· Chapter 180 of the 1998 session of the Massachusetts General Laws requires discrimination in some cases.  For example, due to this law, some people are longer able to legally purchase or modify a firearm to meet their physical requirements.

· Pink Pistols has never, and will never, advocate arming the queer community en masse.  Firearm ownership is a decision each and every individual must make on their own.

· According to your article State Senator Cheryl Jacques states, “…doesn't stop any lawful citizen, who feels he or she needs a handgun to protect themselves, unless he or she is a convicted felon, a wanted fugitive or has a history of violence or mental illness.”  I can testify that this is not true, as I was just denied a permit from the Boston Police Department.  The reason given?  I do not have a “proper purpose”.  (self-defense and sporting use)

· State Senator Cheryl Jacques states, “Eighty-five percent of the public supports this law...”  She fails to note that the question asked the public was, “Would you approve a law that prevents criminals and felons from obtaining firearms?”  State Representatives have apologized for passing this law, stating they didn’t know what restrictions were in the law.

· The following quote, attributed to Doug Krick, was made by Jonathan Rauch.
"It is remarkable that the gay movement in America has never seriously considered a strategy that ought to be glaringly obvious," Krick, a bisexual, told the weekly Boston TAB last fall.  "In those states [where legal], homosexuals should embark on an organized effort to become comfortable with guns, learn to use them and carry them."

· The Pink Pistols is not the first GLBT / Poly / BDSM friendly group.  Cease Fear (Washington State) existed before us.  Also, there used to be a group in southern California by the name of "Gays with Guns".

· The Pink Pistols have condemned Chapter 180, and not Senator Cheryl Jacques specifically, as the article stated.

· On the lighter side, we thought it a true scream to read in the same article how we are "pawns of the NRA" while simultaneously being doomed to their rejection because of their alleged homophobia. We could not have arranged a better demonstration of how people trap themselves in their own stereotypes (except maybe seeing GLAAD comdemn Elton John for dueting with Eminem). As GLBT civil rights activists, we work to better our society by breaking down sterotypes, so we hope your readers think about them and how they impair us from really learning about each other.
 

The following letter was printed in In Newsweekly the following week:

The Pink Pistols have condemned Chapter 180, and not Senator Cheryl Jacques specifically, as the article stated. We have no particular dislike for Cheryl, and we support some of her work, such as her support for the Safe Schools program. However, the 1998 gun law she sponsored preserved and extended a system of arbitrary discrimination. Under Chapter 180, an applicant who is otherwise legally qualified may be denied a gun license for self defense, for any reason the town police chief desires, or for no specific reason at all, regardless of need. As GLBT civil rights activists, we do not believe in allowing arbitrary discrimination on the part of any public official for any reason - the criteria used should be written down in law and apply equally to all citizens, whether or not they are friends of the chief or the "correct" color or sexual orientation.

I was somewhat disturbed to see that almost all of the quotes from Senator Jacques and John Rosenthal are factually incorrect and/or misleading. See our webpage, www.pinkpistols.org, for a detailed markup of the article with references showing the inaccuracies. An obvious example: Senator Jacques is quoted as saying that her law "doesn't stop any lawful citizen, who feels he or she needs a handgun to protect themselves, unless he or she is a convicted felon, a wanted fugitive or has a history of violence or mental illness." This statement is simply untrue, and anyone can check it by calling their local police chief, or looking up 1998's Chapter 180 on the state website. The law allows a town police chief arbitrary, unlimited power to deny a license for self defense or restrict it so heavily it is useless. Further, Senator Jacques claims she had nearly nothing to do with Chapter 180, but two weeks ago in Bay Windows, she is quoted as being the "driving force behind the passage of the state's 1998's gun control law".

Most seriously, the quote advocating that gays arm themselves as a class, which was wrongly attributed to Doug Krick, was actually a quote taken from Jonathan Rauch's Salon.com article from which the Pink Pistols took our name. Rauch did advocate gays arming for self defense, but the Pink Pistols do not take and have never taken any such position. Carrying a gun to defend your life is a personal decision; we believe only that the licensing criteria should be based in law, and not on which town you live in.

On the lighter side, we thought it a true scream to read in the same article how we are "pawns of the NRA" while simultaneously being doomed to their rejection because of their alleged homophobia. We could not have arranged a better demonstration of how people trap themselves in their own stereotypes (except maybe seeing GLAAD comdemn Elton John for dueting with Eminem). As GLBT civil rights activists, we work to better our society by breaking down sterotypes, so we hope your readers think about them and how they impair us from really learning about each other.

Thanks,
David Rostcheck
Civil Rights Activist
Pink Pistols of Boston
davidr@pinkpistols.org