Help keep Salon independent

Gun trolls attack Mother Jones editor over Chris Kyle

Mother Jones co-editor Clara Jeffery tweeted about the murder of the former SEAL. The gun fanatics got ugly, fast

Published

Shortly after the news broke that Chris Kyle, a former Navy SEAL and “American Sniper” author, was shot and killed at a Central Texas gun range on Saturday, Mother Jones co-editor Clara Jeffrey took to Twitter to make the point that even an expertly trained sniper couldn’t prevent gun violence:

[embedtweet id=”297928301740171264″]

Moments after publishing the comment, fanatics came out in full force to threaten and harass Jeffrey for suggesting that guns don’t, in fact, make us safer. After receiving a few threatening tweets, Jeffrey tried to clarify her point:

[embedtweet id=”297946203713323008″]

And clarify it again:

[embedtweet id=”297980911880925184″]

[embedtweet id=”297981105297039360″]

[embedtweet id=”297981274289741825″]

[embedtweet id=”297981510340984832″]

But still the vitriol poured in. The responses to Jeffrey’s comments became so frequent, and so ugly, that she began retweeting them on her timeline. The tweets provide a glimpse at the dark, and so often violent, tone of the public debate on gun control in the United States:

[embedtweet id=”297945160900300800″]

[embedtweet id=”298153568945467392″]

[embedtweet id=”297958311591043072″]

[embedtweet id=”298155603468115970″]

[embedtweet id=”298148891033997312″]

 

 

 

 

By Katie McDonough

Katie McDonough is Salon's politics writer, focusing on gender, sexuality and reproductive justice. Follow her on Twitter @kmcdonovgh or email her at kmcdonough@salon.com.


Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Related Articles