This Is Really Kinda Sad

I received a press release yesterday from the Pride Fund to End Gun Violence (sic). From what I can gather it is a new LGBTQ group that has jumped aboard the gun control bandwagon and is setting up a political action committee (PAC) to support candidates who support gun control.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In response to the nation’s worst mass shooting in history and stalled efforts in Congress to implement gun reform, members of the LGBTQ community today announced the formation of the Pride Fund to End Gun Violence (Pride Fund). This political action committee (PAC) will support federal candidates who will act on sensible gun policy reforms and champion LGBTQ equality.

In the first few days of fundraising, the organization has raised nearly $20,000. Pride Fund plans to have a strong impact in November and is well on its way to raising its initial goal of $500,000 for this election cycle.

“The Orlando massacre was yet another senseless act of gun violence in America and the LGBTQ community and our allies are united in the call for action on commonsense gun reforms. We are tired of Congress’ inaction, so we are adding the strength and organization of the LGBTQ community to help end gun violence,”said Jason Lindsay, Pride Fund founder and executive director. Lindsay is a seasoned political operative with 12 years of experience working in politics, government and campaigns. He also served for 14 years in the U.S. Army Reserve and was deployed to Iraq in 2003.

During the 2016 election cycle, and beyond, Pride Fund will actively support candidates at the national level who are willing to take on the gun lobby. The safety of our community depends on electing LGBTQ-supportive candidates who will also vote for gun reform measures.

Pride Fund will be working with like-minded groups all across America. Together, we aim to:

• Mobilize the LGBTQ community and our allies,
• Raise funds to counter the gun lobby, and
• Campaign to ensure victory in November 2016 and beyond.

“This is a call-to-action for all Americans to stand up and take political action to end gun violence. Pride Fund gives the LGBTQ community and its allies a strong, concentrated voice to fight back against politicians who are unwilling to act on this important issue. While it will take strong citizen action, fundraising and political muscle to take on the robust financial power of the gun lobby – the LGBTQ community, with the help of its allies, has succeeded before and we plan to do so again,” Lindsay said.

Pride Fund seeks grassroots engagement and donations that will allow our community to meet its goals. Each year, the gun lobby spends tens of millions of dollars to influence Congressional elections and legislative action. Pride Fund gives our community a unique voice to fight back by supporting candidates who champion diversity, equality, and – most of all – sensible gun reforms.

Coming on the heels of the fantastic work that Erin Palette has done with her Operation Blazing Sword and the growth in membership of the Pink Pistols, I find it sad. This is because the LBGTQ community has long been the target of violence due to their sexual orientations. Rather than promoting self-reliance and advocating for the right of self-defense, this organization is actively seeking to remove the one tool that gives the equality of strength. A firearm, properly used, makes a 110 lb. lesbian equal in stopping power to a 220 lb. man who objects to her sexual orientation.

A quick note on Jason Lindsay. According to LinkedIn, Mr. Lindsay is a long-time Democrat operative having worked as a field organizer for Hillary Clinton for President, a staffer for former Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC), and former Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC). He parlayed that experience into a job as a Congressional Relations Officer with the Department of Veterans Affairs where he has worked since 2011. I am presuming that he hasn't updated his LinkedIn page to reflect that he has left Veterans Affairs to run this PAC. One has to wonder if Mr. Lindsay has, in the immortal words of George Washington Plunkitt of Tammany Hall, "seen my opportunities and I took them."

What makes Mr. Lindsay's efforts even sadder is that he himself is an Army veteran having served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and is a former Army Reservist. I don't care if he was a REMF while serving in Iraq but, at the very least, he should understand the role of armed self-defense given his military service.