightwing radicals", etc. because they are truly functionally indistinguishable).
I wrote some months ago that we were right behind immigrants in Stephen Miller's priority list, and I only see the evidence accumulating, not fading.
There is no simple answer, but we have to be prepared. The same sort of lawlessness that has been visited on immigrants can be expected, in one form or another.
If you've never watched it before, take an hour to watch "The Eternal Jew," available online, either with subtitles or dubbed in English. The narrative being spun against us is so similar to that spun against the Jews. The dump regime is setting us up just the way the hitler regime set up the Jews.
I don't think we are behind immigrants. I think we are a priority but one that will always be useful as a bete noir. They will jail and murder us but not exterminate us so they can use our ghosts to scare their base into compliance. They really do mean to exterminate all non-whites beginning with immigrants. They believe the collapse of labor markets will permit them to institute a digital serfdom upon the 99% which will generate trillions in profit for the ownership class. Removing the lowest rung of labor and destroying unions are key objectives as well as removing all human and civil rights from employment statutes.
It's easy to agree to disagree when you mainly agree... 😏 The American neo-Nazi party (which is really what they are) contains advocates for all that and more, and all of those viewpoints are represented by the Cabinet secretaries. I try to focus on the "core" themes, in part because action needs a target and a life in science and technology imparts that ever-present list of "action items" at the end of every meeting.
I do think there is a phenomenal dedication on the part of Miller and others to their fantasies of seeing LTBTQ, and trans in particular, people in cages like Kristi Klaus-Barbie Noem posed for in El Salvador. i think those people are emotionally motivated by their buried traumas that make them lash out in fierce anger at others instead of themselves. The Elon Musk crowd no doubt also has its traumas, but they've been transmuted into a singular pursuit of cash.
Ah well, come to Santa Cruz and we can enjoy a bottle of wine while it's still possible...
1. "Kristi Klaus Barbie Noem", lolol, made my day.
2. I love Santa Cruz and the lower peninsula. Great Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Don't get out that way as often as I once did, but many find memories. Much underappreciated compared to Sonoma and Napa.
Interesting how LGBTQ+ people are put on the defensive whenever there is a shooting even though the vast majority are committed by straight, white men!
I don't expect anything from them. They are who they are. It's the rich white liberals who caved and gave up their humanity because they thought it would give themselves more time that I can never forgive.
Thank you for reinforcing what is the truth of the matter. Sadly, Nancy Mace and The Righties will forever sing a different, ugly, bigoted, paranoic, hateful, destructive, dangerous song.
Of the 5729 mass shootings that have been committed since January 1st, 2013, only 5 have been committed by trans people. That is about 1/10th of 1%. 95.27% have been committed by cis-gender men. This is yet another attempt by conservative media to scapegoat trans people while deflecting attention away from the real issue, which is a proliferation of guns, and those guns ending up in the hands of radicalized men.
I'd like to share these stats more broadly. Do you happen to have sources?
Hi Flavia. Yes. The source is the Gun Violence Archive. https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/mass-shooting.
Oh substack seems to be trying to include the period in the link. If the link above doesn't work for you, try this: https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/mass-shooting
I don't see where it has those details on the shooters though
It looks like the link has been taken down. Do you have another source?
the adl has a breakdown of extremist attacks in the US, not quite the same, but it does show that most (over 75%) of them are perpetrated by the right. (it looks like the link is working again though)
Yes, the link is working, but I don't see the statistics on gender identity on the page that's linked
May I share this?
Absolutely! Please share.
I understand the stamp on the casing is “TRN”, which is the ammo manufacturer.
Five years from now there will still be people still talking about how it was “gender-ideology” instead of a gunshot that caused a death.
Doesn't that stand for TRump Naranja?
The disgusting decline in journalistic standards is beyond the pale. Multiple mainstream outlets used terms like “transgenderism” and “gender ideology“ in their reporting yesterday - in the pages of actual journalism, mind you, not in the opinion and editorial sections.
These are vague terms created by right wing propagandists to brand trans people as illegitimate, the subjects of a radical ideology, rather than a pre-political way of being.
It’s almost as if at this point mainstream outlets have given up on fair and accurate reporting of trans issues and have just decided to launder right wing talking points about us as a substitute for real journalism.
Do we ever get to be trusted to be honest brokers about our own lives? Why must our experience constantly be filtered to others through people motivated by a virulent hatred against us? Whose lives matter in this country? The media has made it very clear that Charlie’s life mattered. Do any of ours?
Bless you, Erin. You’re not our only hope, but there are not a lot of others.
You’re so right! Literally as it happened Erin Burnett of CNN while interviewing people kept including the part that ck had just responded to a question about trans people. Completely omitting that his last response was about gang violence. Just trying to connect us in some way to violence. Attacking us is becoming increasingly vicious and coordinated. Many of the people bailing on us will be the maggots’ next targets. They won’t have my support when they need us if I’m around!
Thank you so much for sharing the truth EITM!
For much of the day, CNN’s “live updates” on their website front page led with “Charlie Kirk was answering a question about transgender mass shooters in America seconds before he was shot.” Presumably trying to imply that the shooter, I guess, had gotten into sniping position and then only fired because Kirk was talking about trans people?
Absolutely embarrassing and outrageous editorial choices by them.
Maybe it's time for class-action defamation lawsuits. Perhaps we could have a legal organization dedicated only to that purpose. All money collected could be "donated" by the class participants to mount further defamation lawsuits, to fund lobbying efforts, and to make campaign contributions to politicians who still support us. Fund all of this from all the hate we get.
