In an interview, GOA executive director isn’t feeling too lovey dovey with the Pink Pistols, a GLBT gun rights group:
Stallard told me that the “Pink Pistols has good relations with national gun rights groups.† Larry Pratt did not think so.  His views can be summarized thusly: they should not have any rights; but, they do not deserve to be stoned to death.
Pratt began the discussion of gays by stating that “homosexuality is wrong.  So is adultery.† He objected to gays pushing gun rights just as he would object to “Adulterers for Gun Rights.† But, Pratt stated that while he objected to Pink Pistols “pushing it in my face, they do have a right to be offensive.â€
In the man’s defense, down the page he at least states for certain he doesn’t believe gays should be stoned to death. Regardless of what Pratt may personally think about the Pink Pistols or homosexuality, it’s not really relevant to his organization’s mission, so why talk about it?
Is Larry Pratt trying to become irrelevant?
And, another reason the GOA will never get a dime of my money.
Whew. This is a “third rail” subject. In any case, gays are a group that have had violence directed against them for merely existing. When we were campaigning for concealed carry here in Ohio the Pink Pistols were vocal supporters of the right and marched along with a number of the gun rights groups. They were welcome as far as I could tell.
It seems to me that we would be natural political allies when it comes to gun rights since they are targeted for violence, they need a way to defend themselves and we ‘gunnies’ are often trying to convince the left that guns equalize the weak and vulnerable to the gangs and the strong..
Also, the left is sympathetic to their cause. In the same way we ask the left “so you’d rather a woman be strangled with her pantyhose than use a gun to defend herself?” we could ask them “So you’d rather a gang beat a gay to death than have him use a gun?”
As for my personal opinion, I figure if you have time to worry about someone else’s sex life you have way way to much time on your hands. If the Pink Pistols believe in the same right to self defense as I do, then they are welcome in my club.
That was a rather unpleasant site that I would prefer to not visit again. They really don’t like Ron Paul, Lew Rockwell, the Tea Party movement, or Christians over there at Political Chili.
It left my skin crawling and my stomach churning like I had just been reading the Huffington Post or Little Green Footballs.
I am not sure that anything Larry Pratt says to that publication could possibly hurt his image to their audience. His comment about being willing to keep out of others’ bedrooms may even have helped him.
I strongly disagree with Larry’s views on homosexuality, but as long as he isn’t working to legislate them, much like Christine O’Donnell’s views on masturbation, I have little concern about them. It is unfortunate that he would choose to alienate an ally like the Pink Pistols, but since GOA was already the bottom of my list of gun rights groups to lend my support to, he can do little to harm that position.
I’m not actually that concerned with what Pratt thinks of gays personally. His views probably aren’t all that far off Clayton Cramers. But Clayton isn’t the Executive Director of a gun rights organization.
Executive Director and speaking out in that role on an unrelated issue. And, once again, attacking another gun rights group because of his personal views that have nothing to do with the issue.
I agree with you on both counts, Bitter. Declining that line of questioning due to his role within the GOA would have been more appropriate, and demeaning the Pink Pistols doesn’t help further champion the GOA cause. It would certainly be possible for him to avoid involvement with the Pink Pistols without disparaging them. It’s a shame that he doesn’t see it that way.
I’m not actually that concerned with what Pratt thinks of gays personally. His views probably aren’t all that far off Clayton Cramers. But Clayton isn’t the Executive Director of a gun rights organization.
What does being Executive Director of gun rights organization have to do with views on homosexuality? The real issue is that Pratt should have been smarter about divorcing gay politics from gun politics no matter what his views. Putting the two together doesn’t make for intelligent advocacy issue advocacy.
About the only criticism I’d make of Pink Pistols is that many of their meetings tend to be a lot of gossip with a little shooting instead of the other way around.
“Pushing it in my face”? Another homophobe who can’t get the gays out of his head.
I love the Pink Pistols. I wish we could get more gay energy in the gun movement. They make us STRONGER!!!
If they like guns and are willing to join in the fight for our rights, they are our brothers and sisters and we are honored to stand next to them.
Jumping off my soap box …. I met a member of the Pink Pistols here in Atlanta. He is a cross dresser. We ended up talking about holsters and how its hard for cross dressers because you can’t wear the same holster as a women in a dress as you can as a man in jeans. I had never thought about that and its stuck with me all these years.
“As for my personal opinion, I figure if you have time to worry about someone else’s sex life you have way way to much time on your hands.”
This betrays an innocent bias – clearly written by someone who is taken. Few of us would have been born, if one person hadn’t taken a healthy interest in the sex life of someone else.
Sebastian,
If the pink pistols were Republican Pink Pistols, ol’ Larry wouldn’t have too much of a problem…
The GOA is not a single issue entity, but I’m not sure they really know what issues they are until Larry makes his opinions known.
Dann in Ohio
Jeff the Baptist, your question is answered by your own statements. Thereby it would seem to me that you obviously get the big picture.
We have no Pink Pistols yet in Boise, although I would like to change that. As such I have no firsthand knowledge of how much time is spent gossiping or shooting at a Pink Pistols event. Would you mind sharing if your criticism of the Pink Pistols based on your own experience at their meetings?
Well, it’s true that *our* Pink Pistols chapter’s get-togethers are very social. We meet for lunch at a local restaurant one Saturday a month, and then go shooting at a local indoor range. But honestly, I think we spend as much time shooting as we do talking/munching.
