Gays and guns seem as likely to go together as Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey. As a culture, even under attack, we are a peaceful lot -- you catch more bees with honey, right?
"Wrong," says Gwendolyn Patton of Pink Pistols, a group that advocates gun ownership for the LGBT community. With taglines like "pick on someone your own caliber," and "armed gays don’t get bashed," Patton says Pink Pistols changes the perception that gay people are easy victims.
"We teach queers to shoot, and then we teach the rest of the world we’ve done it," Patton told WBEZ91.5, a public radio station in Chicago. "Because then they may think twice about using (LGBT people) as a target."
Doug Krick, a libertarian activist from Illinois founded the Pink Pistols in July 2000 while living in Massachusetts. The organization now has 60 chapters in 33 states and three countries. The group’s activities include firing range visits, political activism and will occasionally produce report cards on politicians; rating them on their position on issues of interest to members. Other than that, little is known about the organization and it’s even difficult to know just how big the Pink Pistols movement is because the organization doesn’t keep a national count.
While some might roll their eyes, advocates like Chuck Michel, a spokesman for the California Rifle and Pistol Association and a lawyer for the National Rifle Association, does not. In fact, in 2005, at the height of the Proposition H ordinance debate, which gained national attention for seeking to ban the otherwise legal ownership and sales of firearms in San Francisco, Michel said Pink Pistols played a critical role in the gun owner rights fight.
"They have a great deal of legitimacy because they recognize they are at great odds of becoming victims because of their sexual preference ... I think people will understand that they should not be deprived of their rights," he told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Well as an anti-gun liberal the idea of more guns in the community means to me that there will be more chance for accidental shootings and murders of passion.
However as a pro-gay rights liberal I have to admit that the idea of some homophobic asshole being shot in the face while trying to beat on a homosexual is not exactly unpleasant.
Interestingly enough my daughter has been talking about buying a handgun for when she drives down to the lower forty eight this fall. I have struggled with my stance on guns vs my desire to see that my daughter is safe if somebody tries to harm her when she is too far away for me to come to her defense and rip their heart out and devour it before their dying eyes.(Sorry, I get a little defensive about my daughter.)
I have of course grudgingly given her my blessing, though mostly because I know that her grandfather spent many Alaskan summers teaching her how to use a gun and that she can shoot a man's cock off at fifty paces.
Also not an unpleasant thought.
Hmm, I wonder how the Republican gun nuts feel about this little twist in the plot?
Didn't Sarah get a pink pistol as a gift from Bistol? If so, she now has a gay gun *hahahahaha*
ReplyDeletedoubt if Sarah can legally own a gun at all. She has a history of mental disease.
DeleteGryph, I got my concealed weapons carry license back in GA about 30 years ago. I used to live N of the city and worked downtown right next to Underground Atlanta and the Capitol in the Twin Towers. During that time, Atlanta had a very bad crime rate. I lived in an apartment by myself and I had to walk several blocks from where I parked to the office. I learned how to carry and shoot from LE officers that I worked with.
ReplyDeleteThat said I have only had to pull my pistol twice in the 30+ years that I carried ( I use past tense as since I've been in AK I only seem to carry a pistol in the fall when berry picking nowadays). Both times were in Ga. when I was young and traveled by myself a lot.
The 1st time was very early a.m. at a gas station when a car full of drunk a-holes pulled up and started to harass me. All I had to do was push back my coat to reveal my holster and they took off. The 2nd time was when I was driving down the highway when a guy pulls up next to me on the two lane and sticks right at my window. I needed to pass a car, so I look over, and yep, the guy has a dirty mag on the steering wheel and he's pleasuring himself while looking at me. I calmly reach over to the glove box, pull out my .38, look over at him and start to roll down my window. He took off pretty fast.
I don't usually carry anymore when in town, though sometimes I do carry mace. I have had self-defense training as well as firearm training and I think that the way I notice my surroundings, walk, etc. keeps me from being a victim more than if I had a gun on me.
