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If there’s one issue with gun-grabbers, it’s that they will do anything they can to draw attention to themselves. With independence day fast approaching, Everytown wants to try and co-opt the holiday so it can pretend guns are a massive issue and that gun violence is so common we must remember the survivors.

Every day, an average of 100 Americans are fatally shot & hundreds more are shot and injured. If you’re planning to set off fireworks to celebrate the 4th, consider letting members of your community know so those who might be sensitive to loud noises can prepare themselves. pic.twitter.com/8oYQjLKV35

— Everytown (@Everytown) July 1, 2019

The Washington Free Beacon‘s Stephen Gutkowski said it pretty well in his reply:

This confuses me. Are there people in America that are unaware we set off fireworks on the 4th of July? pic.twitter.com/2XuRMbWyJh

— Stephen Gutowski (@StephenGutowski) July 1, 2019

Precisely.

I mean, launching fireworks is normal and has been going on long enough for them to be thought of by many as American rather than Chinese, despite the latter having invented the damn things.

But this isn’t really about the survivors. After all, those survivors already know what to expect Thursday night.

What this is about is Everytown trying to seize the moment to advance its anti-gun narrative. It needs an excuse to try and make gun violence seem like an epidemic, that it’s everywhere and the survivors are all around us.

However, there are far more veterans who survived the horrors of war–let’s be honest, actual combat is probably more traumatizing than a single shooting incident–yet they’re not mentioned. That’s because they don’t count. While Everytown might have earned a few brownie points by including them in the tweet, the group didn’t even think about it because that’s not what it’s about. It’s only about pretending that the Second Amendment is somehow dangerous.

So, Everytown will pretend that these survivors are too stupid to figure out that fireworks might be going off on July 4 and unable to figure out how to deal with it.

Honestly, if I were a survivor, I’d be insulted at the implication.

Then again, it’s not like they cared. There’s no effort to educate how the survivors can be proactive, just an effort to put the onus on everyone else.

What they don’t note is that it’s statistically rare to even encounter a gun violence survivor. Many people don’t know anyone who has been shot or shot at except for in warzones. Even then, many of those survivors are fine with fireworks. They’ve either come to terms with it or have never had an issue.

Because of that, even if this wasn’t a bogus effort to grab attention and make Independence Day all about Everytown, it’s unlikely it would be an issue.

All of that said, don’t be a schmuck with your fireworks. If you’re going to set them off, talk to your neighbors and make sure it’s cool. Some may have skittish pets or something. They may be combat vets with PTSD. Yes, they may even be survivors of gun violence. They’re also the people who live around you, and it’s not a bad thing to reach out and let them know what’s going on beforehand.

But let’s also not pretend these people are surrounding us at every turn and that we need to walk on eggshells because Everytown For Gun Safety wants you to think they are.