LGBTQ+ People Take Up Arms as Fears of Right-wing Hate Groups Grow

[ThatRobGuy]

LGBTQ+ People Take Up Arms as Fears of Right-wing Hate Groups Grow

One group in New Hampshire says it is providing firearms skills to queer people so they can protect themselves.

www.advocate.com

Far right-wing radicals in New Hampshire and elsewhere may find themselves outgunned if a trend of LGBTQ+ people taking up arms in the state spreads nationwide.

Fin Smith, an organizer with Rainbow Reload, recently allowed a New Hampshire Public Radio reporter to tag along with their group on a training mission at Pawtuckaway State Park. In light of a rising chorus of threats targeting LGBTQ+ people, including those stemming from hate groups, Rainbow Reload provides a controlled environment for queer gun enthusiasts and experts to practice firearms skills.

The group says it aims to give people the skills they need to protect themselves.

“There’s been an uptick in hate crimes, there’s been an uptick in groups that have been protesting drag story times and drag shows, and it felt like I needed to learn how to protect myself,” another member, Jamie, told NHPR, holding her Christmas gift, a pistol.

“I recognize the temperature is freezing, and this is not the most comfortable,” Smith said to a handful of participants, NHPR reports. “But if it’s raining, we’re training. If it’s snowing, we’re going.”

Some club members say they would have liked to join a shooting club sooner but avoided them because they felt unwelcomed.

Despite a general societal shift in recent years towards the normalizing and public approval of marriage equality for LGBTQ+ couples in American culture, Republicans and those on the right have recently attempted to falsely isolate the community as a collection of “groomers” with a “woke liberal agenda” aimed at indoctrinating kids into seeking medical treatment to change their gender identity.

According to a recent Pew study, noted by NHPR, almost half of Republicans own guns, compared to one-in-five Democrats.

Members of Rainbow Reload are diverse in their opinions and don’t advocate for gun policies, the station reports.




I say, bravo.

Their message is similar to that of a group I've donated to in the past, Pink Pistols, who have the slogan "armed gays don't get bashed" and "pick on someone your own caliber".

I think movements like this are a win-win from multiple angles.

1) it'll make people (who are otherwise resistant to any/all forms of gun control) rethink their positions and be willing to reconsider and entertain some common sense measures (even if for the wrong the reasons)

2) it'll quickly expose the hypocrites who tout gun rights, but then all of the sudden want some gun control when a group they don't like starts getting some. (like California in the 60's... when Republican Don Mulford proposed bans on carrying guns because the original black panthers started carrying them to "police the police" in their own neighborhoods.

3) it allows people who are in a vulnerable position to defend themselves (which is the most important reason)

 

[Bradskii]

Ah yes. More people with guns. What could possibly go wrong...

 

[ThatRobGuy]

Ah yes. More people with guns. What could possibly go wrong...

There's already lots of guns out there, what's the problem with marginalized groups getting them to defend themselves?

There's no real plan to take them away from the people who already have them...so why not put marginalized people in the best position to defend themselves?

 

[Brihaha]

Cause and effect. It was bound to happen.

 

[jacks]

I have no issue with gun ownership. Only problem I can see, is some people are itching for a fight. Saying you are armed and prepared may provoke more than deter. Perhaps best to do it quietly, not try to make a statement.

 

[SavedByGrace3]

This on the eve of 6 Christians (3 of them 9 years old) being murdered by a trans person in a Christians school.
This thread should be taken down. Talk about hard hearted and weird.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

I have no issue with gun ownership. Only problem I can see, is some people are itching for a fight. Saying you are armed and prepared may provoke more than deter. Perhaps best to do it quietly, not try to make a statement.

Haven't many on the US-right made it a point of pride to say they were "armed and prepared" at various points in the last 20 years? They certainly haven't done it quietly.

Which, to be clear, I have no problem with people asserting their power over entities that wish to trample on their rights...deterrence is a valid approach.

But consistency is key. If a conservative has a right to put the gun-pride "yellow flag with snake coiled around an AR" bumper sticker on their truck, a gay or trans person saying "I own guns too, and if you're looking to do me harm, you're getting the business end of my Glock" is fair.

 

[Merrill]

There's already lots of guns out there, what's the problem with marginalized groups getting them to defend themselves?

There's no real plan to take them away from the people who already have them...so why not put marginalized people in the best position to defend themselves?

I am not sure they are "marginalized"

this isn't 1950. Gays have a legal right to marry in the US, and are subject to anti-discrimination laws. Virtually every fortune 500 company goes out of its way to celebrate pride month, dunk its logo into rainbow paint, etc.

gay people in the US enjoy rights and privileges that 90% of the rest of the population of the world doesn't have. Doesn't mean life is always easy for them here, but let's stop with the whole victimhood thing.

