A gun rights group which advocates on behalf of armed gay Americans offered condolences and urged gays to defend themselves in the face of the terror attack at a gay bar in Orlando on Sunday.
The Pink Pistols, which has chapters across the United States and Canada, said attacks like the one on Sunday are why the group was founded and condemned the rush to blame guns for the attack. "The Pink Pistols gives condolences to all family and friends of those killed and injured at Pulse," spokesperson Gwendolyn Patton said in a statement. "This is exactly the kind of heinous act that justifies our existence. At such a time of tragedy, let us not reach for the low-hanging fruit of blaming the killer’s guns. Let us stay focused on the fact that someone hated gay people so much they were ready to kill or injure so many. A human being did this. The human being’s tools are unimportant when compared to the bleakness of that person’s soul."
"I say again, guns did not do this. A human being did this, a dead human being. Our job now is not to demonize the man’s tools, but to condemn his acts and work to prevent such acts in the future."
Patton said that every effort should be made to prevent these kinds of attacks on gays in the future but prepare for those that can't be prevented. "It is difficult, if not impossible, to foresee such an event," she said of the Orlando attack. "But if they cannot be prevented, then they must be stopped as fast as someone tries to start them."
The Pink Pistols advocated that those visiting bars or other establishments that serve alcohol bring a designated carrier with them in the same way they might bring a designated driver. A step the group said would allow that person to legally provide protection for those who may be drinking in many states.
"It’s sad that we must consider such things, but when there are persons out there who mean us harm, we must find ways to protect ourselves within the law," Patton said.