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So we are getting some interest from people who are seeing things heating up out there and deciding to get armed and trained. The desire to do so is very understandable, and we can help people in the Atlanta metro area
although with the pandemic, it’s probably going to be on a more limited basis. Here’s a thread with some things to keep in mind.
We believe that workers have a right to defend themselves and their communities.
We believe that workers have a right to defend themselves and their communities.
There are issues doing so in this country that carry additional burdens on low income people, people of color, leftist activists, and generally anyone who has a marginalized identity. The first is the cost of a firearm and its accessories and ammunition can be prohibitively
expensive to anyone in a precarious financial position. Our members generally waive any costs associated with attending chapter range days, and insofar as is legally possible, we will try to help cover costs for comrades seeking training who cannot otherwise afford it.
Secondly, anyone with a criminal record that includes a felony cannot legally possess firearms or ammunition, and other lesser offenses may prohibit them from being able to carry a firearm legally in jurisdictions where concealed carry permits are available to most other people.
This obviously impacts BIPOC especially, as they are over-policed, and things that would otherwise be considered “youthful transgressions” by our so-called “justice system” if these same acts were done by well-to-do white people are turned into felonies in a punitive and
disparate manner, thus depriving them of many rights, but in this case, we are being specific about making it impossible to possess some of the most effective tools for self-defense.
Thirdly, if someone does point a gun at someone or even shoot a person in justifiable
Thirdly, if someone does point a gun at someone or even shoot a person in justifiable
self-defense, they now have to deal with the “criminal justice” system. This requires either a great deal of money to hire an effective defense lawyer, or relying on a likely overworked and probably inadequate public defender. There is also a fact that police responding to a
shooting will probably give far less credence to the self defense narrative of someone who has a marginalized identity, or is known to the police as a leftist of almost any stripe, and they can expect to receive less favorable treatment than we see militia members or fascist
gangs are getting. These police are typically the ones responsible for writing the first report that a prosecutor’s office will see, as well as gathering any evidence at the scene of the shooting. A biased police report and/or inadequate investigation of a self defense incident
can obviously have severely negative consequences for a prosecutor’s decision to charge someone after a self defense shooting, and depending on the area that the shooting took place in, it may be very likely to have a biased jury who will not relate to the now-defendant.
Fourthly, having any kind of marginalized identity, or simply being in poverty is STRESSFUL. Those stressors can lead to a significantly greater incidence of self harm, substance abuse, or mental health issues. Dealing with those issues, if they are not well controlled
and then proceeding to add firearms into this mix can be incredibly dangerous, and we would counsel those seeking to arm themselves to try and honesty assess if these things are factors in their lives, or issues for members of their family, household, or their significant others.
All these things also make the chances of having a positive encounter with the “justice” system worse, and they can make a person a less sympathetic party in the eyes of a jury in any kind of court case, but this is especially impactful in a case that involves self defense
by injuring or taking the life of an assailant.
As SRA members, and as representatives of the North Georgia chapter, we try to be sensitive to these issues, and we wish to be a space where people who are not welcome in mainstream gun culture can learn firearms without having
As SRA members, and as representatives of the North Georgia chapter, we try to be sensitive to these issues, and we wish to be a space where people who are not welcome in mainstream gun culture can learn firearms without having
to deal with the racist, reactionary, or overtly fascist elements of mainstream gun culture. We will also try to work with you and try as best we can to mitigate the additional complicating factors that face gun owners that which are largely unaddressed by mainstream gun culture.
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