"People will attack us because they hate us"
06/10/2002
HOUSTON (KHOU) -- Groups that know they're possible targets
of hate crimes are arming themselves for protection. They're determined
not to be victims. Keep your ears open at the range and you'll hear the usual
arguments for carrying guns. Harlan Bennett says, "I'm not anybody's
victim." "Learning to defend yourself is a very empowering thing.
It's a way to say I have my rights, and I will defend them," Dan Weiner
adds. But despite the bullseyes, these aren't straight shooters.
It's a gun club with a twist: the only requirements for membership
in the Pink Pistols is to be a gun advocate and be gay. "People attack us not only because they want our money,"
says Weiner. "We are out there. But also people will attack us because
they hate us." Weiner says look no further than the hate murders of Matthew
Shepard, or here in Houston, Paul Broussard. That's why he's pushing
gays to join him in taking up arms. Don't expect to see people in pink jackets packing pistols
marching around in Montrose. The Pink Pistols say they aren't about
vigilantism. They're about keeping people from becoming victims.
These are people who you might not expect to be wheeling
down the range, loading up and firing away. "I'm 50 years old. I'm a female. I'm retired. I'm in a wheelchair.
And I'm a queer," says Bennett. "What victim's group do you want to
put me?" Bennett has been a victim, not once but twice. She says never
again: "You feel safer. So you aren't cringing around acting like
a victim." Even if you think you are a target. Fourteen people have signed on as members of the Pink Pistols
in Houston in a year. There are 100 members across the country.