 

[jacks]

In any case it looks like the community is making it's mark already. I guess violence is just the new norm, for everyone.

Nashville police revealed that the 28-year-old who shot and killed six people at the Covenant School, including three children, identified as transgender and had a detailed manifesto to attack the Christian academy.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

This on the eve of 6 Christians (3 of them 9 years old) being murdered by a trans person in a Christians school.
This thread should be taken down. Talk about hard hearted and weird.

I didn't even know that the shooter was trans for that case, but it's irrelevant to the topic.

There have been shooters that have held far-right views, and it hasn't negated the right of conservatives to own guns.

Why apply two different sets of rules?

If one faction is going to posit that "LGBT people are scum of the earth" and still get to own guns, why wouldn't the counterpart to that get to own guns?

Fair is fair...if you're going to allow one set of extreme viewpoints to back up their opinions with force, you can't deny their counterpoint the same rights.

If it were up to me, nutjobs on either side should be restricted from owning them, but that would require universal background checks.

 

[FireDragon76]

New Hampshire? Not exactly a hotbed of homophobia.

 

[Pommer]

I am not sure they are "marginalized"

this isn't 1950. Gays have a legal right to marry in the US, and are subject to anti-discrimination laws. Virtually every fortune 500 company goes out of its way to celebrate pride month, dunk its logo into rainbow paint, etc.

gay people in the US enjoy rights and privileges that 90% of the rest of the population of the world doesn't have. Doesn't mean life is always easy for them here, but let's stop with the whole victimhood thing.

Gay folk in this country “have it made”?

 

[coffee4u]

Gay folk in this country “have it made”?

Any person living in a free western country 'has it made'. In fact our privilege is so great we can moan about the smallest of things on message boards, Tic Toc, YouTube etc. Try moaning about it in North Korea. Try having to walk a mile every day just to have enough water to use then come back and moan how about how bad you have it.

 

[FireDragon76]

Any person living in a free western country 'has it made'. In fact our privilege is so great we can moan about the smallest of things on message boards, Tic Toc, YouTube etc. Try moaning about it in North Korea. Try having to walk a mile every day just to have enough water to use then come back and moan how about how bad you have it.

Using North Korea as an example isn't setting the bar for human rights high at all.

Gay folk in this country “have it made”?

Anti-gay discrimination is still happening. A woman at our church, who is an employee of the federal government, is working on a case like that at the moment, involving discrimination against somebody because they are gay. It may be somewhat less socially acceptable in the past and more hidden, depending on where one lives, but it's still an ogoing problem.

 

[Desk trauma]

Any person living in a free western country 'has it made'. In fact our privilege is so great we can moan about the smallest of things on message boards, Tic Toc, YouTube etc. Try moaning about it in North Korea. Try having to walk a mile every day just to have enough water to use then come back and moan how about how bad you have it.

I do love the oppression Olympics.

 

[Ana the Ist]

LGBTQ+ People Take Up Arms as Fears of Right-wing Hate Groups Grow

One group in New Hampshire says it is providing firearms skills to queer people so they can protect themselves.

www.advocate.com

Far right-wing radicals in New Hampshire and elsewhere may find themselves outgunned if a trend of LGBTQ+ people taking up arms in the state spreads nationwide.

Fin Smith, an organizer with Rainbow Reload, recently allowed a New Hampshire Public Radio reporter to tag along with their group on a training mission at Pawtuckaway State Park. In light of a rising chorus of threats targeting LGBTQ+ people, including those stemming from hate groups, Rainbow Reload provides a controlled environment for queer gun enthusiasts and experts to practice firearms skills.

The group says it aims to give people the skills they need to protect themselves.

“There’s been an uptick in hate crimes, there’s been an uptick in groups that have been protesting drag story times and drag shows, and it felt like I needed to learn how to protect myself,” another member, Jamie, told NHPR, holding her Christmas gift, a pistol.

“I recognize the temperature is freezing, and this is not the most comfortable,” Smith said to a handful of participants, NHPR reports. “But if it’s raining, we’re training. If it’s snowing, we’re going.”

Some club members say they would have liked to join a shooting club sooner but avoided them because they felt unwelcomed.

Despite a general societal shift in recent years towards the normalizing and public approval of marriage equality for LGBTQ+ couples in American culture, Republicans and those on the right have recently attempted to falsely isolate the community as a collection of “groomers” with a “woke liberal agenda” aimed at indoctrinating kids into seeking medical treatment to change their gender identity.

According to a recent Pew study, noted by NHPR, almost half of Republicans own guns, compared to one-in-five Democrats.

