The speaker for a gun rights group on Monday addressed calls for gun control following the Route 91 Harvest country music festival shooting in Las Vegas.
Gwendolyn Patton, speaking for Pink Pistols, an international LGBT self-defense organization, offered condolences to those grieving and affected by the incident, which claimed at least 59 lives. Patton, who rejected overtures towards blaming the gun rather than the killer in the aftermath of the Pulse nightclub shooting last year, then turned to the topic of increasing regulations on firearms.
“No matter how many he had. No matter the sizes of the magazines, the caliber of the bullets, the color of the guns, or the style or design, the guns had no choice, for guns are not living creatures,” said Patton. “A gun cannot choose to refuse to fire if the action is illegal. They’re just machines. I hate having to defend inanimate objects yet again, but I know that once again they will be low-hanging fruit for those who project their anger and fear onto them.”
Patton’s solution? Address the people in need and the interlocking chains of societal interaction instead, in an effort to mitigate future violence.
“What I pray for is that we learn why he did this, so we can prevent others from feeling the same way in the future,” said Patton. “We need to intervene in the lives of our loved ones, to give them the love and help they need when they are hurting or suffering from emotional pain, or rage, or hate, that can cause them to lash out against their fellow human beings in such a fashion.”
On the opposite side of the coin, the LGBT gun control group Gays Against Guns announced fresh rallies in New York for increased restrictions.
“This country is becoming less and less safe as a result of the contagion of gun violence,” said the group. “This infection continues to get worse, more virulent. We will continue to fight it.”
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