Saying that the right wants to exterminate trans people is not hyperbole. Republican bigotry has fueled an array of initiatives designed to drive trans people out of public life. But conservatives aren't content with turning trans people into fourth-class citizens. They want the public to see them as enemies of the state-as mentally ill savages pulling the country into the moral abyss. America's never-ending gun violence has become a useful tool in this effort.
The killing of Charlie Kirk and the manhunt that ended in the arrest of suspect Tyler Robinson have dominated the news media since the shooting unfolded live two weeks ago. Amid a tsunami of commentary on the killing, Destiny has maintained a steady stream of provocation, and has continued his Unf*ck America tour styled similarly to Kirk's campus debates. During a live appearance at Colorado State University that was streamed on Destiny's channels,
In the days following the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, the New York Post's coverage repeatedly cast transgender people as central to the violence, leaning on anonymous sources and unverified leaks from law enforcement, some of which Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and investigators have since contradicted. The effect has been to paint a target on a community already living under intensifying political scrutiny and cultural hostility.
Seconds prior to the shooting, Kirk was being asked about the number of trans people involved in mass shootings - a topic that has become a key conservative talking point since the recent Minneapolis shooting. "Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?" an audience member asked Kirk, in a video seen by PinkNews. "Too many," Charlie Kirk said in response.
"We know there's an outrageous, horrific rise in violence against women, sexual crimes and rape," she said. "Now there's the rise of incel culture and the likes of Andrew Tate pushing ideas of men's power and what they're entitled to. It's really sad that those pushing the anti-trans narrative don't realise that's exactly what they're playing into."
"I will hold the line," Mace said repeatedly, casting herself as a warrior against what she called "the gender cult," undocumented immigrants, and public colleges that acknowledge the existence of more than two genders.