Alyssa Leader is a public defender. I have no idea where she practices, but her post gives me the idea that it's a misdemeanor to steal $1,000 worth of merchandise from Target, but if you steal $1,001 worth, you're a felon. She says she's about as anti-gun as you can get, but she's really not. She has clients who face mandatory time in prison because they possessed a gun after committing a felony — and they didn't even use it!
On a personal level, I am about as anti-gun as you can get. But I have clients who face years of mandatory minimum time in prison because they possessed (not even used!) a gun after having stolen $1001 dollars worth of stuff from Target, often years before— https://t.co/1BZB0BlTZw
— Alyssa Leader (@alittleleader) August 27, 2026
The ways in which we criminalize some gun possession and not others, the severity of consequences for some gun-related behavior and not others, a lot of it is absolute nonsense. And of course a lot of it disproportionately impacts poor people and people of color.
— Alyssa Leader (@alittleleader) August 27, 2026
She almost had me agreeing with her, until she said that, of course, a lot of it disproportionately impacts poor people and people of color. What's the proper proportion?
She started strong, responding to a post about the Public Defender Service challenging the constitutionality of a D.C. law prohibiting anyone with a felony conviction from having a gun. So she's pro-gun, right? She believes felons should have the right to carry.
“I am absolutely anti-gun for normal law-abiding people people, but criminals should be allowed to posses them without penalty.”
— Bemused Observer (@PanopticonBot) August 28, 2026
Go fuck yourself.
On a personal level? What does that even mean? You can't be "as anti-gun as you can get" on a personal level and proceed to immediately make arguments to decriminalize gun related crimes. Because that is not being "as anti-gun as you can get".
— ParallaxandChill (@ParallaxChill) August 29, 2026
Guns are bad, unless its for criminals. Gotcha.
— Down the rabbit hole (@trilhadocoelho) August 29, 2026
Well, I've stolen literally $0 worth of stuff from anywhere ever, so maybe your client could've tried that.
— Margaret Stewart (@MargaretStusa) August 29, 2026
Normal people don’t steal thousands of dollars worth of stuff from Target. People that do that have poor impulse control, judgment, and morals, and should absolutely not possess firearms
— Gramster (@Gramsterwheel) August 28, 2026
Another leftist white woman as usual
— Geisterjäger (@Geisterjger4) August 29, 2026
I've carried a gun for 30 years and managed to never commit a felony or misdemeanor
Yes, people who lack the moral compass or self-control not to victimize people should forfeit their rights
What is wrong with you people?
"I only want guns to be available to criminals."
— Romaic (@RomanoGreek) August 29, 2026
Guys, you're not getting it. People are being thrown in jail for gun possession for felonies they committed years ago without a gun. She's a Second Amendment absolutist who just happens to be "about as anti-gun as you can get."
When I can lawfully possess a gun as a NJ resident, I'll worry about your shoplifter. If you're as anti-gun as you can get, the only reason you wouldn't want your shoplifter punished for gun possession is you're actively on the side of criminals.
— The Nybbler (@The_Nybbler) August 28, 2026
The most effective gun control we have, by far, is the steps we take to prevent felons from getting or having guns. We should increase the mandatory minimum for felon in possession to 20 years and hire thousands of lawyers to prosecute every single one of those cases.
— Scotty (@scottydinnaknow) August 28, 2026
Proving the point that for the leftist control advocate, the person they imagine getting the blunt stick of enforcement is the middle class law-abiding type (whom they hate as an enemy), not the recidivist criminal types who commit the vast, overwhelming majority of gun violence.
— Sage McLaughlin (@SagaciousMick) August 28, 2026
The suicidal empathy here is through the roof. You believe no one should own a firearm, but, convicted felons should be the exception?
— No One Important (@Zeus_z3) August 28, 2026
What kind of insane person are you?
So I can assume that you fully support gun ownership for people who have never committed any crime at all then?
— Steve (@CaffeinatedinAZ) August 29, 2026
So they committed multiple crimes, is what you're saying.
— Bonnie Samuel (@Sonia554) August 29, 2026
Very few people are willing to admit they support harsh gun control laws for everyone EXCEPT felons, but there are way more people than Alyssa who do so I support her for sharing
— RedVelvetWriter 🌵 (@ReVelvetWriter) August 28, 2026
Guys, that's not what she's saying!
This is a gun obsessed country. We’ve allowed it to become what it is. Fourteen & fifteen year olds get guns with absolute ease. There are places where people understandably feel that they MUST have a gun to be safe because gun violence is constant. These are all policy choices.
— Alyssa Leader (@alittleleader) August 27, 2026
Fourteen- and fifteen-year-olds getting guns isn't a policy choice. Well, maybe in Chicago it is. In any case, as a public defender, she's going to try to keep felons with guns out of prison.
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