FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Pink Pistols Denounces WDBJ Shooting
Philadelphia, PA – Wednesday, August 26, 2015 – The Pink Pistols, the world’s largest GLBT self-defense organization, expresses deep sorrow for the events in Moneta, Virginia. “I deplore the actions of Vester Lee Flanagan, aka ‘Bryce Williams’,” said Gwendolyn Patton, First Speaker of the Pink Pistols. “Flanagan wrote in a so-called ‘manifesto’ sent to ABC News that he was ‘attacked for being a black, gay man’. His pain at being allegedly rejected for his orientation in no way excuses an unprovoked attack against persons who presented him no threat. If Mr. Flanagan at any time professed an association with the Pink Pistols, we denounce it. We do not know him, and reject his acts as those of a base criminal. The Pink Pistols stands for lawful self-defense of the sexual minority community. He is not one of ours.”
To the best of their knowledge, Vester Flanagan has never communicated with the organization, and even though Pink Pistols members self-identify, and do not need to submit a membership form or application, the act he allegedly committed is a tacit statement that he does not hold with the organization’s precepts of lawful behavior, responsibility, and building of bridges between all people. “The only time a Pink Pistol would draw a weapon is when there is an immediate threat reasonably perceived as deadly,” says Patton. “This man supposedly felt so outraged by perceived racism and mistreatment, he killed two people and injured one other, persons who offered him no physical threat of any kind. This is not how we behave, ever.”
The Pink Pistols, which advocates lawful use of legally-carried concealed firearms for the self-defense of the sexual minority community, currently has 29 chapters in the United States and two chapters in Canada. All chapters are autonomous, but look to the international office for coordination.
Contact:
Gwendolyn S. Patton
First Speaker, Pink Pistols International
firstspeaker@pinkpistols.org
http://www.pinkpistols.org
Ph: (610) 879-2364