Radio Gag - The Gays Against Guns Show

Join us on Radio GAG for Suicide Prevention Month and how to be aware if someone is contemplating suicide. Libby Edwards and Cathy Marino-Thomas host with guest Hudson Munoz, executive director of Guns Down America. We discuss how they ended the NRA’s lucrative insurance program, pushed major American banks to end their business relationships with irresponsible gun manufacturers, and forced large retailers like Walmart to dramatically shrink gun sales. In Memoriam is Vanity Williams. Contributors: Donna Aceto, Frank Gargiulo, Sarah Germain Lily, Ti Cersley @gunsdownmovement Two-Spirit and LGBTQ+ young people four times more likely to attempt suicide than their peers. We will talk about suicide prevention--how to tell if someone you know is thinking of harming themselves and how to get help, in a crisis and beyond. Below are organizations that provide crisis support:   National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: CALL or TEXT 988

SAMSA (https://www.samhsa.gov/mental-health/suicide/warning-signs). The Substance Abu

Join us on Radio GAG for The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round. A bus load of gun violence prevention activists were in NYC for Guacathon 2024. On the bus, we met up with Scout Cardillo from March for Our Lives and Bulletproof Pride. We discuss how this national GVP, youth lead organization is working to address the intersectional issues facing the LGBTQIA+ community at an upcoming advocacy day in DC. Beep! Beep! Out on the street… New York City Council Member and one of GAG’s “Fierce Queenz”, Eric Bottcher introduced legislation requiring gun stores to display graphic imagery, in addition to warning signage, that conveys the health dangers of firearm ownership. GAG President, Jay W. Walker delivers inspiring words at the event. For show and tell, Change the Ref and March for Our Lives have collaborated on theshotline.org…a new way to contact your representative about gun violence. AI technology has re-created the voices of those shot and killed by guns so they can call our representatives in hopes of c

Join us on Radio GAG for Churches Against Gun Violence! Christian Nationalists are grabbing headlines with slogans like “God, Guns and Country”, the more crude and sensational the better. With all the press on far right evangelical churches (was Jesus a Republican or a Democrat?), we have forgotten that churches have been a powerful force in Social Justice movements in the past and can still be today. With 40-50% of adults over fifty attending church in America, churches still have considerable political and economic clout. On our podcast today we talk with members of a grass roots, national group of gun violence prevention activists from the Methodist Church, the largest Protestant Denomination in the US. From the push for safe storage to common sense gun laws , Methodists are taking action with powerful , specific resolutions at their conference and national level, and actions and networking with gun safety groups. Views on gun regulation vary from state to state, and can make the work of gun violence pre

Join Radio GAG for our 50 States of Gun Violence podcast! Ti Cersley and Sarah Germain Lilly catch up with friend and Queer ally, Jeremy Stein, now serving as the Executive Director of States United to Prevent Gun Violence. We discuss his vital role in supporting state-led activists. Sarah reports back from the Stop Project 2025 Rally in time Square NY and from Illinois we honor the life of Sonya Massey. https://supgv.org/

Join Radio GAG for our 2024 Youth Power 2 podcast and tap into the power of change! Radio GAG catches up with Enough Plays to End Gun Violence’s young playwright Niarra C. Bell and actors Eddie Moore and Sky Carrington about their art and views on Gun Violence in America. Then survivor activist Sam Schwartz of the 2024 Tour to Save Democracy gets on board to tell us about his work. We share the beauty of the Gays Against Guns 2024 Pulse Memorial June 19 in NYC as reported by Pix 11 News and we honor the life of Jasai Guy, 15 who was killed by another young teen in June. And join us at a special Gays Against Guns summer action to flip “New York 4” blue with Sam Schwartz in August. Thanks to the Radio GAG team, Sarah Germain Lilly, Sean Stefanic, Ti Cersley, Libby Edwards, and producers Paul Rowley and Gene Graham for their work on this podcast, and to Frank Gargiulo for our graphics.

