STATEMENT ON THE RITTENHOUSE VERDICT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Daytona Beach, Florida: On Friday, 19 November 2021, the jury of the Kyle Rittenhouse self-defense case in Kenosha, Wisconsin returned a verdict of Not Guilty on all counts.
This case was more than a simple matter of “Was it legitimate self-defense or was it murder?” On trial beside Mr. Rittenhouse was the right of all citizens in the United States to lawfully carry firearms for the purpose of self-defense. The prosecution built a case which claimed that carrying a weapon constituted an automatic provocation of whatever violence was perpetrated upon Mr. Rittenhouse; had he been convicted, then those of us who lawfully carry weapons for protection could one day find ourselves on trial with the prosecution claiming that being armed somehow negates our right to self-defense. It is gratifying that the jury saw the implied indictment and removed that prosecutorial theory from any consideration.
It is the mission of Operation Blazing Sword – Pink Pistols to promote lawful self-defense with legally owned and carried firearms, and such a miscarriage of justice would have resulted in yet more violations of the Constitutional rights of U.S. citizens. Our position is that gun rights are queer rights because guns in the hands of queer people protect queer lives, and therefore any law which seeks to prevent us from carrying a gun for self-defense is anti-queer and a threat to our lives.
Operation Blazing Sword – Pink Pistols strongly encourages anyone who wishes to exercise their right to keep and bear arms to seek out as much firearm education and training as they can manage, for alongside that right comes the responsibility to use that right correctly and within the law, including the legal requirements for self-defense. To that end, Operation Blazing Sword maintains a database of over 1400 queer-friendly firearm volunteer educators in every state of the USA.
Operation Blazing Sword, Inc. is a grass-roots 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to helping queer people become responsible firearm owners through volunteer education. www.blazingsword.org
Pink Pistols, a division of Operation Blazing Sword, is dedicated to the legal, safe, and responsible use of firearms for self-defense of the gender and sexual minority community. www.pinkpistols.org
Media Contact: Erin Palette