Ruth Zakarin

dot-connecting.ghost.ioIt’s the guns. It’s the domestic violence.On the minimization of domestic violence in our society

7 May

Replying to @ruthz.bsky.social

And I asked the question: since when are murdered women and children not a part of the general public? My piece on how law enforcement and the media don’t just minimize domestic violence, they erase it. 2/ dot-connecting.ghost.io/its-the-guns...

Ruth Zakarin reposted

wbur.orgMassachusetts and Idaho put guns on the ballot. One seeks to restrict them, the other to honor them

“‘This legislation both preserves a legal pathway to gun ownership while also putting guardrails in place that keep people safe,’ said Ruth Zakarin, who chairs the campaign committee backing the gun law and is CEO of the Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence.” Vote YES on 9 for a Safe MA

WBUR@wbur.org

Voters in Idaho and Massachusetts face contrasting gun-related ballot questions that highlight the national tension between firearm freedoms and restrictions. In Massachusetts, voters will decide whether to uphold a 2024 law requiring firearm registration and banning “assault-style” guns.

Ruth Zakarin reposted

14h

Replying to @ruthz.bsky.social

That perpetrating rape is not an impediment to power, in fact, people will reward you with even more power. I am filled with white hot rage.

Ruth Zakarin reposted

We need at least a “but her emails” level of coverage here. At least.

Marisa Kabas@marisakabas.bsky.social

i am inviting anyone from a legacy media organization to explain to me why the house judiciary dems report on trump’s epstein’s ties and multiple allegations of rape isn’t worthy of extensively reporting on. i’m serious. i want to understand.

12h

And this, friends, is exactly why we need DEI initiatives in all our educational institutions

The Bulwark@thebulwark.com

RFK: "There's five hundred million Arabs in the world. And yet they don't produce science. They don't win the Nobel Prize. They don't win the Fields Prize. They don't win the Wolf Prize. They don't produce literature."

We need at least a “but her emails” level of coverage here. At least.

Marisa Kabas@marisakabas.bsky.social

Keep calling out the racism. Do not let this become normal.

The Bulwark@thebulwark.com

This is my favorite poem of all time. I revisit and repost it often — when I need a little grounding and inspiration. What a lovely video from Congresswoman @ayannapressley.bsky.social. So what I needed right now. 🧡

Ayanna Pressley@ayannapressley.bsky.social

To all the campaign volunteers, staff, organizers, candidates—and to all their friends and family—thank you for what you’ve given to the movement this election cycle. To the A-Team, thank you for the commitment to the people of the Massachusetts 7th District. Let’s bring it home.

14h

The impact of electing a serial rapist to the highest office in the land cannot be overstated. The message this sends to survivors is devastating. And. The message this sends to boys and men is absolutely horrifying. It tells them you can abuse with abandon and without consequence.

Marisa Kabas@marisakabas.bsky.social

Beyond disgusted by even more rape allegations against the President of the United States. "In total, more than 25 different women...have independently accused Donald Trump of rape, sexual assault, or other sexual misconduct." Report w/ new details: democrats-judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-su...

14h

That perpetrating rape is not an impediment to power, in fact, people will reward you with even more power. I am filled with white hot rage.

wbur.orgMassachusetts and Idaho put guns on the ballot. One seeks to restrict them, the other to honor them

WBUR@wbur.org

Ruth Zakarin reposted

That’s it. If your core value and top concern isn’t the right to be safe for ALL people, please just get out of the way.

Kevin M. Kruse@kevinmkruse.bsky.social

Any politician who’s willing to throw away one group’s rights is willing to throw away everyone’s rights. It’s that simple. Every single consultant, pundit and candidate who’s shown a willingness to abandon trans rights needs to be shunned from the party forever

Ruth Zakarin reposted

bostonglobe.comDays before Israeli election, military conducts massive West Bank operation - The Boston GlobeThe Hebron municipality said the operation displaced more than 2,200 Palestinians, including nearly 300 children under the age of 18.

The road to safety will never be paved with collective punishment. Inflicting widespread trauma will never be a pathway to peace. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/10/25/w...

For those pushing back on me talking about white supremacy related to Ramaswamy’s, here’s the thing. Individual people of color can at times benefit from white supremacy, as long as their participation benefits white supremacy.

