Not the Threat You Think We Think It Is

And then there's this article in "Slate" - a publication I keep forgetting exists.   

One of the other tropes Big Left's message-bots come back to (again, whenever they're not trying to come and take your guns)?   "There's nothing that scares you gun-toting middle-aged white guys more than a [fill in the intersectional blank - black guy, gay woman, Native American drag singer, whatever]."  

And wouldn't you know it...:

Conservatives are terrified that people like me are buying guns now. Maybe they should be. https://t.co/Q2rLLvvaJx

— Slate (@Slate) February 11, 2026

Christina Cauterucci is a "queer" woman  in DC, and she's chosen to get strapped up because, inevitably, Trump:

In the shadow of Donald Trump’s second term in office, and amid the clear threat and increasing reality of political violence, some queer friends are learning to handle firearms, purchasing new weapons, or researching rifles for defense. Together, we talk through worst-case scenarios that would have seemed fantastical just months ago, imagining ourselves into a million futures that seem possible and unthinkable in equal measure.

Sometimes we don’t even have to imagine. Last month, Renée Nicole Good, a queer mother and poet, was shot to death by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis. Afterward, another agent dismissed her as “that lesbian bitch.” The message was not subtle. Her sexuality was deployed to justify her killing, casting her as a queer agitator who had been put in her place

If you would have told me 10 years ago that I would one day keep a handgun in my D.C. row house, I would have laughed in your face. If you would have told me five years ago that I might take reasonably seriously the possibility that a real-life scenario might someday incite me to use it, I would have called you insane. But the social and political conditions of American life are changing with alarming speed.

The line, inevitably, is that conservatives should be "terrified" because we're not the only ones with guns (although it turns out that in the article, the only people terrified of her gun are fellow DC liberals). 

And it's a big country.  You don't have to look long, especially on social media, to find someone who hates the idea of "People Not Like Me" with guns.   

Of course, if you go to a shooting range, you'll find actual gun owners are the most egalitarian people you'll never meet.  Responsible handling of dangerous stuff democratizes a room.   

And after spending a few Sunday afternoons over the years working the booth for a gun rights group at the "Pride" festival in the Twin Cities, I had quite a few great conversations with gay guys about their preferred carry rigs.  Turns out that while neither Minnesota nor any other state tracks the sexual orientation of carry permittees, there's anecdotal evidence that gay men have more carry permits per capita than us straight guys do.  

And the vast majority of us say "let a thousand lights shine". 

So, when Slate and Ms. Cauterucci say I should be terrified that a lesbian owns a gun?   That's not a problem.  

But there are two things that just might terrify me.  

The first?  Irresponsible behavior with guns.  Back to Ms. Cauterucci, who describes a bunch of guests at a child's birthday party at her house, finding her gun:

To be perfectly honest, I’d forgotten I had the gun. Ever since my wife and I moved into a place with more closet space, we rarely used the storage capacity of the coffee table. I was reminded of the firearm in my living room only when someone brought up the topic of recreational gun use—which, in our queer, left-leaning urban social circles, was next to never.

But there I was, facing a crowd of these wide-eyed friends, who were politely dabbing the seltzer off my gun. They were clearly shocked. I choked out some nervous laughter and assured them that the case was locked, the gun inside had another padlock, both keys were hidden, and I had no ammunition in the house. I then explained why I owned the gun, which I will also share with you shortly, and everyone made a few jokes at my expense. They finished cleaning up the mess and got back to watching their kids ruin my house.

I'm a little terrified about this - on Ms. Cauterucci's behalf.  She's worried about guys in red caps bursting into her DC row house screaming "This is MAGA country!", and she's going to respond with a double-cased pistol with no ammunition?   She might be better off throwing the case at them.  

The other thing that's "terrifying?"

So - remember way back above where I dropped that quote from the Miranda warning?

Suppose, God forbid, that one of those "Queer-hating MAGA terrorists" burst into Ms. Cauterucci's house, clearly intending to rid the world of two "queer" women, because...reasons, I guess.   He's carrying a meat cleaver, he's bellowing "Boy, Howdy, do I hate queer women", and he's moving toward her.   

And this time, Ms. Cauterucci's got ammunition and the gun is out of the case; she shoots the "MAGA terrorist" once.  He falls over dead.   

The police arrive.  Someone's dead, so the shooter is arrested.  She lawyers up, the DC Attorney charges her with homicide and she pleads self-defense.   

The threat to her life was real and immediate.  There was no place to retreat to.   She used only the force needed to stop the attack.  So far, so good. 

But then the prosecutor brings up the article, entitled "Conservatives are terrified that people like me are buying guns now.  Maybe they should be."   That might be enough for the prosecutor to convince the jury that she was hoping for the chance to shoot a MAGA.  

Self-defense claims have gotten scuppered over this sort of thing.  It's why smart gun owners say "the first rule of armed self-defense is 'you never talk about armed self-defense'".  

And it seems even Slate realized that the title might not have been a good idea: 

Slate quietly changed this headline where they threatened conservatives that they will be kiIIed

The internet is forever

We know what they meant. pic.twitter.com/RdbJy0rcvY

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) February 15, 2026

So no - the fact that Ms. Cauterucci owns a gun doesn't "terrify" me. 

I just hope she gets a lot smarter about it.