Sharyn Hinchcliffe, a civil rights advocate, was at the rally to represent the nonpartisan Seattle and Tacoma “Pink Pistols” Chapter.
The organization started as a group to train those in the LGBTQ community to learn how to shoot guns, as well as raise awareness that people in those communities are able and trained to shoot.
The all-inclusive organization now provides safety information and firearms training for anyone who wants it. Hinchcliffe said she is opposed to the legislation that passed Wednesday, and other firearms legislation because the enforcement of such bills are “unequally enforced in marginalized and minority communities.”
“They are dangerous to BIPOC communities,” Hinchcliffe said. And, she added, they are “lethal” to minority communities.
She said that if the proposed gun legislation passes, she believes people will focus on voting elected officials out of office.
“We are working on getting candidates who are not going to violate human and civil rights,” Hinchcliffe said. “And then we’re going to work on getting these laws repealed.”
— Shauna Sowersby in Gun rights activists gather in Olympia to oppose gun bill passed Wednesday night in Senate