As soon as those people of color no longer prove beneficial to white supremacy, their proximity to it will no longer protect them.

The road to safety will never be paved with collective punishment. Inflicting widespread trauma will never be a pathway to peace. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/10/25/w...

instagram.comYES on 9 For a Safe Massachusetts on Instagram: "Huge thank you to JavawithJimmy for having Yes on 9 Chair, Ruth, on the show to discuss the 2024 gun safety law, and how it addresses the ways gun viol...8 likes, 0 comments - yesforasafema on October 25, 2026: "Huge thank you to JavawithJimmy for having Yes on 9 Chair, Ruth, on the show to discuss the 2024 gun safety law, and how it addresses the ways...

Last week I got to join two people who are very dear to me for this conversation. Thank you @javawithjimmy.bsky.social for hosting it and for all your support and friendship! Vote Yes on 9 for a Safe Massachusetts www.instagram.com/reel/De7VO2V...

That’s it. If your core value and top concern isn’t the right to be safe for ALL people, please just get out of the way.

Kevin M. Kruse@kevinmkruse.bsky.social

@wrenwrabbit.bunnyboy.live

I really hate it when Trump tells me how I should think or what should make me feel ashamed as a Jew. And I also hate that not enough people recognize his words as full on antisemitism.

The Bulwark@thebulwark.com

Trump on El-Sayed: "Any Jewish person that supports this guy should be ashamed of themselves. I'll tell you right now, you should never speak to them again. I'm polling at 99% in Israel. I cannot understand how anybody who's Jewish can even think about voting for this guy."

Ruth Zakarin reposted

Wren Wrabbit 🐇

seriously, as a trans person living in Iowa I'm not voting for this guy and I'm asking you not to either

Erin Reed@erininthemorning.com

Josh Turek of Iowa, Democrat, comes out with one of the worst anti-trans ads yet. Not only is it an anti-sports ad, it proposes a ban on federal funding for gender affirming care. That would hit all medicaid and medicare patients, and any ACA federally-subsidized plans as well. Horrific.

And that about sums it up. His “we” is only a select few.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Trump: "We have the best healthcare plans in the world. Now it doesn't cover everybody, but it covers a lot of people."

@nancylevinestearns.bsky.social

This evoked reading about Jewish communities that were decimated during the Holocaust. Read the whole thread. ICE cannot do its evil work without the cooperation of local law enforcement. And I say this with my full Jewish soul: Never again.

Francesca D'Annunzio@francescadnunz.bsky.social

This is a town of three stoplights, five gas stations, five Mexican restaurants, and five churches. It is — or was — 45% Latino. Yet within a year of the flood, the town’s tiny PD had delivered the equivalent of 10% of Ingram to ICE.

Ruth Zakarin reposted

Nancy Levine Stearns

A LinkedIn user asked me why I'm covering this story about a new ICE facility for unaccompanied kids about to open at an airport in Alexandria, Louisiana, raising alarms about trafficking. Last words to me from my late journalism mentor: "Keep the pressure on." www.thequeenzone.com/scoop-top-se...

thequeenzone.comSCOOP: Top Senate Dem Investigating Companies Running New ICE Facility for KidsU.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, is investigating two for-profit companies contracted to run a new ICE facility for unaccompanied children about to open ...

Ruth Zakarin reposted

We should never stop calling out Trump’s hate. We should always name his racism, his misogyny, and his transphobia. Even if we sound like a broken record. Keep doing it. Silence is acceptance and we should refuse to accept this.

He doesn’t care about protecting children. He could not care less about protecting children.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Trump goads his crowd in Georgia into booing Ilhan Omar's children and then says, "Send her back? Stranger things ... "

Seeing lots of people posting about voting YES on 9 to protect our strong gun laws in Massachusetts from the NRA’s repeal effort! Share our digital ad and help us spread the word even more ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Vote YES On 9@yesforasafema.bsky.social

Gun safety’s on the line. Vote YES on question 9. Visit yesforasafema.com for more information. #SaferMassachusetts #YESon9 #YesForaSafeMassachusetts #Yeson9ForaSafeMassachusetts

I spoke at an event yesterday about domestic violence. My dear friend and copanelist Dr. Caroline Light reminded us of the history of the saying “the personal is political” in the work to address violence against women. Seems like we need to flip that now.

