(Daily Caller) Transgender gun owners, some of whom have armed themselves out of fear of a “genocide” of transgender people, have flocked to the 5,600-member r/transguns subreddit forum, sharing photos of themselves with rifles and tactical gear and discussing plans to defend themselves from “transphobia,” according to a Daily Caller News Foundation review of top posts and comments.
R/transguns users widely believe that transgender people are at a heightened risk of violent persecution and must be armed to defend themselves, according to the subreddit’s top posts. Their beliefs echo the rhetoric of trans activists, who frequently suggest transgender people are the victims of widespread violent persecution and are assaulted and killed because of their gender identity.
Some users even imagine scenarios in which their community is the target of organized political violence such as “genocide,” and strategize ways to engage in combat.
“If conflict has started, then evacuation is 10x more difficult, ask the victims of the Rwandan genocide,” one user commented in a thread about a potential conflict breaking out in the U.S. over the transgender issue. “Become a deterrent and get training on medical first aid knowledge as well as real firearms training, not just a conceal carry class but actually tactical training.”
One user was considering bringing a gun to an LGBT Pride event, citing fears of violence against transgender people.
“I’m very concerned about safety given what’s been going on in the news. I’m second-guessing going at all, but I’m trying not to let the fascists scare me into staying home,” the user wrote.
In one r/transguns thread, users discussed whether and how to “evacuate” in case of a “conflict” or an attempt to “eradicate transgenders.”
“With how easy it is for bad actors to access firearms here in Texas … as well as the mounting increases in violence against us, I’m finally at a point where I’m considering my options for self defense,” another user wrote in a post about concealed carry options.
In 2021, two people were killed in anti-transgender hate crimes, compared to three who were killed based on their racial or ethnic identity and one who was killed for being gay, according to the FBI. There were 385 total instances of hate crimes against transgender and gender nonconforming individuals in 2021, compared to 7,736 incidents on the basis or race, 1,690 on the basis of religion and 1,929 on the basis of sexual orientation.
The entire movement is steeped in paranoia and a sense of persecution,” Joseph Burgo, psychotherapist and vice director of Genspect, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “The argument for trans rights begins with a belief that trans people are a persecuted minority needing protection. Anyone who disagrees with the gender ideology driving the movement (‘trans women are women’) is denounced as a transphobe – someone who fears or hates trans people. State laws banning cross-sex hormones and surgery for minor children are framed as attempts to erase trans people from the face of the earth.”
“One useful approach to understanding this phenomenon is to look at how cults promote an us-vs-them sense of persecution in order to reinforce identification with the group,” he said. “Likewise, trans rights activism highlights supposed persecution by ‘transphobes’ in order to rally adherents everywhere to the cause.”
The narrative of transgender persecution has become increasingly popular and mainstream in recent years, with White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre claiming transgender people were “under attack” following the recent mass shooting at a Christian school by a transgender individual and transgender activists widely claiming their lives were in danger following the attack. Mainstream media outlets have portrayed bans on child sex change procedures as “anti-trans,” and numerous Democratic politicians have characterized these efforts as anti-trans attacks.
