Where are the gun rights activists defending Breonna Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker?

By now, most of us have seen reports of Breonna Taylor's killing—the tragic death of a 26-year-old EMT who was fatally shot by police in her Kentucky apartment two months ago.
Much of the public discussion in this case revolves around police brutality and the killing of black Americans—vital conversations our country needs to be having. But there's another element of this case that's getting less attention, which is the silence of gun rights advocates when black gun owners defend themselves with a firearm.
Let's go over some what's been reported on the case.
Taylor and her boyfriend Kenneth Walker were fast asleep, awoken by the sound of intruders. Walker quickly called 911 and shot at a police officer in what he says was self-defense. They didn't identify themselves as officers and were dressed in normal clothing. Then, 22 shots were fired by the police, eight of them hitting Taylor, killing her on site, The Associated Press reported.
Taylor's family recently filed a wrongful death lawsuit and hired Benjamin Crump, a civil rights attorney who is also representing the family of Ahmaud Arbery, whose killing in Georgia gained national headlines. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) has also joined the fight, demanding federal investigators examine the controversial raid that killed her. "I'm calling for the Department of Justice to investigate #BreonnaTaylor's death," Harris Tweeted Wednesday. "Her family deserves answers."
Taylor was an award-winning EMT with no criminal record. So why did police have a warrant to search her apartment in the first place? They believed her home was being used as a place to stash drugs or money from the sale of the drugs from another suspect in the case. However, no drugs were found in the apartment.
Neighbors claimed they didn't hear the police identify themselves as law enforcement. The police say otherwise. According to the Courier Journal, the warrant had a "no knock" provision, meaning they were not obligated to knock or to let anyone know who they were before entering.
I'm not here to debate if the police announced themselves, but the fact that they didn't have to per the warrant is problematic enough—especially in a country that celebrates gun ownership as a means of protecting yourself and your property.
To be clear, Walker is a legally registered gun owner. The state of Kentucky uses the Castle Doctrine with a "stand your ground" law, according to the the U.S. Concealed Carry Association:
A person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is attacked in any other place where he or she has a right to be has no duty to retreat. He or she has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force, if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another. Force may also be used to prevent the commission of a felony involving the use of force. Any person who uses a gun in self-defense has immunity from criminal and civil law.
If Walker believed that an intruder was breaking in and he was not engaged in unlawful activity, he was definitely within his legal rights to shoot. But Walker has been charged with attempted murder of a police officer.
Activist Ally Henny touched on the issue of Castle Doctrine and black gun ownership on Facebook.
Where are the gun rights advocates in this case? How many times have we seen them talk about the inalienable right to bear arms, the right to protect their family and their property and the right to shoot someone who makes them feel unsafe? "Stand your ground" was the defense George Zimmerman used after he murdered Trayvon Martin. That was a grown man who had confronted a teenager walking down the street with a pack of Skittles.
Imagine being yanked out of sleep by the sound of someone trying to break into your home, not knowing it was the police. They weren't even dressed in uniform. How can the prosecutors claim Walker attempted to murder someone he thought was breaking in? Especially when according to the state's own laws he had every right to do so?
Where was the NRA when Philando Castile informed a police officer on a traffic stop he had a legally concealed weapon, told the officer he was going to take it out and was still shot and killed in front of his girlfriend's 4-year-old daughter in the backseat? Apparently their defense of gun owners is selective. And by selective I mean racist.
I've got some other questions surrounding that "no knock" warrant, as well. If the police were surveilling Taylor's apartment long enough to suspect that her apartment was being used for drugs—why wouldn't they have entered the apartment when they knew no one was home? Why have a 1 a.m. bust?
Undoubtedly, we'll get more answers as the investigation continues.
In the meantime, let's say Breonna Taylor's name, remember the service she offered as an EMT and honor the grief of her loved ones. Let's remember Kenneth Walker as he mourns the loss of his girlfriend while fighting for justice too. Let's talk about the stunning silence of gun rights activists when a black person exercises their second amendment right. Let's keep talking about racial injustice in our law enforcement and justice systems.
Let's also keep talking about how many of these kinds of stories it's going to take before we collectively decide enough is enough.
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."