NYC Councilman Justin Brannan (Indecision) Takes a Stand Against the NRA
Politics got a bit more metal this past fall when Democrat Justin Brannan, guitarist for NYC hardcore/metal pioneers Indecision and Most Precious Blood, defeated Republican John Quaglione to win a seat on the NYC council, the city’s main lawmaking body, serving Brooklyn’s District 43 (which includes Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bath Beach, and parts of Bensonhurst).
Brannan’s political views, it will not surprise you to learn, lean pretty far left. Those views extend to gun control laws — he’s in favor of more, duh — and in a recent Twitter exchange, he got into it with some constituents (or perhaps just trolls residing elsewhere) over his vocal opposition of the NRA.
The fracas started when the Brooklyn Reporter ran a story alleging that the group Brooklyn Friends of the NRA, after having two events featuring a gun auction booted from venues earlier this year following neighborhood protests, had booked a dinner to be held last night (Thursday, April 26th) at the Dyker Heights Knights of Columbus (at 86th Street and 13th Avenue). Brannan posted on Twitter a link to the Brooklyn Reporter article along with some not-so-nice words about the NRA:
Looks like we've successfully chased the @NRA underground in #Brooklyn. Now they've gotta sneak around behind our backs and book catering halls under fake names just to have a meeting. Sounds about right. https://t.co/Rt6sOaok8N
— Justin Brannan (@JustinBrannan) April 26, 2018
Brannan received plenty of congratulatory likes and retweets but also his fair share of hatred, which he took in stride by posting, retweeting, and doing a bit of trolling of his own:
I am loving all the fan mail. How dare I diss the NRA! pic.twitter.com/SA4hok3SzT
— Justin Brannan (@JustinBrannan) April 27, 2018
https://twitter.com/davnor9/status/989711429426020355
https://twitter.com/Maideneer/status/989717217993355266
It's Friday, I'm in love pic.twitter.com/xCucQmBCaU
— Justin Brannan (@JustinBrannan) April 27, 2018
Brannan seemingly wrapped up the issue this morning with one final tweet on the matter:
So I called out the NRA. Trolls & bots came out in full force. Called me fat, said I should resign, etc. I laughed. But what scares me is the amount of NRA supporters who immediately compare themselves to Jews under attack by the Nazis. It is disgusting, horrifying & indefensible
— Justin Brannan (@JustinBrannan) April 27, 2018
How much do we love this guy? Keep doing what you’re doing, Justin; serving your constituents well, defending Brooklyn against right wing crazies and giving metal and hardcore fans a good name in the process! \m/
