The cowards that have power refuse to end it, save thoughts and prayers

Politicians should not be allowed to accept monies from the gun lobby or other questionnable players

By: Nicole Lashomb* TRT Editor-in-Chief

ince claiming the lives of 49 members of the LGBTQ+ community in the nation’s largest mass shooting at the 2016 Pulse Orlando nightclub massacre, they have climbed consistently year after year. It’s safe to say that these rampant acts of violence will not diminish so long as we are sitting ducks incapable of action or unwilling to pass legislation, especially legislation against the most deadly and most commonly used mass shooting weapon being discharged, the AR-15. Just last month, 19 children and 2 teachers were mercilessly gunned down at a Uvalde, Texas Elementary school, where the shooter unleashed rapid fire from an AR-15, again.

As analysts and some pundits try to explain away how this could happen, how mentally disturbed this person was, how he clearly needed mental health assistance, I pose another layer to it. Doesn’t anyone who would choose to outwardly murder another human suffer from some sort of mental health issue? It’s safe to say that no one who kills in cold blood is mentally healthy — no one. Societally, why is there such sympathy for shooters and not for the victims and their families who’ve succumbed to these mass acts of murder? Likewise, those that are mostly focused on solely accessing mental health services, and not curbing gun access, are only addressing one side of the double-edged sword. Firearms were involved in 53% of suicides. If mental health is the primary focus of particular politicians, it cannot be addressed with out severing the head of the snake as well. Two words — gun lobby, AKA the NRA.

EVEN THE STRONGEST STATE SYSTEM CAN’T PROTECT FROM NEIGHBORING STATES’ WEAK LAWS. THERE IS NO STATE “BORDER PATROL” TO ENSURE GUNS DO NOT CROSS BORDERS.

It’s well known that the United States is one of the countries with the greatest number of gun deaths in the world and has been for a number of years. It is also the country with the largest and most lucrative gun lobby, buying off politicians for supporting “the more guns, the merrier” philosophy. Leaving the issue to the states is and should not continue to be an option. State legislatures have already proven their incompetence to legislate on the behalf and betterment of the American people. If there are not federal gun laws established, states’ rights are also infringed upon. Massachusetts has some of the toughest gun laws in the country but that does not prevent individuals from crossing state lines to obtain one they otherwise wouldn’t be able to obtain in their home state. Even the most stringent gun laws in one state cannot protect their residents from neighboring states’ weak gun laws.

According to the CDC, there were more than 45,000 gun-related deaths, which equates to approximately 124 deaths per day, the highest number of firearm deaths ever recorded in the country.

It should come as no surprise. States with more lenient gun laws also have higher rates of mass shootings when compared to their counterparts.

In 2020, firearms were involved in

stroke on sexuality in LGBTQI+ stroke survivors, partners; exclusive TRT report

have these so called uncomfortable conversations.

Q: In your study, if the number of respondents are vastly Australian and British, but not as many American, will the results then be skewed as each country’s perspective of members of the LGBTQIA+ community and how to treat them medically varies based on geographical location and cultural norms? Can you apply general results of the main populations to other countries who may not have as many participants?

A: This is a good point and you’re right – we know that experiences of stroke, experiences of rehabilitation and experiences of sexuality will vary by country. But, we also know that in each of these countries there are clinical guidelines, which provide recommendations for the provision of stroke rehabilitation based on best available evidence. These guidelines all make recommendations that stroke survivors should have the opportunity to receive information and ask questions about sexuality – regardless of sexual orientation. We also know from previous research that stroke rehabilitation professionals in all of these countries often fail to address sexuality

– in fact earlier research shows us only 23% of professionals ever ask questions about sexuality. So, while there will naturally be variations in people’s experiences, we anticipate that the findings will be relevant in other contexts.

Q: Is the study seeking participants who come from all races, ethnicities, backgrounds, etc.? Please explain.

A: We are open to participants from different backgrounds, however they must identify as LGBTQI+ and have experienced a stroke or be the partner of a stroke survivor, reside within USA, UK, Canada, New Zealand or Australia and speak English.

Q: Will the study be conducted in one or more languages?

A: All participants will have to be fluent in English, as our research team does not speak any other languages. However, persons with aphasia or other communication impairments are encouraged to participate as we have a speech pathologist on the research team who can assist with these interviews.

Q: Are you partnering with other clinics, hospitals, etc. in the United States for the study? If yes, who are your U.S. partners? If not, why did you decide not to partner with medical institutions for it?

A: This has been spoken amongst the research team and due to there being no existing data on this topic we decided to approach any organisation that identifies as LGBTQI+ or related to stroke to try recruit first, and not actively partnering with any one organization.

Q: When you say that you hope the research can amplify the voices of LGBTQI+ stroke survivors in a medical setting, what do you specifically mean by it?

A: Because the LGBTQI+ community can have different experiences, approaches and meanings to health care, we need to be able to understand their experiences of stroke and its impact to be able to develop more inclusive materials that touches on this subject. For example, you may give someone who identifies as a man a flyer on erectile dysfunction, but the flyer would not necessarily be appropriate for someone who identifies as a transgender man and will not provide the knowledge they need around sexual issues pertain-

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79 percent of all homicides.

Even the strongest state system can’t protect from neighboring states’ weak laws. There is no state “border patrol” to ensure guns do not cross borders.

As matter of fact, out of all guns showing up at crime scenes after crossing state lines, “four out of five come from states that lack good background check laws. That’s how northeastern states with strong laws ended up victims of the infamous ‘iron pipeline,’ the route traffickers use to bring guns up from southeastern states with weak laws,” the research branch of Everytown for Gun Safety (EFGS) found.

According to EFGS, “When we compare the states head-to-head on the top 50 gun safety policies, a clear pattern emerges. States with strong laws see less gun violence. Indeed, the “13 states that have failed to put basic protections into place — ‘national fai-

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