Pink Pistols

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Gun interest groups in the U.S.
Pro-gun rights
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms Gun Owners of America JPFO Law Enforcement Alliance of America Liberty Belles National Rifle Association Pink Pistols Second Amendment Foundation Second Amendment Sisters Students for Concealed Carry on Campus
Pro-gun control
Americans for Democratic Action Americans for Gun Safety Foundation American Hunters and Shooters Association Brady Campaign Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence Coalition to Stop Gun Violence League of Women Voters Violence Policy Center

The Pink Pistols are a gay gun rights organization in the United States and Canada. Their mottos are "Armed gays don't get bashed" and "Pick on someone your own caliber." Inspired by a Salon.com Article by Jonathan Rauch,^[1] Doug Krick, a libertarian activist from Massachusetts, founded the Pink Pistols in July 2000. The organization now has 48 Chapters in 32 States and 2 countries that are principally made up of gun-owning LGBT individuals, though neither condition is mandatory for membership.^[2]

The political orientation of the Pink Pistols is considered unusual due to the popular perception in the United States of firearms ownership as a "conservative issue" and sexuality as a "liberal issue." However, there is nothing within either of these two single-issues that is mutually exclusive and a variety of other pro-gun organizations exist for groups not typically associated with gun rights (for example the "Democrats for the Second Amendment").

Pink Pistols activities include firing range visits and political activism. The group occasionally produces report cards on politicians, rating their position on issues of interest to members. According to pinkpistols.org,

The Pink Pistols get together at least once a month at local firing ranges to practice shooting, and to acquaint people new to firearms with them. We will help you select a firearm, acquire a permit, and receive proper training in its safe and legal use for self-defense. The more people know that members of our community may be armed, the less likely they will be to single us out for attack.

The Pink Pistol's symbol consists of an overhead view of a picto-person aiming a handgun in an isosceles stance super-imposed on a pink triangle. The pink triangle, now a gay pride and gay rights symbol, was originally a badge that homosexual concentration camp victims had to wear during the Holocaust.

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• Gay rights
• Outright Libertarians

[edit] External links

• The Pink Pistols, official website
• "Coming Out of the Closet: These guys won’t be victims", from the National Review
• Pink Pistols from Salon.com