If I was traveling alone, I'd bring a gun. Walking around town shopping, not so much. If your daughter wants to carry then she better know how to use it very well, and without hesitation. Often a gun is taken away from the holder and used against them. If you have it, you better be prepared to use it, and you don't pull it unless you are going to use it.
A final thought. You don't know HOW you will react until you are in a bad situation, which is why training and preparation is essential.
Fantastic comment.
DeleteMy daughter is a crack shot with a shotgun.
My daughter has yet felt the need to carry a pistol.
She does carry pepper spray at all times and a knife designed for self-defense (for the curious: http://ow.ly/i/2cO3j).
And she knows how to use it.
I just became a gun-rights liberal! I like the work Pink Pistols is doing. Good for them. Hope the gay bashers are taking notes here. Or maybe there will have to be a few examples before they get it. ;-)
ReplyDeleteAmazing how casual you are in embracing madness. Going for a drive, so better assemble the arsenal. Presumably the drive is onto a ferry bypassing Canada. Here we just check to ensure we have enough gas, our wallets and maybe a phone before going for a drive. In the Yukon, we routinely lock up drivers coming from Alaska who assume their right to form well ordered militias is universal.
ReplyDeletethe laws vary in all 50 states. Tell DD to be sure she can legally transport her weapon over state lines. Not every state has reciprocity.
ReplyDelete"she can shoot a man's cock off at fifty paces.
ReplyDelete"Also not an unpleasant thought."
You have a mental problem, Gryph. A severe, severe, mental problem. Let us hope you never decide to pick up a gun yourself. Despite your protestations of pacifism, I am not certain you could control all the hatred that seethes inside you.
I state this a friend who holds the same basic political position you do, absent the irrational hatred.
Oh no you have every right to be troubled about the idea of someone like me owning a gun.
DeleteI have an enormous angry streak and if I had been cowardly enough to pick up a gun I certainly would have killed somebody by now. I was self aware enough when I was young to stay far away from guns and alcohol for that very reason.
That is not to say that I did no harm, in fact I did great harm and those memories are still quite painful.
Since those days I have endeavored to live a life of peace and have done so for over 25 years.
But make no mistake, as peaceful as I imagine myself to be, if anybody were to threaten my child with physical harm the remainder of their life would be measured in minutes not years.
I guess once your child is victimized or feels victimized, your hatred will be rational? No?
DeleteHand guns are restricted in Canada.
ReplyDeletehttp://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aa012601a.htm
She won't get into Canada with a pistol. With a long gun it takes some time and money to get the permits.
ReplyDeleteIn the good old days you declared your pistol and it was sealed in a plastic bag. If you were caught anywhere in Canada with the bag or seal broken, you were in trouble.
She'd best put off purchasing her handgun until she gets where she's going. You can only legally purchase a gun in the state in which you reside. You can buy a pistol from another state and have it shipped to a licensed dealer in your state and have them do the paperwork.
True enough. If she takes the Alaska Ferry from Seward to Bellingham she should be okay, but she should check with AK Ferries just to be sure. If passengers don't physically land with their goods and chattels, they are generally exempt from the stopping port nation's laws.
DeleteI think that the average gay person, particularly of a certain age, does not advertise their lifestyle. While they are not in the closet anymore, nor do they want to have to identify with any group. They do have the money and means to defend themselves. The NRA preys upon individual insecurities. I am not sure that the NRA was ready for this group. I wouldn't fuck with someone used to being abused and fine tuned to predators.
ReplyDeleteGryph, my husband is a target shooter and occasionally we travel to places where he would like to shoot. However, we have never done so, because state laws vary widely on carry regulations. If your daughter chooses to buy a firearm, she should research every state through which she'll be travelling about their gun laws. They will vary a lot. In general, it's probably not a good idea to travel with a sidearm.
ReplyDeleteThousands In France Protest Against Gay Marriage
ReplyDeletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/26/gay-marriage-protest-france_n_3339705.html
I have been reading about the high occurance of rapes in the military. Those victims were well-trained in the use of force and firearms. They were aremed. And they were raped. Carrying a gun does not prevent assault and it does not improve the victim's ability to defend herself during an attack.
ReplyDelete