this post was submitted on 01 Feb 2026

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148

Leftist and liberal gun groups are seeing an influx of new members (www.cnn.com)

submitted 13 hours ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/politics@lemmy.world

30 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Several niche, left-leaning gun advocacy groups said that since the killing of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis, they can hardly keep up with the surging demand for firearms training.

With Donald Trump sending armed federal agents into communities around the country, even more once gun-shy liberals and leftists are considering getting armed.

And while Americans tend to think of gun owners as leaning more Republican and male, already more women, gay people and people of color have taken up arms in recent years, particularly after 2020.

top 30 comments

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[–] daannii@lemmy.world 9 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

I think I'm going to ask my grandpa to teach me about guns and how to shoot. He's on a farm and has a gun for protecting his chickens.

Lucky for me, my grandpa hates Trump. He's always been democratic. So I think he will understand why I'm asking.

I'll probably get a rifle. Maybe if grandpa has an extra I'll just borrow it. Practice at a local range.

I feel like this is a skill I need now. Never thought I would unless I got my own farm and chickens.

Owning a gun isn't good enough on its own tho. I need to know how to use it. And how to be accurate with it. How to maintenance it.

But part of me is like. ... If I ask grandpa to teach me. I'm admitting something about this country and myself that I don't want to admit.

That I need to protect myself/others because bad armed people are coming for us. -Thats terrifying
That I am preparing to kill someone if need be. -equally terrifying.

There is a responsibility here that I'm not sure I'm ready to take on. But it's better to be prepared than not to be prepared.

[–] Seleni@lemmy.world 2 points 1 hour ago

They are terrifying things to admit to yourself. Hold on to that feeling, but train anyways. Because those thoughts will keep you from becoming like those republicans who gleefully wave their guns around and talk about shooting all the people they don’t like. And the training means you can protect yourself and others.

Guns are a tool that kills things, and so you never pick one up unless you intend to kill. But sometimes, regrettably, you have to.

[–] TubularTittyFrog@lemmy.world 12 points 10 hours ago (4 children)

i got my gun license. told some of my friends about it and now they are suspicous that i'm secretly right wing.

you can't win with this shit.

[–] nile_istic@lemmy.world 1 points 36 minutes ago

Something that may help is explaining that gun control policy originated as a means of disarming minorities, specifically black people.

Black Panthers in Oakland, CA would open carry and follow cops around whenever they came into black neighborhoods, in an attempt to curtail the rampant police brutality black people regularly endured. Naturally, a bunch of old white 2A-loving Republicans (including the fucking NRA) didn't like that, and altogether signed off on the Mulford Act, the first major gun control legislation in the country, supported by "2A advocates" (read, in this instance: racists) for the sole purpose of better allowing police to terrorize black citizens.

I was once pretty strongly anti-gun too (less for political reasons and more because I saw a guy get his chest blown out at work when I was in my early 20s), but the knowledge that the true intention underpinning gun control and anti-gun legislation has always been to disarm and weaken marginalized communities changed my mind.

Not sure it will help with your friends, but idk. Worth a try maybe.

[–] Formfiller@lemmy.world 7 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago)

Allowing the enemy to be the only group who is armed and trained is not very bright position your friends are taking. A lot of leftist are armed because we know that all these threats that the right keeps making towards us are serious

[–] bytesonbike@discuss.online 4 points 5 hours ago

Been a liberal gun owner for a decade. Once in a while, I go to a range and these numbnuts want to talk politics thinking I'm "on their side". Like no dude, I'm here to practice to protect myself from people like you!

[–] tidderuuf@lemmy.world 2 points 9 hours ago

That's okay. I live in a state where the main sponsor of banning assault weapons has gone out shooting the very same weapons.

[–] Rhoeri@piefed.world 8 points 10 hours ago

And this is why they now want gun control.

[+] ClassStruggle@lemmy.ml -19 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago) (4 children)

They'll buy a gun, do some basic training and never touch it again. Too bad they didn't find this urgency when it was only brown people being targeted.

[–] CannonFodder@lemmy.world 13 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Yup, better not to do anything at all now.

