Florida Native Laura Jane Grace Calls For Tighter Gun Control Following Orlando Shootings

Nina Westervelt

Florida Native Laura Jane Grace Calls For Tighter Gun Control Following Orlando Shootings

Nina Westervelt

This past weekend, Orlando suffered the worst mass shooting in American history. And even before that, in the very same city, The Voice singer Christina Grimmie was murdered at her own show. Both killings, completely unconnected, were done with guns, and both were in nightclubs. As a visibly out trans person, Against Me! frontwoman Laura Jane Grace, a Florida native, has more to fear from these nightclub shootings than most. And talking to Rolling Stone recently, she joined the many, many people calling for stricter gun control laws in the wake of these murders.

Talking to the magazine, she said:

[Guns] were such a part of the culture growing up. Same people who are telling you, “Oh the government is trying to take away our guns,” are living in extremes where it’s like, “Don’t you think this is fucking a little bit out of control that they have that fucking access to weapons?” And for what?

At the same time, she hopes the culture surrounding live shows won’t change too much:

In a show environment, you’re putting so much trust on everyone — venue, audience, everything. But it can’t change. The only alternative to not doing shows, or having events or places like that, the idea of heightened security, of metal detectors or body scans before you can go into a place like that to enjoy yourself just seems so fucking New World Order and crazy to me, too. I don’t know what the solution is, other than gun control, frankly. It’s insane.

Knowing the way this country works, though, we’ll see live shows banned completely before we see the slightest advancement in gun control.

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