All female garage punk band The Coathangers have shared a new video, along with a promotional essay called “F The NRA,” a scathing commentary on the National Rifle Association (NRA). The essay features writing from Kathleen Hanna and Brendan Canty, while the video shows incidents of gun use and gun violence along with statistics regarding gun deaths.

This track is off the band’s forthcoming album The Devil You Know, which will be out on March 8 on Suicide Squeeze. Although the music video and essay decry the gun violence that occurs in the United States, the band state that they are not part of “any political party’s agenda.”

“To be clear, we are not endorsing any political party’s agenda,” they state in the essay. “We are not against guns or gun ownership, however we strongly believe that this country is in need of gun control regulation including stricter waiting periods, expanded background checks, and more stringent laws for purchasing ammunition.”

As the music video states there were 323 mass shootings in the United States alone last year, far more than any other developed nation. Excluding suicides, approximately 13,286 people were killed in the US by guns alone in 2015, while over 40,000 deaths occurred due to guns in 2018 alone(including suicides, which often make up a sizable portion of gun deaths.)

“Statistics overwhelmingly indicate that countries with stricter gun laws see proportionally fewer gun deaths,” the essay explains further.”Given the obscene amount of gun violence we saw last year alone, the lack of comprehensive changes in gun regulation is disturbing.”

As a refugee from Belarus, the band’s frontwoman Julia Kugel felt compelled to make the statement despite the backlash that the song may receive.

“I do not take the freedom of expression that all U.S. citizens are granted lightly. The band was confident that we wanted to put ‘F the NRA’ on the record,” the essay further elaborates. “It provided a personal catharsis and a sense of empowerment in the wake of the immense feeling of helplessness that was weighing heavily on us as we coped with continuous reports of mass shootings.”

While the band may not face government intervention, due to the first amendment and protection of free speech, there is a level of caution the band had with releasing the song. Many who claim to be “pro-second amendment,” advocates have made threats of violence in the past against those who argue in support of gun control online, and the issue remains a very divisive issue in the United States.

“It was not until those around us started warning us of the repercussions we could face, did we realize the risk involved in yelling at the giant. My ingrained fear of speaking out came back to me,” the essay further explains. “Yet the reason I am a musician is because of a need to express my truth, personal or political. I began to question everything: the rights of an artist, the responsibility of being political, the fear of backlash, and the desire to be heard.”

Photo Credit: Boston Lynn Shulz