Hard_Rom
Northumbrian Skald
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- Apr 24, 2014
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Self-defence and fighting stereotypes are among the ties that bind U.S. gay and gun communities
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/gun-gay-rights-1.3270730
Chris Cheng made a huge and surprising career change in 2012 — he quit Google for guns and he now travels around the United States to participate in shooting competitions, challenging stereotypes as he goes.
Cheng is an Asian-American, former Silicon Valley tech worker who grew up in Southern California. He is also an openly gay gun lover who believes strongly in the second amendment (the constitutional right to keep and bear arms) and won a reality TV show because of his superior shooting skills.
When it comes to pre-conceived notions about gay people and gun enthusiasts, Cheng is certainly making people think twice.
In a phone interview from his home in San Francisco, the 35-year-old said he is trying to promote diversity in both the gun community and the gay community. The stereotypes he's trying to break apart include that gun owners are white, uneducated, redneck Republicans and that gay people are physically and mentally weak, easy targets for bullying and violence and are anti-gun liberals.
On the contrary, said Cheng, gay Americans and gun-toting Americans are each diverse communities. They have a lot more in common with each other than one might think, he explained.
"For me, there are a number of clear, overlapping principles between gun rights and gay rights," said Cheng.
"I think we still live in a world where there are these overriding, negative stereotypes about both communities, and most people don't know very much about the overlap between gay rights and gun rights."
Introducing gay people to guns is the core mission of Pink Pistols, an organization with 45 chapters across the U.S. and branches in Toronto and British Columbia. "Armed queers don't get bashed," the group says on its website. The club trains and guides new shooters, and it's trying to change the public perception that gay people don't carry guns and won't fight back if attacked.
Edwards, like Cheng, noted the underlying principle that ties gun rights advocates and the LGBT community: "I think self-defence for everybody, whether you're gay, straight, undecided, is critical, it's the most basic right you have," he said.
Dexter Guptill, the Pink Pistols representative in northern Virginia, agreed and said beyond self-defence, how the two groups overlap is all about autonomy and being free from coercion.
Gun owners want to be able to choose how to protect themselves and gay people should similarly be free to arm themselves, and marry whomever they choose, for example, Guptill explained.
"Gay rights are human rights. Non-discrimination is a human right. Self-defence is a human right and autonomy is a right," said Guptill, who is straight and a libertarian. (Members of Pink Pistols do not have to be gay.)
"It's not so much that I'm pro-gay. I'm pro-freedom, I'm pro-rights, I'm pro-autonomy," he said.
Encouraging the LGBT community to join the gun community helps both groups diversify and enjoy a mutual benefit, Guptill said.
"Each side is helping the other to break stereotypes," he said.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/gun-gay-rights-1.3270730
Chris Cheng made a huge and surprising career change in 2012 — he quit Google for guns and he now travels around the United States to participate in shooting competitions, challenging stereotypes as he goes.
Cheng is an Asian-American, former Silicon Valley tech worker who grew up in Southern California. He is also an openly gay gun lover who believes strongly in the second amendment (the constitutional right to keep and bear arms) and won a reality TV show because of his superior shooting skills.
When it comes to pre-conceived notions about gay people and gun enthusiasts, Cheng is certainly making people think twice.
In a phone interview from his home in San Francisco, the 35-year-old said he is trying to promote diversity in both the gun community and the gay community. The stereotypes he's trying to break apart include that gun owners are white, uneducated, redneck Republicans and that gay people are physically and mentally weak, easy targets for bullying and violence and are anti-gun liberals.
On the contrary, said Cheng, gay Americans and gun-toting Americans are each diverse communities. They have a lot more in common with each other than one might think, he explained.
"For me, there are a number of clear, overlapping principles between gun rights and gay rights," said Cheng.
"I think we still live in a world where there are these overriding, negative stereotypes about both communities, and most people don't know very much about the overlap between gay rights and gun rights."
Introducing gay people to guns is the core mission of Pink Pistols, an organization with 45 chapters across the U.S. and branches in Toronto and British Columbia. "Armed queers don't get bashed," the group says on its website. The club trains and guides new shooters, and it's trying to change the public perception that gay people don't carry guns and won't fight back if attacked.
Edwards, like Cheng, noted the underlying principle that ties gun rights advocates and the LGBT community: "I think self-defence for everybody, whether you're gay, straight, undecided, is critical, it's the most basic right you have," he said.
Dexter Guptill, the Pink Pistols representative in northern Virginia, agreed and said beyond self-defence, how the two groups overlap is all about autonomy and being free from coercion.
Gun owners want to be able to choose how to protect themselves and gay people should similarly be free to arm themselves, and marry whomever they choose, for example, Guptill explained.
"Gay rights are human rights. Non-discrimination is a human right. Self-defence is a human right and autonomy is a right," said Guptill, who is straight and a libertarian. (Members of Pink Pistols do not have to be gay.)
"It's not so much that I'm pro-gay. I'm pro-freedom, I'm pro-rights, I'm pro-autonomy," he said.
Encouraging the LGBT community to join the gun community helps both groups diversify and enjoy a mutual benefit, Guptill said.
"Each side is helping the other to break stereotypes," he said.
