Chris Cheng LGBT gay top shot

I think it’s kind of strange that former Top Shot competitor thinks it’s news that he’s gay. A) Who? B) Duh. C) Who cares? What difference does it make to anyone that a high level shooter is a homosexual?

Chris’ blog makes a big deal of it, in that “professional athletes talk about themselves in the third person” kinda way. “I believe now that I have become a television personality and public figure, it is important to be honest and upfront about who Chris Cheng is.” More than that . . .

One reason why I chose to come out publicly is that I’m a gay guy in a gun world. Hunters, sport shooting enthusiasts, and collectors are too often stereotyped as part of efforts to politicize guns as we witnessed last week on the anniversary of the horrific Newtown tragedy. Take it from someone who in a single package is not only gay, but Chinese, Japanese, California-born, a college graduate, a tech geek who worked on cool Google projects, a gun enthusiast and a passionate 2nd Amendment advocate. Our community is as diverse as anyone’s.

And this is a surprise to whom? Oh right, gun control advocates and their cartoonist compatriots who like to paint gun owners as white, southern, racist, misogynistic, idiots. Then again, I’m thinking it’s not a surprise so much as a disappointment. And would you look at this! The NRA and NSSF are OK with Chris’ sexual orientation!

A special thanks to the National Rifle Association and the National Shooting Sports Foundation, who are supportive of my decision as they recognize the diverse perspective I bring to the conversation about the safe and responsible use of firearms.

Awesome. The more we can show that the gun rights community is welcoming to all colors, creeds, religions, political perspective and sexual orientations, the better.

Now, would it be cynical of me to think that Mr. Cheng’s journey out of the closet has something to do with the fact that he’s “currently working with a producer developing a cool new idea for a unique reality TV program featuring the diversity of the gun community”? Yes, I suppose it would.

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165 COMMENTS

  1. First!

    [we now return you to our reader comment, already in progress]:

    Aaawwwwww…. Good for him, whoever he is. Will his show be on NickJr? That’s all we have on around here these days…

      • …not sure the relation of your comment and mine…

        I have been aware of the Pink Pistols for a while….

    • Actually doing a kids show on guns… HHHmmm now there is a though Vino!
      As far as Chris is concerned, do I care about if he is gay or not, no!!
      I was more excited to hear he was from my neck of the woods, and computer geek like me, etc.
      RF has a point though. We need to drill into MDA knuckleheads that we are all types of people. We need to break the molds with people like Chris, Mr Noir, etc. It is critical.

    • And here I was thinking the whole “first comment” thing was dying a slow, painful death on the intertubez. Thanks for the shot of reality 🙂

      • Sometimes I ponder the contrapositive: I read a great TTAG squib, then in a flash of brilliance I come up with the wittiest, and most insightful comment of all time, only to notice that there are already 183 comments, meaning that mine will not be read and my brilliance will have been wasted.

        • Duke, I feel your pain.. I wish the comments format was laid out differently. It’s kind of a bummer to know your (sometimes-very-valid-and-on-point) comment will be buried with the peanut gallery at the bottom.

          As far as Chris’ sexuality goes, that is about as important as the color of a race care with regards to how fast it goes.

  3. Cynical? I dunno- but either way, I’d like a show of that sort to happen. The only way the narrative is going to change is if WE take it from them.

  4. I’m really tempted to ask what the way this guy has sex has to do with anything, but it is important that anything that breaks down gun owner stereotypes gets published. If he doesn’t fit the mold, it hurts the antis’ arguments.

    It’s also important that if this guy is part of some big ‘rights’ communities that they learn there’s a gunner in their midst. It helps normalize firearms in our country. It takes the thunder out of liberal victimhood.

    • I don’t understand that “gay rights” thing at all. Are they saying that there’s some right that I have that they don’t? Which one? If it’s marriage, then what’s wrong with that picture is that what needs to be stopped is the institutionalized discrimination against ALL single people.

      Have sex with whoever or whatever you want to, but don’t expect me to go to your parade and cheerlead.

