title:  George Takei Is Ready To Wage War Against The NRA
text: Normally mild mannered George Takei is pissed at gun violence in this country, and he s planning to organize an LGBT army to do something about it.In an op-ed in The Daily Beast, the former Star Trek star and current Facebook sensation is beyond upset about the brutal massacre at the Pulse gay club in Orlando, Florida that left 49 dead and more than 50 injured. Takei, and many in the LGBT community, took the attack personally. Why wouldn t they? It was a terrorist attack, but it was also a very specifically targeted hate crime. It was an attack on all LGBT people. Takei argues that they were not the only community targeted, though. Nearly every casualty was also Latino. Those two communities is where Takei sees opportunity..Takei, a liberal, was very fair in his assessment, but he argues that the Second Amendment is in direct opposition to the First Amendment, especially in situations like mass shootings.For the average American, it is the First Amendment that articulates many of our most basic and fundamental civil rights: freedom of speech and of worship, but also of assembly and association. On Sunday, the latter two rights came under direct assault for the LGBT community. There is little doubt, for instance, that the killer targeted his victims out of hate. He intended to strike not just at people, but at a closely-knit community. After all, if his goal were sheer bloodshed and horror, Orlando boasts far more tempting and, some might even argue, more  sympathetic  targets. The killer apparently had issues with gay people; his father stated that, two weeks prior, his son  got very angry  at the mere sight of two men kissing in public, and even angrier that his own boy should witness it. At the same time, the killer was known to frequent the very establishment he attacked, suggesting that he may have deeply internalized the hate he heard from religious extremists.Takei didn t give ISIS a pass. He mentioned that they hate gay people and that the shooter claimed allegiance with the terrorist organization, but the fight to stop gay marriage and the fight to criminalize bathroom usage by transgender people pretty much shows that our attitudes aren t much better.Takei goes on to say that freedoms, even those guaranteed by the Constitution, have limits:But this is not so rare a circumstance. Indeed, there is no freedom within the Bill of Rights that is absolute. Even freedom of speech, a bedrock of our participatory democracy, has some established limits. I may not jokingly yell  fire  inside a crowded theater, precisely because the value of that speech is heavily outweighed by the danger to others who might panic. Nor may I cavalierly libel others without fear of legal repercussions. This is because we have decided, as a society, that the cost of the injuries that might arise outweighs any benefit from the freedom to say whatever I want.Takei is done with the gun debate. He has no desire to get rid of the Second Amendment, but he sees no reason everyday American should have assault rifles. He s ready to take on that fight, with a little help from his friends and he feels the LGBT community has spent the past several decades getting ready:Now this latest and most deadly attack has targeted a group that has spent the last few decades learning how to organize, fight for, and protect its rights. Perhaps, then, the next chapter of LGBT history might not be just about the struggle to gain equality for ourselves, but also how we might help lead this country towards a collective right to participate and live free of fear and terror, and ultimately toward a common-sense, permanent ban on weapons designed for mass slaughter.Like it or not, this history and this obligation have been thrust upon us, and we must now rise to its challenge. For if there is one group in this country with more will, more experience, and more tenacity than the NRA, it is the LGBT community.You don t want to mess with us.Featured image via Slaven Vlasic with Getty Images. 