Radio GAG introduced Project 2025 (officially the Presidential Transition Project) in our April 7th podcast, which gave a broad overview of this right-wing Republican plan to dismantle American democracy. In the coming months, we will focus on specific aspects of Project 2025 and how this authoritarian, white-supremicist effort to restructure our government will affect us. We welcome back Anna-christine d’Adesky of “Stop the Coup 2025,” who explains how their policies will impact the LGBTQAI+ and immigrant communities, and strip away women's fundamental human rights. Please take time to investigate the links below and tune in to gain a deeper understanding of this plot and what is at stake with the coming election. https://www.stopthecoup2025.org https://rebrand.ly/NotOnOurWatch

Project 2025 (officially the Presidential Transition Project) is the right-wing Republican plan to dismantle American democracy--a harrowing plot that reads like dystopian fiction but is all too real. These policies will turn America to an authoritarian, white-supremacist, autocratic state, much like Hungry. Anne-christine d’Adesky of “Stop the Coup 2025,” along with GAG’s Jay W. Walker, will discuss the ways in which Project 2025 will limit our freedoms—especially for members of the LGBTQIA+, immigrant and other minorities--and change the structure of our country. This may be THE most important issue we will confront in the coming months. Please take time to investigate the links below and tune in to gain a deeper understanding this plot and what is at stake with this election. https://www.stopthecoup2025.org https://www.axios.com/2022/07/22/trump-2025-radical-plan-second-term https://thomaszimmer.substack.com/p/project-2025-promises-revenge-oppression https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_2025 https://ww

Radio GAG Speaks with Ashbey Beasley, Highland Park survivor and lobbyist extraordinaire, about the dollar cost for families and communities when a mass shooting occurs. Ashbey breaks it down and explains how laws shield gunmakers from liability. Our GVP news focuses on New York City, and we treat you to We Wanna Take Your Gun sung by our fab queertet Sing Out Louise.

Remember Valentine’s Day before the Parkland Florida shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School? How many memories survive for the parents who lost children at that horrific event? One father, Manuel Oliver, has made a mission of continuing his son Joaquin’s activism against gun violence and has filed an international lawsuit condemning the American laws and corrupt culture that allow gun violence like the Parkland Massacre to flourish. The suit is Joaquin Oliver vs. the USA for the right to live free from gun violence, brought by Global Action Against Gun Violence. In this episode, Manny talks to Radio GAG about the suit. Our In Memoriam is for Richard Henderson, who died not far from his home in Brooklyn, NY, standing up to bullies on the subway train. Check out the Gun Violence Prevention news and a feature on Enough Plays to End Gun Violence with Sean Stefanic and Sarah Germain Lilly. Josh Tjaden and Ti Cersley host.

“I need it for protection..” Most Americans give protection as the reason they obtained a gun. But are you safer with a gun? What is the difference between feeling safe and actually being safer? Olivia Brown, from Project Unloaded and Katherine Schweit, author and former FBI Agent and expert on school mass shootings, share their differing perspectives and strategies on these critical questions about owning and using guns with Radio GAG. The GVP News focuses on recent legislative wins including with White House Executive orders and progress on holding the gun industry accountable for weapons trafficking. Enough Plays to End Gun Violence is back. Sarah Germain Lilly and Sean Stefanic tell us about this new production of six plays that amplify the voices of American youth on gun violence

Libby Edwards takes a look at the state of gun laws in Iowa.

This week, Radio GAG marks the sixth annual National Gun-Violence Survivors Week (January 22 – 26) and begins its examination of the costs of gun violence. Our special guest will be Patricia Oliver, a co-founder of “Change the Ref,” and mother of Joaquin “Guac” Oliver, who was killed on Valentine’s Day in Parkland. In Memoriam: Ahmir Jolliff and Dan Marburger of Perry, Iowa. The GVP News will feature very powerful and damning comments concerning the findings of the DOJ’S newly released “Critical Incident Report” on the shooting in Uvalde, TX .

How Safe Storage Laws can change the landscape of gun violence in America. Gun Violence prevention news: The 11th Annual Vigil for All Survivors of gun violence brought historic gains for the gun violence prevention movement including Senate votes and sponsorship by Senator Charles Schumer. Our In Memoriam: Francesco Cochran, age 17, who took his life with an unsecured weapon. In Conversation: Radio GAG interviews Diana Cochran, mother of Francesco. Diana shares some experiences lobbying for Ethan’s Law, a federal law for Safe Storage concurrent with the 11th Annual National Vigil for All Survivors in DC and Francesco’s law, a NY State bill that will extend the protections of Safe Storage to all children up to age 18.

