NRA: “Stand Your Ground” for… crickets when it came to Marissa Alexander.
NRA: “Stand Your Ground” for… crickets when it comes to Ríhanna Kelver.
What sets the case of Mr. Martin apart from the other two cases? Race.
When a White man shot a Black man, the NRA publicly defended the Stand Your Ground principle. But when a transgender person is attacked, knocked to the ground, and the incident is captured on video, the NRA hasn't said a thing.
Crickets!
The prosecutor in this case needs to be called into question as well. They have seen the video, yet they are proceeding with the case.
Rihanna Kelver was standing outside the Crowbar & Grill in Laramie, Wyoming, when a man began to shout homophobic and transphobic slurs at her.The AdvocateMathew RodriguezJun 05, 2026A trans woman in Wyoming is facing two felony charges — aggravated assault and possession of a deadly weapon with unlawful intent — after pulling out a gun on someone who had pushed her to the ground, per Slate.Rihanna Kelver was standing outside the Crowbar & Grill in Laramie, Wyoming, when a man — whom local state news publication Cowboy State Daily identified as Scott Durham — began to shout homophobic and transphobic slurs at her. Durham later shoved Kelver to the ground with such force that she injured her tailbone, per court testimony and surveillance footage reviewed by Slate. In response, Kelver drew a pistol from her bag, put in a round and pointed the weapon at Durham, which caused him to flee. Kelver, per Slate, kept the safety on and never fired.Despite Wyoming’s “Stand Your Ground” statute, which allows people to use reasonable force in moments of self defense, Kelver faces up to 15 years in prison for both charges, as well as up to $11,000 in fines, per Cowboy State Daily. Kelver faces an additional year and $1,000 fine for a charge of interference with a peace officer.Per the statute, “A person who uses reasonable defensive force … shall not be criminally prosecuted for that use of reasonable defensive force.”
Why is she being prosecuted?
In other cases involving Wyoming's Stand Your Ground law, authorities have declined to prosecute. Wyoming's law establishes that a person lawfully present who is attacked has no duty to retreat before using reasonable defensive force.
And let's be clear: Ríhanna was already on the ground. She was surrounded by people after being knocked down, where exactly was she supposed to retreat to?
The judge's ruling also needs to be examined.
The Laramie Reporter reported:
On Tuesday, Albany County Circuit Court Judge Robert Sanford ruled the felonies can be tried in district court. He rejected a request from the defendant’s lawyer to dismiss the charges outright.
The charges can bring up to 15 years in jail plus fines!
Then look at the media! This is the headline from the Cowboy State Daily:
The transgender Laramie resident who protested Wyoming’s cross-sex access ban for public bathrooms at the Capitol last summer is now waging a self-defense argument in a felony assault case. “I did not go looking for confrontation,” said Rihanna Kelver.
Why lead with a protest that happened months earlier when reporting on a completely separate incident?
I asked ChatGPT to look for any public statement by a gun-rights organization supporting Ríhanna Kelver. It found:
So, as of August 8, 2026, my answer remains:NRA: no public support I've been able to find.NRA-ILA: no.GOA: no.SAF: no.FPC: no.Wyoming gun-rights groups: no public statement I've found.
Are gun rights only Lilly White straight folks or does the Second Amendment apply to all?
You might remember that Laramie became internationally associated with the brutal murder of Matthew Shepard. Nearly three decades later, a transgender woman in that same community is saying she was physically confronted and is now being prosecuted after displaying a firearm in self-defense.
No comments:
Post a Comment