The Nashville shooter bought guns *legally*
  March 28, 2023 Happy Weed Appreciation Day, Meteor readers. (No, not that kind of weed—that’s another month away.) It’s not a light one today, as we mourn the loss of six more lives to the epidemic of gun violence—this time, in Nashville. But there are still good things in the world; for instance, our Women’s History spotlight celebrates Nicole Aunapu Mann, the first Native American woman to make it to space. But first: the news. Taking a moment of silence, Bailey Wayne Hundl  WHAT’S GOING ON ITEMS LEFT IN REMEMBRANCE AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE COVENANT SCHOOL, WHERE THE SHOOTING TOOK PLACE (PHOTO BY SETH HERALD/GETTY IMAGES) Tragedy in Nashville: Three children and three adults were killed in a shooting at a Nashville private school on Monday. The students killed were all nine years old; the adult victims included a custodian, a substitute teacher, and the school’s principal. The shooter, who has been identified as a former student of the school, was killed on the scene while firing on police. This marks the deadliest school shooting in America since the Uvalde attacks last May. Ashbey Beasley, a mother who survived the Highland Park shooting last summer, was visiting her sister in Nashville at the time of the shooting. She crashed a live Fox News broadcast Monday and emphasized the need for comprehensive gun reform, asking, “Aren’t you guys tired of covering this?” (If you haven’t watched, do.) And she’s right; after all, the shooter legally purchased a total of seven firearms, three of which were used during the shooting—meaning that the real subject to cover is our nation’s devastatingly lax gun laws. Unfortunately, all Gov. Bill Lee (who strongly opposes gun control) has to offer the victims is the usual: thoughts and prayers. And the congressman who represents the district where the shooting took place had his whole family pose with assault rifles for last year’s Christmas card. Typically when covering a shooting, it’s best not to give the shooter attention or glory. But a right-wing narrative has emerged that deserves addressing around the fact that the shooter may have identified as trans. A police spokesperson told the Washington Post that the killer was “a biological woman who, on a social media profile, used male pronouns.” Police said the shooter left a “manifesto” but have not given any indication whether it referenced their gender identity; that hasn’t stopped people from speculating. And it hasn’t stopped transphobes from spreading bullshit about how “the modern trans movement is radicalizing activists into terrorists.” There just isn’t enough information available at this time to know whether or not the shooter was trans, much less to justify a headline like “Transgender Killer Targets Christian School.” (We don’t label the usual killers as cis men, even though they almost always are.) What we do know is we’ve had over 100 mass shootings in America this year—and we’re not even a fourth of the way through. Let’s not let the pro-gun folks use “trans panic” to keep our attention off where it belongs: the reforms that will save lives now. If you or someone you know has been impacted by gun violence and you’re looking for help, you can start here. AND:
 A 🍕 OF HISTORYReach for the StarsIt’s Women’s History Month. And every week, a Meteor collective member recounts a piece of women’s history that resonates with them. Today, Arvina Martin, executive director of Emerge Wisconsin, tells the story of Nicole Aunapu Mann, the first Native American woman in space.  PHOTO BY NICOLE MANN HERSELF It can seem strange to think that there are still so many “firsts” left out there, but Nicole Aunapu Mann, a former Marine test pilot, achieved a pretty big one at the end of 2022. With a trip to space which lasted 157 days and included two spacewalks—she became the First Native American woman astronaut. Mann is an enrolled member of the Round Valley Indian Tribes, which is one federally recognized tribe with a reservation in Mendocino county, in northern California. The community is actually a confederation of six small tribes which were forced by settlers to live together in the mid-18th century, despite being distinctly different communities who spoke different languages. Mann is of the Wailaki people, one of the six, and grew up in nearby Sonoma County She told NPR last year that she hoped to inspire other young people like her: “These young women, maybe Natives, maybe people from different backgrounds, [may] realize that they have these opportunities and potentially these barriers that used to be there are starting to be broken down,” she said. Educated at the U.S. Naval Academy and Stanford, she pursued aviation, and was twice deployed aboard the USS Enterprise in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. By the time she was selected as an astronaut candidate in 2013—part of NASA’s 21st astronaut class—she had completed more than 2,500 flight hours in 25 types of aircraft; it took her two years to complete her training and another seven to be assigned to a space mission. When the SpaceX Dragon Crew launched on Oct. 5, 2022, Mann was at the helm as commander. In doing so,, she made history twice: Hers was the first SpaceX mission with a female commander as well as the first spaceflight with an Indigenous woman. She spent 157 days in space before returning to Earth on March 11. As both a woman and a Native American, she came home with so many firsts under her belt. But as a member of the Artemis team, she may still have another first coming: She may later become the first woman to walk on the moon. Arvina Martin is the Executive Director of Emerge Wisconsin. A member of the Ho-Chunk Nation, and Stockbridge-Munsee, she lives with her daughter and mother in Madison, Wisconsin, where she was the first Native American person ever elected to that city’s Common Council.  FOLLOW THE METEOR    Thank you for reading The Meteor! Got this from a friend?
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