The political sure is personal. And the folks who want to close their eyes and say they don’t do politics might do well to understand that.

Ruth Zakarin reposted

This week saw a mass shooting at an elementary school, law enforcement declaring the shooting death of a one year old justified, and the leader of our country attacking a survivor of childhood sexual assault. This country is not a safe place for children.

Defensive gun use, with few exceptions, is a myth. And it sure isn’t prevention. Prevention would have meant that no students or teachers died that day. There would have been no need for this good guy with a gun. And this man would not have to live with the forever trauma of what he had to do.

GIFFORDS@giffords.org

Kaylub Giamanco, a father of two in Bend, Oregon, did what no parent should ever have to do when he saw a gunman enter his daughters’ elementary school. Kaylub is a hero, but he shouldn’t have had to be. In the shooting’s aftermath, Kaylub shared that he is just trying to sleep at night.

@highcountryrose.bsky.social

One of the hardest aspects of our current political situation is how normal it’s become for the most powerful people to say the most harmful and untrue things. Repeatedly. And then to see those with the most power to hold them accountable refuse to do so.

Ruth Zakarin reposted

Keira Havens

This is all I can think about today. Thank you to every person holding on to their humanity in the face of this unrelenting cruelty ❤️

Ruth Zakarin@ruthz.bsky.social

Amy Acton isn’t defective. Survivors aren’t defective. Survivors are beautiful whole complex people who hold so much inside them. And none of that is defective. Sending love to every survivor who is hurting because of this whole awful incident and this whole awful presidency. I see you.

The same man who said he would protect women whether we wanted him to or not is willfully causing harm to a woman that he doesn’t like. To be clear, these are the two sides of the same abusive coin.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Q: Now that you know the backstory about Amy Acton and her stepfather and why she hasn't talked to her mom in so long -- her stepfather was indicted for rape -- do you change your mind about the ad? TRUMP: No. No. It's a mother speaking badly against Amy Acton. You don't know anything.

Ruth Zakarin reposted

Larry Jackson

@ljlawyers.bsky.social

This. A trillion times this.

Ruth Zakarin@ruthz.bsky.social

Ruth Zakarin reposted

In his defense of Ramaswamy’s vile ad, Trump called Amy Acton a “defective” candidate. As a former rape crisis counselor who has worked with countless survivors of childhood sexual assault, I want to speak a bit about how profoundly damaging that is. 🧵

Survivors are all around us. Domestic and sexual violence are so damn common in this country that if you are not a survivor yourself you can be sure that you are among survivors every time you leave your home. And survivors are hearing Trump’s abusive language every damn day.

I can’t think of any survivor of childhood sexual assault who didn’t emerge from that experience without thinking there was something wrong with them. That they are not like other kids. That they wear their trauma on the outside like it’s a jacket. That they are somehow defective.

So to have the President of the United States call a survivor defective… It breaks my heart. And before you say, well it’s Trump and he says terrible things all the time…. Those terrible things he says have terrible impact. It breaks my heart.

Children so often have an outsized sense of responsibility for things happening to them and around them. One example is a child who witnesses a parent being abused may feel responsible. Like it’s their role to keep the victimized parent safe, or make the abuser stop abusing.

Similarly, children who have been sexually assaulted so often feel like it was their fault. They feel great amounts of shame. And their perpetrators very often assign the child responsibility for the abuse. I could go on and on, but I will sum it up as follows.

It is hard to overstate how sexual assault disrupts the entirety of a child’s life. Their ability to feel safe, their physical and emotional development, their functioning at home, school, and community — all impacted by the life altering trauma of sexual abuse. And their sense of self too.

Notice Trump’s use of the word power. Because he is an abuser. And with abusers it’s all about power. And control.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Trump: "Ramaswamy put up a very powerful Ad about a mother saying that her daughter, Acton, is a liar, and much worse. The Press is trying to get him to 'take down the Ad.' Frankly, anybody whose mother spoke about daughter that way would normally lead to the daughter being precluded from serving"

We’ve been hollering from our rooftops about believing survivors for a long time. How sad that we have to add to this refrain: stop attacking survivors. If that isn’t violent patriarchy, I don’t know what is.

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