The article in Salon that inspired the creation of the Pink Pistols (from 2000)

[bluestateguy]

http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2000/03/14/pistol/index.html?sid=681403

Pink pistols

The gay movement often portrays homosexuals as helpless victims. Here's an alternative: Arm them.

By Jonathan Rauch

Mar 14, 2000 | One night in the autumn of 1987, in Little Rock, Ark., a boy named Austin Fulk smelled his own death. He was 17, too young to drink in the bars, so he often hung out in a park that was popular among gay teenagers. On this night the sky was overcast, the ground soggy from a day's rain and the place mostly deserted. He was standing in a dimly lit parking lot, chatting with a man who had driven into town in a pickup truck.

A car drove past very slowly, sped up, turned around and came back. Someone inside yelled something like, "Fucking faggots, get AIDS and die!" Fulk's companion returned the compliment. The car slammed to a stop and four young men piled out, one with a baseball bat, another with a crowbar or tire iron.

"I thought I was about to die," says Austin; but he is alive, and that is because his companion reached into the truck and whipped out a pistol from under the seat, leveled it at the gay-bashers and fired a single shot over their heads. All at once, their courage deserted them. They ran back to their car and drove away.

Austin is one of two gay men I know who believe they were saved from death, or at least a long hospital stay, by guns. Guns, however, will play no part in the program for the gay and lesbian Millennium March that takes place April 30 in Washington. Early on, organizers of the march adopted eight "priority issues," with "hate-crimes legislative protections" first on the list.

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[proteus_lives]

1. Pink Pistols is wonderful.

No one have to be a victim.

[Euromutt]

2. I'm very proud to be friends with two of the founding members of the Seattle chapter

A very lovely lesbian couple who absolutely dote on my 4 year-old son (they jokingly tell my wife and me we can only come to their parties if we bring him). I refer to them as his "cigar-smoking, whisky-swilling, motorbike-riding, gun-toting aunties." Being lesbians living in a fairly redneck logging town, and being recreational motorcyclists, they both carry compact .40s (one a Glock 27, the other a Walther P99), and own an impressive variety of other handguns besides. And frack me if they don't throw the best parties I get to go to.

[shedevil69taz]

4. fistbump for the Battlestar refference

love to meet fellow nerd gun-enthusiasts. :fistbump:

[Xela]

8. Book "Armed America"

Were your friends listed in the book by any chance? There was a lovely lesbian couple where one of them had a T-Shirt with the Pink Pistols logo on.

I have a copy of the book which is a great treasure at our house :)

Xela

[Euromutt]

9. I also have a copy, as it happens

And no, not the same couple. Though I wouldn't be surprised to discover they all play World of Warcraft on the same server.

[Xela]

10. I hear ya...

Oh well, just thought it would be a cool coincidence.

RE: The book

I just realized I need to catch up on some stuff that didn't make it to the book:
http://www.armedamerica.org/extras/amazon-diary/index.html

There also seems to be some ocassional updates on his blog:
http://armedamerica.livejournal.com/

Xela

[spin]

3. K&R (n/t)

[shedevil69taz]

5. Yet people who want to restrict the ability of people to

defend themselves with the best means available would say to that scared kid facing down a hatefull and homophobic group: "good luck and I hope the paramedics can save your life".

[armueller2001]

6. The kid should have just

learned karate or ran away.

:sarcasm:

[gorfle]

7. Hooray for Pink Pistols!

No one should have to suffer from assault unanswered!

[ProgressiveProfessor]

11. I regualrly host the Pinks and others on my property for shooting and instruction

They make for an interesting lunch crowd (we do a potluck lunch).