[–] agent_nycto@lemmy.world 7 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Dude shut up. It's never gonna be enough for you, is it? "Oh well they picked up some garbage on the side of the road but DIDN'T SOLVE GLOBAL WARMING SO THEY ARE LIB SHITS!"

Oh someone joined a left leaning gun group and might want to start getting more involved? "FUCKEM I'M GONNA GATE KEEP THE REVOLUTION THEY ARE POSEURS THEY SHOULD MAKE THEIR OWN GROUP!"

So sorry some people are new to this or changing their mind and not doing something big and dramatic that looks exciting enough for you, even if they suddenly changed their minds and agreed with you 100% that's not good enough they should've thought this way forever ago.

Freaking hamstringing your own movement because you hate the newbies? Don't want to do the boring long work of permanent change? Just want to sit back and think of a communist commune Israel but don't want to wash the dishes?

Let the people in, be welcoming, show them the ropes. Encourage people to practice with their gun instead of shitting on them. If you're already in these groups, you should want your numbers to grow, not be a gatekeeping twat.

Pull your head out of your ass.

[–] ClassStruggle@lemmy.ml -5 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Letting liberals into leftist spaces halts progress. We end up needing to fight with them more than whatever it is we are protesting. All the stuff liberals call leftist infighting is us fending off liberals trying to invade our spaces and control the situation. We do NOT want the same things. Liberals want reform, which does not work.

[–] agent_nycto@lemmy.world 7 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

If you believe in something, and want to fight for it, your first priority should be trying to convince other people it's a good idea. Your attitude does more harm than good; you're incapable of thinking people can change their mind, because you're incapable of changing yours.

It makes more sense to get people to like your idea than pushing them away, unless you think you're going to do it with force.

And alienating people means you wouldn't even be able to do that.

[–] ClassStruggle@lemmy.ml -1 points 2 hours ago

I'm not alienating anyone, i would be willing to work with their organizations, but not to invite them into leftist spaces so they can neutralize our movements.

[–] TubularTittyFrog@lemmy.world 11 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

that's the point of owning a gun dude. you're suppose to not want to touch it.

[–] ClassStruggle@lemmy.ml 0 points 8 hours ago

The idea is constant training so when you do use it muscle memory kicks in and not panic

[–] FartMaster69@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

Most of them will, but even a small percentage going on to get involved in leftist gun groups is still a win.

[+] ClassStruggle@lemmy.ml -9 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago) (3 children)

What I've discovered with liberals joining leftist spaces is they like to colonize the entire movement and neuter them. They should be welcome to work with us, but not in our spaces.

The Socialist Rifle Club is a prime example.

[–] tlekiteki@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

This is a legit concern. How do we stay radical and positive?

[–] FartMaster69@lemmy.dbzer0.com 15 points 11 hours ago (2 children)

When any group grows the diversity of thought within it will grow too bringing more perspectives.

[–] ShoeThrower@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

This is like saying libs should join the NRA or the Proud Boys. I'm sure they will appreciate your "diversity of thought".

It's not as if liberal or unaffiliated gun clubs don't already exist.

[–] antifa_ceo@lemmy.ml 4 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 59 minutes ago) (1 children)

I agree with ensuring not to subordinate leftist orgs to liberals BUT we must be open to them joining our spaces. How else are we going to bring our ideas to them? Many liberals just need a push in the right direction to seeing the web of evil that all comes from capitalism but they aren't going to get that as readily if we are actively turning them away. We have to be willing to meet people where they are at and educate them especially these people self selecting into more radical groups who are definitely more easily agitated into broader political engagement.

[–] ClassStruggle@lemmy.ml -4 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

We can work with them in their own organizations and share ideas and when they align closer to socialist/communist ideology then they can join us. Nearly 40 years of activism has taught me the Black Panther approach to organizing works best.

[–] antifa_ceo@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 hour ago

I fundamentally disagree with this as an effective tool for building a mass movement that is necessary for the change we want to foment. We cannot achieve these goals by beginning our fight as a fractured base - this is why political education is such an important part of the process in organizing new people into these movements. Not a single person raised in liberal society popped out of the womb as a leftist - every one of us had someone pull us into this fight in one way or another and kick start our development as political actors. As people able to do that for others now I see it as our duty to do so.