Trans Day of Remembrance 2023 Our actions: On November 20th, Gays Against Guns teamed up with NYCyouth4transrights and The Clinton School GSA at their event in Washington Square Park. GAG’s Human Beings represented transgender, gender non-conforming/non-binary and TwoSpirit Americans who have been killed by gun violence in the last year - Ti Cersley has a report back. Our In Memoriam is for Koko Da Doll, who was a transgender star in the Sundance Film Festival documentary Kokomo City. In Conversation: Radio GAG interviews Kiara St. James of NYTAG, the New York Transgender Advocacy Group, on their mission to advocate for more inclusive gender-based policies that benefit Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming/Non-Binary (TGNCNB) individuals through building community leaders, educating practitioners, and influencing policy makers. We close our show with an interview with Erene Mastrangelli, a new Gays Against Guns member who shares her activism and her beautiful song "Love Shine".

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. For Domestic Violence - Part II, our first guest, Catherine Shugrue dos Santos of the NYC Anti-Violence Project, will address the many unique factors in LGBTQ+ domestic violence that result in barriers to safety, and where to find assistance. And a survivor of domestic/intimate-partner violence tells us how she recognized her situation and sought help. In the United States, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner. In one year, this equates to more than 10 million women and men who suffer physical abuse in some form. Partner abuse can take the form of emotional coercion, threats, and stalking, up to physical violence and murder. When guns are involved, a woman's risk of being killed increases by 1000 percent. If you or someone you know are in a relationship that has become violent, these organizations can help individuals escape and recover from a dangerous relationship. NYC Anti-Violence Project: avp.org/get-help Hotline: 2

OCTOBER IS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH. In the United States, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner. During one year, this equates to more than 10 million women and men who suffer physical abuse in some form. Partner abuse can take the form of emotional cohersion, threats, and stalking, up to physical violence and murder. When guns are involved, a woman's risk of being killed increases by 1000 percent. In the first of two podcasts this month, RADIO GAG will speak with Stephanie McGraw, founder of We All Really Matter, a Harlem-based, New York City agency that provides valuable resources and programs for victims and survivors of domestic abuse. Our second podcast of the series will discuss intimate partner violence in the LGBTQ+ community, the many unique factors that result in barriers to safety, and where to find assistance. At the end of each show, we will provide hotline numbers and names of organizations that can help individuals escape and recover from a dangero

This week we are celebrating the First-Ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. Join host Ti Cersley and Gays Against Guns President Jay W. Walker as they discuss the importance of this new office and the Deputy Director, Greg Jackson. Find out what else is gagging with GAG this Month? Plus, Sarah Germain Lilly brings us an update on Enough Plays to End Gun Violence. Our In Memoriam: Josh Kruger, 39 years old, 10/2/23, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

It’s suicide awareness month and Radio GAG has plenty to talk about. Our featured interview with Cator Sparks describes the changing world and changing identity of men in our culture, and the suicide of his own father. Meanwhile the Radio GAG GVP news focuses on the gun safety regulation that legislators are able to move on and the grass roots efforts to push them. And Gays Against Guns Gaggers report on the response to the event of a notorious group claiming to promote Gay rights while spreading hate, conspiracy theories and misinformation. Want to get involved? Contact your congressional representatives about gun regulations and go to the Federal Agency of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms or ATF to make a comment on their ruling that will regulate gun sales online and at gun shows. Here’s the link to make a comment. https://www.regulations.gov/document/ATF-2023-0002-0001 Gays Against Guns would love to have you join us at our next meeting, contact us at [email protected] and ask for meeting info. We gratef

September is Suicide Awareness Month and the rates of gun suicide are particularly high among former and current military members. Join Radio GAG host Ti Cersley and guest Marissa Edmund breakdown a report from the Center for American Progress about Gun Suicides and military members. Since this interview, 988 has been designated as the new three-digit dialing code that will route callers to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. 988 is available 24 hours.

Suicide Awareness Month. If you know, you know. Suicide is an epidemic in the US, with teenagers, the middle aged, elderly women and especially men all among the victims. Join Radio GAG this month as we explore suicide, what can be done and especially the access to guns that kill about 70% of suicide victims. Sarah Germain Lilly interviews Katrina Brees, Artist/Activist whose suicide prevention bill Donna’s law is now in effect in Washington, Virginia and Utah. Radio GAG producer Ti Cersley shares Gun Violence Prevention news, and our In Memoriam features athe Dunham Family of Akron Ohio, victims of the type of mass shooting in which the killer takes the life of their entire family before killing themselves. If you’d like to get involved in preventing gun violence, Gays Against Guns can use your skills and donations. Go to our webpage https://www.gaysagainstguns.net/support to learn more.