Yes!
The WSJ will not publish a retraction or an apology. They will identify the shooter, *maybe* include a note at the bottom of the article noting that there is no transgender connection, and leave it at that. Neutral or left-leaning outlets might be better, or they might not.
And none of that matters. The rumors have already accomplished their goal, and no amount of correction can undo that.
What neutral journalism outlets are left? Mother Jones and a handful of bloggers?
We are very much on our own.
I hope everyone is staying safe. I'm so scared for LGBTQ people in the US.
I wrote Governor Newsom (my governor) about his statement that people should honor Kirk by continuing his work. That work was based in large part upon attacking trans people. Considering that news outlets were falsely linking the shooter to trans activism, Newsom was irresponsible at best. It may have put trans people in further danger.
Personally, this whole situation stinks of a lot of Innuendo and Coverup! In my opinion and it’s starting to become more than just my opinion, that this was a inside job to get the most rabid MAGATS out for blood against our community! Kirk is being turned into a political martyr by the GOP that had him assassinated! Every Dictator has been guilty of this kind of behavior while consolidating their power and control over the country’s citizens! It’s only going to get worse from here on in…👿😡😢
I smell coverup also. The man had recently expressed his support for exposing the files. His death accomplishes one less strong voice supporting the release of files. His death stirs up the haters.
False. Flag.
The WSJ needs to take out a front-page ad apologizing to the entire country for spreading vicious, hateful rumors that continue to divide our country. It's obvious they owe the trans community an apology, but they need to take more responsibility for their lazy, inflammatory "journalism.
They won't. They won't even admit we are human rights with equal civil rights and legal recognition under the constitution... they aren't about to extend such civility and humanity to non-human entities.
At this hour ABC still reports: "The spent cartridge was still chambered and three unspent cartridges contained wording on them expressing what some law enforcement officials described as "transgender and anti-fascist" writing, according to preliminary information shared with agencies."
Read the Guardian-they ran this story yesterday as other news was touting Kirk as a saint. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/11/charlie-kirk-quotes-beliefs
Mainstream media is now the tool of the right. Do not give them any money!!!!
This shit is so tiring. These people don't care about facts. They lie, stonefaced, and then tell you you're wrong when confronted with real sources. It's a type of frustration I've never experienced.
What's important about this is not so much the specifics as the indication of how important attacks on transgender people are to Republicans (and I use the word carefully - there is no need to speak directly of "fascists" or "ultrarightwing radicals", etc. because they are truly functionally indistinguishable).
I wrote some months ago that we were right behind immigrants in Stephen Miller's priority list, and I only see the evidence accumulating, not fading.
https://jaynasheats.substack.com/p/its-past-midnight-what-should-transgender
There is no simple answer, but we have to be prepared. The same sort of lawlessness that has been visited on immigrants can be expected, in one form or another.
That's exactly what I fear. We're being set up.
If you've never watched it before, take an hour to watch "The Eternal Jew," available online, either with subtitles or dubbed in English. The narrative being spun against us is so similar to that spun against the Jews. The dump regime is setting us up just the way the hitler regime set up the Jews.
I don't think we are behind immigrants. I think we are a priority but one that will always be useful as a bete noir. They will jail and murder us but not exterminate us so they can use our ghosts to scare their base into compliance. They really do mean to exterminate all non-whites beginning with immigrants. They believe the collapse of labor markets will permit them to institute a digital serfdom upon the 99% which will generate trillions in profit for the ownership class. Removing the lowest rung of labor and destroying unions are key objectives as well as removing all human and civil rights from employment statutes.
It's easy to agree to disagree when you mainly agree... 😏 The American neo-Nazi party (which is really what they are) contains advocates for all that and more, and all of those viewpoints are represented by the Cabinet secretaries. I try to focus on the "core" themes, in part because action needs a target and a life in science and technology imparts that ever-present list of "action items" at the end of every meeting.
I do think there is a phenomenal dedication on the part of Miller and others to their fantasies of seeing LTBTQ, and trans in particular, people in cages like Kristi Klaus-Barbie Noem posed for in El Salvador. i think those people are emotionally motivated by their buried traumas that make them lash out in fierce anger at others instead of themselves. The Elon Musk crowd no doubt also has its traumas, but they've been transmuted into a singular pursuit of cash.
Ah well, come to Santa Cruz and we can enjoy a bottle of wine while it's still possible...
1. "Kristi Klaus Barbie Noem", lolol, made my day.
2. I love Santa Cruz and the lower peninsula. Great Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Don't get out that way as often as I once did, but many find memories. Much underappreciated compared to Sonoma and Napa.
Interesting how LGBTQ+ people are put on the defensive whenever there is a shooting even though the vast majority are committed by straight, white men!
Nobody wants to state the obvious about how 98% of mass shooter fatalities are caused by cisgender heterosexual White men.
Because those dudes have most of the guns and are entirely entitled to murder with them.
To tell the truth is to become a target on a rifle range as big as the world.
I don't expect anything from them. They are who they are. It's the rich white liberals who caved and gave up their humanity because they thought it would give themselves more time that I can never forgive.
Thank you for reinforcing what is the truth of the matter. Sadly, Nancy Mace and The Righties will forever sing a different, ugly, bigoted, paranoic, hateful, destructive, dangerous song.