Members of Rainbow Reload are diverse in their opinions and don’t advocate for gun policies, the station reports.

Well, I don't know if there's an uptick in hate crimes but best of luck to them.

Learn your local self defense laws first.

I say, bravo.

Their message is similar to that of a group I've donated to in the past, Pink Pistols, who have the slogan "armed gays don't get bashed" and "pick on someone your own caliber".

What did you donate? Cash?

I think movements like this are a win-win from multiple angles.

1) it'll make people (who are otherwise resistant to any/all forms of gun control) rethink their positions and be willing to reconsider and entertain some common sense measures (even if for the wrong the reasons)

2) it'll quickly expose the hypocrites who tout gun rights, but then all of the sudden want some gun control when a group they don't like starts getting some. (like California in the 60's... when Republican Don Mulford proposed bans on carrying guns because the original black panthers started carrying them to "police the police" in their own neighborhoods.

In all fairness...some of those Black Panthers were shooting police. I used to look at that very one sided, but once I saw some of the rhetoric thrown around and tried to figure out how many shootings/attempted shootings they were responsible for....

COINTELPRO no longer looked like a bad idea.

3) it allows people who are in a vulnerable position to defend themselves (which is the most important reason)

I have no problem with it. If they feel genuinely threatened, especially in big cities, police aren't necessarily showing up these days anyway. I don't think it's anything anyone should rush into if they're overly emotional or don't understand when you actually can shoot in self defense (and the consequences of hitting the wrong person) and along with their overly exaggerated claims of suicidality....there's a lot that could go wrong here....but it sounds pretty small scale, and hopefully the trainer knows what he's doing, etc.

 

[Ana the Ist]

Gay folk in this country “have it made”?

Comparatively....sure.

 

[Ana the Ist]

Using North Korea as an example isn't setting the bar for human rights high at all.

No...but if you're going to make an objective assessment of one's situation it has to be compared to something else that's real. Not a fantasy situation where you can have anything you want.

We can all dream up fantasy situations that don't exist in reality where we have unfulfilled wishes.

Anti-gay discrimination is still happening. A woman at our church, who is an employee of the federal government, is working on a case like that at the moment, involving discrimination against somebody because they are gay.

Denied a job?

It may be somewhat less socially acceptable in the past and more hidden, depending on where one lives, but it's still an ogoing problem.

I have in the past advocated for equal rights in all matters for the gay community. I felt marriage was a big one, and of course employment opportunities....as the argument went that this was an immutable trait and shouldn't be discriminated against.

Never again.

As the last ten years have taught me, should society suddenly make me a paraiah for nothing more than being a straight white man...I noticed an abundance of gay people who have joined in this rather stupid, racist, bigoted attack. There's a noticeable lack of gay people willing to push back against it. As such, it's clear they have no intention of ever giving me the same support, consideration of issues, or even speak of me with the same basic human decency they claim they deserve....they've certainly fallen far short of the decency and support I've shown them. If that is to be the new political game we're playing, I won't necessarily lend any support to those who stand against them on various issues...but I sure as well won't be supporting them. It would be akin to helping someone who blames me for their troubles and names me their enemy. How quickly they forget all those that stood behind them in their battle for marriage.

There are of course, exceptions....Douglas Murray comes to mind....even minor support from comedian Tim Dillon counts in my mind....but as to the movement in general, they can fight their own battles, and should they continue to name me an enemy, they'll be at the very least, hearing my support against them.

I don't like identity politics, but I'm pragmatic in politics before anything....and it does me no good to support those who treat me with disdain and cannot even raise a word of protest when their comrades speak against me.

 

[Bradskii]

There's already lots of guns out there, what's the problem with marginalized groups getting them to defend themselves?

There's no real plan to take them away from the people who already have them...so why not put marginalized people in the best position to defend themselves?

People use it as a first resort is the problem. They retaliate first. Like the customer recently who shot someone a few times as the guy was robbing people in a restaurant. A bad dude no doubt. But sheesh, let him walk with a few bucks...

 

[FireDragon76]

People use it as a first resort is the problem. They retaliate first. Like the customer recently who shot someone a few times as the guy was robbing people in a restaurant. A bad dude no doubt. But sheesh, let him walk with a few bucks...

You won't find alot of sympathy for that point of view in the US, unfortunately. Americans seem to be comfortable with killing to an inordinate degree. Periodically offering their kids up to the Molech of the firearms industry is just one manifestation of that, but another is the general "Make my day" attitude towards crime.

Few in the US stop to think how it is that one of the wealthiest societies in the world has so much violent crime. Instead it's easier to focus on this "Dirty Harry" type mentality that resigns itself to killing and being killed.