The social function is very important; queer shooters tend to be much more closeted about their shooting than their queerness. It’s important to making the world aware that it’s not completely safe to assault someone because they “look queer”; they might very well be prepared to defend themselves effectively.
And Link… I think what you mean to say is there’s no PP *chapter* in Boise. Actually there’s a fair number of individual Pink Pistols scattered around in less-urban areas where we don’t have the critical mass to form a chapter that meets regularly, But they’re just as much members, and the socializing for them happens mostly on the mailing lists,
Maggie Leber
Delaware Valley Pink Pistols
http://pinkpistols.org
http://delawarevalley.pinkpistols.org
Jeff the Baptist, your question is answered by your own statements.
No it isn’t. The statement Sebastian made was not that Pratt would be fine if he held those views but shut up about them. The statement he made was much more like “we shouldn’t have people with these views in positions of leadership.” I find that incredibly offensive, but perhaps I simply read the implications of his Clayton Cramer statement wrong.
Nothing to say yet, just subscribing to email updates.
People are people, Live and let live. I had to stop reading Clayton Cramer because I couldn’t stand all of the gay hate. It is now starting to look like GOA isn’t so much a 2A group as it is a “whatever Larry Pratt thinks” group. At least with the NRA it seems like they are attempting to strictly focus on 2A issues without getting distracted by all the other crap. Now if only they would pull thier heads out of their asses and stop acting like a bunch of brats.
Hell, the (few) things I have read about Pink Pistols, I am starting to wonder if they would allow non-gay members.
s
Stuart, the Pink Pistols does allow straight members. I have several friends who are straight and are members (i need to become one).
Pink Pistols welcomes anybody who agrees with our ideals and goals. We might even have more straight members than gay; we certainly don’t ask–who you sleep with and why is your business.
One difference between me and Larry Pratt is that I don’t have any objection to gay gun rights groups. (I was on a panel with one of Pink Pistols’ representatives a couple of years back at the Gun Rights Policy Conference in Ohio.) No one should have to live in fear of being attacked because of what they and consenting adults do in private.
I would also say that you’ve done more for gun rights than Larry Pratt.
I would also say that you’ve [Clayton] done more for gun rights than Larry Pratt.
That is the understatement of the year! :)
“Declining that line of questioning due to his role within the GOA would have been more appropriate, and demeaning the Pink Pistols doesn’t help further champion the GOA cause.”
What you are missing is that GOA is trying to be a gun rights group for conservatives, while SAF and NRA are much more clearly libertarian. SAF and NRA aren’t actively trying to drive conservatives away, while GOA does seem intent on driving libertarians away.
While it might seem foolish for Pratt to be so openly hostile to homosexuality from the standpoint of gun rights, it actually makes sense from the standpoint of increasing your membership among conservative gun owners.
Sad to say, most gun rights groups are first and foremost about increasing their membership by whatever means necessary to keep their officers well paid and their employee paychecks issued. NRA aims broadly and gets everything: conservatives; libertarians; liberals; even some Marxists. GOA is aiming at a niche market among gun owners. Gun rights activism is a fortunate side effect for all these groups.
“I had to stop reading Clayton Cramer because I couldn’t stand all of the gay hate.”
I don’t approve of homosexuality, and I especially disapprove of attempts by gay activists to use the government to force everyone to smile stupidly and pretend approval. I also disapprove of the way that legitimate questions about homosexuality have been forced into the closet. That’s hardly “gay hate.”
I have some gay friends (not close friends). One of them found out that his landlord, a California city, was about to prohibit gun ownership in city-owned apartments. (He has to live in public housing because he is on the downslope from HIV, and is unable to work.) I put him in touch with a lawyer I know who specializes in such suits–and they forced the city to back down.
We don’t all have to agree or approve of each other’s opinions or actions to live together in a society. We do have to restrain the urge to use the government to force approval–and a fair number of gay activists can’t seem to resist the urge to use the government to force agreement.
Larry obviously doesn’t want any queers at his Country Club, but then he doesn’t live in San Francisco either.
I welcome the Pink Pistols because it drives the Left crazy to lose even one member of their slave-society, and the Pink Pistols recognize that guns are about Freedom and an individual’s self-realization, before identity-politics.
“I welcome the Pink Pistols because it drives the Left crazy to lose even one member of their slave-society, and the Pink Pistols recognize that guns are about Freedom and an individual’s self-realization, before identity-politics.”
Ditto! My experience is that gay gun owners are seldom slaves to gay identity politics–or they wouldn’t be gay gun owners.
Also Pink Pistols recognize that while a gun can be a political fashion-statement, sometimes a gun is just a gun. :-)
there is absolutely no justification for Pratt’s comments. the donation i made to GOA last month will be my last. there are plenty of other pro-gun groups that need support.
Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Pratt
He has always been a busy little bee, into a variety of stereotypical issues, hasn’t he?
I will state without proof that GOA is just one of many single-issue front organizations for a “stealth” effort to build an under-the-radar power base for the Christian Right.
“I will state without proof that GOA is just one of many single-issue front organizations for a “stealth†effort to build an under-the-radar power base for the Christian Right.”
If so, it isn’t very effective–and I’m part of the Christian Right. Pratt should have kept his mouth shut on this or limited his remarks to, “I don’t approve of homosexuality, but I welcome anyone to the gun rights movement who supports their right to self-defense.”
“If so, it isn’t very effective–and I’m part of the Christian Right.”
Just because you self-identify as “Christian Right” does not mean you are among the chosen. Even many of the participants don’t fully comprehend their role. An effective tactical plan — and it has been — is not published in the church bulletin.