What is the best state for LGBT Gun Owners?
What is the best state for LGBT Gun Owners?
Unfortunately, it seems like everywhere that’s good for one isn’t good for the other.
You would think they should be related, both are a matter of individual liberty and self determination, but in reality that’s not how it goes.
I’m currently living in a state with an“assault” weapons ban and would like to move eventually, but I’m not sure where.
Are there any Goldilocks states that are good on both issues?
Oregon is pretty good for this.
There's a ridiculous anti gun measure, prop. 114, that barely passed at the ballot box a few years ago, but was immediately blocked as unconstitutional. It would require law enforcement permission (paid, of course) to get a permit to buy a gun, ban magazines with any kind of capacity, and ban the scary guns.
But it's just not happening. Law enforcement is against it, the only judge that seems to support it is the federal one, and even people who voted for it realized it was terrible and now say they'd never support another attempt.
Our CC laws are pretty easy, healthcare for trans folk here is outstanding, and the drawbacks are that it's hard to find a job and the fact that the state's democratic party is deeply and openly corrupt, which plays out as your tax dollars just constantly disappearing with no accountability and PDX/Multnomah county being irredeemably dysfunctional as a result.
Vermont. Constitution carry laws are as lax as they get and its Bernie Sanders home state.
New Hampshire is an interesting one. It's pretty easy to have your license and birth certificate changed to your desired sex. There are informed consent clinics, Planned Parenthood being a big one. And for guns there's some of the loosest in the country. You can conceal or open carry without a permit, no magazine limits, almost no state level regulation. There's sort of a cultural vibe of 'live, let live', transphobic attitudes are definitely there but it's not really any worse than our neighbors, i'd just stay in the southern half of NH personally. Vermont is also similar but it's a lot more rural and I don't know enough about their laws.
Honestly, it's one of the things I love about Michigan. Our gun laws are quite reasonable, and Michigan (at least the SE portion) is quite trans friendly. Also, if worse comes to worse, fleeing to Canada is a relatively "easy" option...
I've gone to a many ranges, sometimes with other trans girls, and no one has cared whatsoever. Hell, even though I don't pass at all right now, I've even had employees at more than a couple shops default to "they" when referring to me. Which, given my overall experience with most ranhes/stores, was pretty wild.
We have our shitty right-wing chuds (literal Nazis and Klansmen just north of me), but they're far outnumbered by the rest of the population which is wonderfully diverse and genuinely very nice people. I definitely feel very blessed having moved here a few years ago before coming out.