#5SmartReads - March 30, 2023

Hitha on lax gun laws, promising news for Narcan, and my favorite multiverse

March 30, 2023

In order to advocate for meaningful change regarding gun safety at the federal level, it’s important to understand what’s happening at the state level.

And while I continue to shout from my soapbox about “properly funding and staffing the ATF to enforce the laws we do have” (something President Biden has outlined in his budget proposal, which sadly has little chance of happening with congressional Republicans), I also think it’s important to study where each state is regarding gun safety - and why.

When a mass shooting happens, the legislature in the state where it happens does act - in Democratic-led states, stricter gun safety laws are swiftly passed and signed into law. And in Republican-led states, they pass laws to add more guns (in the form of armed officers, or weakening any protections to make it easier for citizens to arm themselves).

Tennessee allows permitless carry and has an ongoing court case and legislation to lower the age of carrying a handgun to 18 years old, instead of 21 as it currently is.

Calling your member of Congress and Senators to take action at the federal level is important. And it’s even more important to take these actions - REGULARLY - at the state level as well, especially if you oppose measures like these. Especially during moments of peace.

I’ve been an MM.LaFleur fan since they launched, and it’s been an honor to watch them grow, pivot, and grow some more (and for my own relationship with the brand to go from fan to customer to creator to investor).

Sarah LaFleur has been an incredible leader of this brand, from inception through the challenges that scaling sustainably and surviving the pandemic and into this next phase of growth. I’m lucky to call Sarah a friend and benefit from her wisdom privately - much of which she shares in this interview. This advice may be my favorite (and one I plan to incorporate):

“If you have eight minutes, that’s all you need to call someone. Often, I found myself thinking, I don’t have 30 minutes to catch up with someone, so I’m not going to catch up with them. But I think it’s true; if you have eight minutes, you can actually catch up a lot with somebody. In the mornings I actually get up pretty early and go on a run or a walk, and I give my girlfriends (who are also up at a pretty early hour) a call and we’ll catch up.”

Well, this:

“The spill of 8,100 to 12,000 gallons of chemicals into the Delaware River occurred on Friday evening shortly before midnight at the Trinseo PLC Plant about eight miles north of Baxter. That plant, located in Bristol, Pennsylvania, in Bucks County, manufactures acrylic resins, and uses materials like those found in latex paint. Due to what the company described as an “equipment failure,” its facilities were unable to contain the chemicals — a solution of 50 percent water and 50 percent latex polymer — which then spilled into Otter Creek and then the Delaware River.”

It feels like the water/air supply issues in different American towns is a near daily news story for varying reasons (aging infrastructure, train derailment, and now an equipment failure). But what each of these issues share in common is that they could’ve been prevented with taking a proactive approach or with some common-sense regulation.

There’s nothing I love more than talking about (or rewatching) old school Disney Channel original movies. I’m also fond of Disney’s Descendents (and cannot wait for Brandy and Pablo Montalban to resurrect their roles as Cinderella and Charming!).

Naturally, I think this article is equally delightful and intelligent and it brought a much-needed smile to my face this week.

“But what helped make these Disney Channel characters so lovable was that they were simultaneously relatable and aspirational, and watching them together — seeing Raven’s love for fashion stitched up with the antics of the channel’s cherished twins and Maddie just trying to be a good friend — didn’t feel out of this world, but amplified the reasons they were all a part of it. Perhaps that’s what made the Disney Channel so impactful for those lucky enough to have cable growing up (or at least friends with it).”

In promising news out of the FDA, the first over-the-counter Narcan has been approved, and I hope this helps us scale accessible and immediate relief to those in the midst of an opioid overdose (once supplies are available, targeting late summer).

The stigma associated with opioid addiction remains stubbornly high as the epidemic continues to claim over 100,000 lives a year, so I’m hopeful this presentation and availability of Narcan will help blunt this catastrophe.

I still think about Empire of Pain (a phenomenal book detailing the Sacklers' role in this crisis), and both recommend it highly and with a warning (it will piss you off for the rest of your life).

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