OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
The spokeswoman for Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs is facing major backlash after posting a tweet on Monday that depicted a suggestion of using firearms against “transphobes,” just hours after a transgender-identifying woman killed six people, including three young children, in a Christian school in Nashville.
Josselyn Berry, the press secretary for Hobbs, tweeted a GIF from the 1980 movie “Gloria” featuring actress Gena Rowlands brandishing two pistols, accompanied by the caption “Us when we see transphobes.”
The tweet was shared on Monday, despite the nation grieving over the tragic deaths of three adults and three 9-year-old children at the Presbyterian-run Covenant School in Music City.
The shooter, 28-year-old Audrey Hale, a former student at the school, was eventually shot and killed by police.
“Really? This is what your press secretary thinks about this tragedy. Fire her immediately. No other answer will be acceptable,” The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh noted on Twitter.
Really? This is what your press secretary thinks about this tragedy. Fire her immediately. No other answer will be acceptable. pic.twitter.com/cAW3pdROsS
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) March 29, 2023
“Less than 12 hours after the tragic shooting in Nashville by a deranged transgender activist, Katie Hobbs’s Press Secretary calls for shooting people Democrats disagree with,” said the Arizona Freedom Caucus in a statement. “Calling for violence like this is un-American & never acceptable. Josselyn Berry should be fired immediately.”
Earlier, Berry tweeted, “If you work in the progressive community and are transphobic, you’re not progressive,” before taking her account private after a deluge of criticism.
Hobbs has yet to respond to the inappropriate post but did offer some thoughts about the victims and their families.
“My family and I are sending all our love to the families affected by the tragic news out of Nashville,” noted Hobbs, a Democrat whose election victory over GOP challenger Kari Lake is still the subject of court challenges. “I know parents all over the country are hugging their kids a little tighter tonight.”
Later, Walsh tweeted: “This is what @katiehobbs press secretary decided to tweet after a trans militant shut [sic] up a school. Any Republican would be fired for this in an instant. We’re done with the double standard. @joss_berry must be fired.”
This is what @katiehobbs press secretary decided to tweet after a trans militant shut up a school. Any Republican would be fired for this in an instant. We’re done with the double standard. @joss_berry must be fired. https://t.co/eDw7Sol4Gk
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) March 29, 2023
In the aftermath of the school shooting, Twitter has taken action against its users, but it has primarily targeted critics of the radical transgender community rather than those within it. Luke Rosiak, an investigative reporter for the Daily Wire, had his account locked for merely tweeting that a pro-transgenderism group was organizing a “day of vengeance” and providing gun training. Similarly, podcast host Michael Knowles had his account locked for quoting a Bible verse stating that vengeance is reserved for God alone, not humans, the outlet reported.
SiriusXM podcaster Megyn Kelly didn’t hold back her frustration and anger at renewed calls for gun control and gun bans in the wake of the Nashville school shooting during her Tuesday program.
She opened her show by reflecting on the horrific incident which saw 28-year-old biological female Audrey Hale shoot and kill three 9-year-old students and three adult teachers before she herself was shot and killed by responding Metropolitan Nashville Police officers.
“Three, nine-year-olds were shot down yesterday by one sick person in addition to the three school administrators,” Kelly, a former Fox News host, began the segment.
“There’s something wrong with our society, and I, for one, am f**king sick of the knee jerk — ‘It’s the guns. Get the guns.’ We have 330 million guns, maybe over 400 million by some counts in America. They’re not going away. We could do an assault weapons ban tomorrow. They’re not going away. All right? We have to take a serious, honest look at what’s wrong with us,” Kelly added.
She went on to rip the lack of real change following incidents like school shootings.
“We can take a look at what’s going on in the case of this particular woman — trans person, she’s a biological woman, and figure out what made this person crack. But we go through this every time. We try to figure out the issues that led to this person to do it or that person to do it, and then we change nothing. Okay? We change nothing,” Kelly said, adding that it is past time for American society to take a “hard look” at mental health.
