-Caveat Lector- ------- Forwarded message follows ------- To: InfoWars Newsgroup <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> From: GaryC <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date sent: Tue, 25 Sep 2001 10:29:59 -0700 (PDT) Send reply to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [infowars] Founder of Pink Pistols gun group becomes a Libertarian Party member [ Double-click this line for list subscription options ] Founder of Pink Pistols gun group becomes a Libertarian Party member David Rostcheck practices his aim at a local firing range. He joined the LP in August, saying only Libertarians "stand firmly against" the erosion of Constitutional rights. [September 24] A founding member of the Pink Pistols -- a gun- owners organization composed mostly of "sexual minority community" members -- has defected from the Green Party and joined the Libertarian Party. David Rostcheck, who became a member on August 22, said he joined because the LP is the only political party opposed to the "illegal expansion of government power." "No party that cannot name and oppose the erosion of Constitutional law will ever be able to stop this erosion," he said. "Only the Libertarians have the courage and clarity to name the enemy and stand firmly against it." Rostcheck had helped launch the Pink Pistols in September 2000. The organization, which views the Second Amendment as crucial to the freedom of minority citizens, now has 27 chapters nationwide. Each chapter meets at least once per month at local firing ranges to practice shooting. Pink Pistols officers offer to help members select a firearm, acquire a permit, and receive proper training. At about the time the Pink Pistols started, Rostcheck joined the Green Party, motivated, he said, by an interest in "social justice" and an affinity for its 2000 presidential candidate Ralph Nader. But the 31-year-old software engineer said he soon discovered that so-called "progressive" leaders lacked the social tolerance they claimed to support, often denouncing gun-owners as "right-wing wackos" and "gun nuts." "When I saw [Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender] organizations vote to endorse a lesbian candidate who openly and proudly wrote discrimination into gun laws to oppress people she did not like, I realized that I could no longer align myself with a movement that brazenly scorns the principles it publicly aspires to," he said. Although disturbed by this hostility to the Second Amendment, Rostcheck said the transition from the Green Party to the LP wasn't an easy one. For years he "resisted [LP] arguments with skepticism and vigor," often debating politics with fellow Pink Pistols founder and LP member Doug Krick, he said. But as he tried to reform state gun laws and influence public opinion on gun control during the past year, Rostcheck said he found himself in greater and greater agreement with the Libertarian perspective. "I have been won over not by the persuasive arguments of a great orator, but by the slow piling up of an undeniable weight of evidence showing a concrete and demonstrable pattern of illegal expansion of government power," he said. Rostcheck acknowledged he still believes there are some problems where government can be effective, such as "combating plagues" or providing for mentally ill citizens. However, he added that since he became an LP member, several Libertarian friends have been able point out workable private-sector solutions to problems he had previously thought unsolvable without government action. "A year ago I would have claimed that maintaining the roads was a government responsibility," he said. "But studying history, especially that before the past century, has given me a lot to re-examine -- for example, no government built the railroad tracks, yet they got built." Although Rostcheck said his political opinions will continue to evolve with time and study, he said he also knows one thing for sure: He will never go back to the "progressive" movement he had once called his home. "I will never again sit through another workshop on diversity taught by a bigot or listen to another speech on 'equal justice' given by a hypocrite," he said. "I will never send another check to a 'diversity-based' organization that then sends it out to a bigot. I refuse to be a party to this fraud. "To restore principled government, we must use principled politics. I now believe that the only party that can effectively restore the protection of our rights is the Libertarian Party." Although membership is predominantly gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender, the Pink Pistols welcome members from all backgrounds. Sign up for its mailing list at: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------- End of forwarded message ------- -- Best wishes The right of bearing arms for a lawful purpose is not a right granted by the Constitution; neither is it in any manner dependent upon that instrument for its existence. -U.S. vs Cruikshan <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. 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