Reformatted below....

-- Uncle Deedah (unkeed@yahoo.com), February 28, 2001

Answers

Gays Take Aim: Pink Pistols gun club members seek safety from attackers, and camaraderie

By ALISHA BERGER The Patriot Ledger

MANCHESTER, N.H. – David Rostcheck of Arlington stood in front of the new recruits, holding a .22-caliber Smith & Wesson target pistol. When he offered it to the 13 people standing awkwardly in front of him, several stepped away nervously. The men and women were at the Manchester Firing Line Range to learn about guns, but many seemed uncomfortable about the prospect. They were the newest members of the Pink Pistols, a nationwide pro-gun group that encourages so- called "pinks" – people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or lead otherwise alternative sexual lifestyles – to arm themselves.

The idea, say members, is to discourage potential gay bashers by making it known that many gays are armed and ready to defend themselves. Rostcheck said the group now claims more than 120 members in its 12 chapters. Their motto: "Pick on someone your own caliber." "Whether it's politically correct or not, guns keep people safe," said Paul Kempley of Hyde Park, who helped form the Boston chapter, the nation's first. "People need to realize that gun ownership and homosexuality aren't mutually exclusive."

"People have a right to defend themselves," said Kempley, a bisexual, who helped Rostcheck teach gun safety to the group. ‘‘The only real requirement (for joining), aside from a pulse, is an open mind and a respect for the Second Amendment."

That amendment to the U.S. Constitution states "A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.''

Members say the group defends both sexual freedom and the rights of gun owners. But not everyone agrees that it's necessary. "I think they're misguided and misinformed," said state Sen. Cheryl A. Jacques, D-Newton, who is gay and was also a lead Senate sponsor of Chapter 180, the state's strict gun control law passed in 1998. "We don't want people walking up and down the street carrying concealed weapons. This isn't the Wild, Wild West."

"I would hope there was another alternative, that we as a society could work toward," said Sally Slovenski, gun violence prevention manager at Join Together, a gun safety group based at the Boston University School of Public Health. "Coming together as a community, raising awareness and thinking of other solutions would be better."

Slovenski suggested the ‘‘pink'' community talk with police and religious leaders as alternative ways to prevent gay-bashing. But many Pink Pistols say they're inspired by personal experiences, or friends' experiences, with anti-gay violence. Kempley tells of a gay friend in San Francisco who was able to ward off a group of would-be gay bashers simply by pulling back his jacket and showing the .45- caliber gun on his hip.

That scenario, however, would be unlikely in Massachusetts, where licenses to carry concealed weapons are rarely granted.

The first Pink Pistols chapter in the nation was formed in Boston in May by Hyde Park resident Douglas Krick. New groups have formed in Tucson, Baltimore and Chicago, and two clubs formed in New York just last week, according to Krick. "The biggest thing we do is try to break stereotypes," Krick said. "I hope we make people think."

The group was born from a March 2000 article by Jonathan Rauch, a columnist for the online magazine Salon.com. He wrote, "There isn't a city in the U.S. where gay couples can hold hands without fear," and he called upon gays nationwide to arm themselves, sponsor shooting courses and help other gays get licensed to carry. He even suggested the group's name. "It sounded like a great idea," Krick said. "I said "Let's go shooting; let's have some fun.'"

Krick created a web site, www.pinkpistols.com. The mailing list grew rapidly. More than 75 people participate in the Boston group. "We make sure everybody knows what they're doing, we teach gun safety and then we set them loose at the range and let them have fun. We help them out, show them the ropes." The Boston group goes shooting at least once a month, the second Saturday, and sometimes more.

At a recent visit to the Manchester, N.H., shooting range, Kempley passed an unloaded Smith & Wesson model 19 revolver from person to person. He encouraged them to handle the unloaded Sears .22-caliber rifle. The men and women listened to Rostcheck's instructions but seemed distracted by the booming and popping of guns discharging on the range. Revolvers and semi-automatic handguns made by Glock and Taurus were on display inside a glass case at the range. Targets and ammunition were for sale and guns, headphones and goggles were available for rent. Men lounged about in camouflage pants and compared the bullet hole clusters on their targets. Shooters queued up, handed in their driver's licenses and got their lane assignments.

"It's a fun sport and it's relaxing," said Rostcheck, who is bisexual. "You have to calm down as much as possible before you fire."

People said they were there for different reasons. Some thought it'd be fun to try shooting. Others hoped to meet new people. Others said they feared for their safety and thought guns might be the answer.

Members put on goggles and ear protection and headed out onto the range. The post-discharge booms ricocheted along with the bullets as the shooters loaded and then emptied their guns. But the group hopes to be more than a Saturday afternoon gun club. Krick wants members to be politically active.

The Pistols sent out gun and lifestyle questionnaires to Massachusetts and national candidates last year and rated them on whether they were gay-friendly and gun-friendly. No major-party candidate returned the questionnaire, Krick said. The best-known candidate who did was Carla Howell, Libertarian nominee for U.S. Senate. She got an A+, a perfect rating. "Gay voters are expected to be in favor of gun control and it's not necessarily even in our best interest," said Rostcheck. "Mass. gun laws violate civil rights and we may have a practical need to defend ourselves."

Rostcheck is crusading against Massachusetts gun laws, the toughest in the country, which he says make guns too expensive and are discriminatory.

Like many members of the Pink Pistols, he had a story to tell about a brush with muggers or gay bashers. Rostcheck has been run out of a bar by skinheads and was once mugged by a guy who hit him with a rock. He didn't believe that assault was a hate crime, but he still felt the need to protect himself. "I remember thinking to myself a lot of people have been killed with rocks and I don't want to be one of them," he said.

"I have a need for self-defense."

Copyright 2001 The Patriot Ledger February 27, 2001

The right to self defense, that is what the Second Amendment truly is all about. I predict that Glock, ever sensitive to consumer demand, will debut a purple 9mm.

-- Uncle Deedah (unkeed@yahoo.com), February 28, 2001.

I can just imagine the wording on a new rash of APB’s;

“Armed and ‘out of sorts’.”

-- Don't Forget (2@cock.it), February 28, 2001.

It's about bloody time. Disarmed minorities aren't citizens, they're subjects. Just ask my Great Grandmother about the numbers on her arm.

-- Raven Horowitz (raven4@home.com), May 02, 2001.

Good for them.

-- Lars (larsguy@yahoo.com), May 02, 2001.

This won't do much good for gay people in California, unless they plan to break the laws that the rest of us law-abibing citizens obey. Maybe if they think about it some more they'll stop voting for the NWO liberals who are so busy taking away all our rights in the Golden State.

-- KABA (-@reluctant.californian), May 03, 2001.