      • I was going to bring up the polygamy thing but I’ll let it go for now. For time being polyguns is enough.

      • “Are they saying that there’s some right that I have that they don’t? ”

        Yes – you have the right as a heterosexual male to marry a woman and have the marriage recognized as a lawful and legal union….

        People who are gay are asking for this right as well.

        • …you have the right as a heterosexual male to marry a woman and have the marriage recognized… People who are gay are asking for this right as well.

          Actually, I do believe a gay guy can marry a woman and have it fully recognized.

          ^^^ okay that was facetious. Well… I mean, it’s true but you get the joke, right? The really funny thing is that I agree with both of you guys. I am pro-gay-marriage in so far as the gov’t is involved in marriage in the first place, which I’m against. If I could have it my way, the gov’t would have absolutely nothing to do with “marriage” at all, whatsoever. It has no place in something that is religious in nature. If the government wants to give tax benefits and a bundle of other rights to two people who decide to join together under the law, then this *should* be called a “civil union” or whatever and ANY two adults can get this and ONLY this from the gov’t. If two adults want to be “married” then they take that up with their church or have a secular ceremony or whatever the freaking heck they want. Marriage is a ceremony or ritual or covenant or whatever and is a personal/religious/spiritual thing and it’s outside of the government’s purview.

          So my honest answer is NO government marriage for anybody — gay, straight, or otherwise. The gov’t does a bundle of legal rights for any two adults who want it, and you handle your marriage however you darn well please.

        • Heterosexual people can’t marry anyone that gay people can’t. It’s not a “rights” issue. It’s the definition of “marriage” you disagree with.

          And ‘no’, I don’t care who the f@ck you marry, or if you marry at all. But don’t try to sell me on your grievance-oppression bullsh!t politics.

        • Then the thing that needs to be fought is the institutionalized discrimination against single people. What the hell is the Government doing getting into the marriage business, an inherently religious ritual, in the first place?

          Marriage: Permission from the priest (or other high muckety-muck) to have sex without being condemned as a sinner. It’s based on the mistakendownright evil proposition that women are chattel property whose ownership can be transferred from her father to her husband. The father “gives away” the bride? Gimme a break!

    • As long as we’re talking about consenting adults here, then where this guy chooses to holster his Glock isn’t really any of my business. From a firearms community PR standpoint, though, I’m actually a little certain. Sure, it shows the anti’s that “See?! We aren’t all [insert hateful, angry anti-firearms owners stereotype here]. Look at him!” Perhaps.

      Doesn’t making a big show of it merely perpetuate the need to, well, make a big show of it? Does he come off looking like just another gun owner, who happens to be gay? Or does he come off as *the* gunowner who is gay. They do this with Republican politicians, too, for example. When there are only one or two out and the GOP parades them around to show how inclusive they are, the liberals can smugly assume that those are the only ones; the exceptions proving the rule, as it were. If instead we greet these things with a collective yawn, it becomes a non-issue all around and nit anything to be surprised by.

  5. 1) You’re right, who cares?

    2) That said, you are the one reporting it.

    3) I don’t find that to be a cynical viewpoint at all. I reached the same conclusion. (Of course, that may say something about you, or me, or both.)

  6. Why are you being so cynical? The more pink pistols we have the less likely the stereotypes mean anything to the undecided.

  7. I dunno. Is it maybe a little self-indulgent or over the top? Maybe. But I tend to see it as just another public data point. Like TTAG’s picture house-ad series showing all ages, races and sexes as readers and RGOs.

    Do I think he’ll “win anybody over” to the side of the 2nd Amendment merely by announcing he’s gay? No way. I’m not that naive. But maybe it gives people who have that in common with him a comfort zone in which to ask him questions about things they don’t have in common: Opinions about guns, perhaps.

    TTAG readers know that we come in all shapes, sizes, religions, races, and even party affiliations. The other side clearly does not recognize that.

    • Actually, you’ll be quite shocked to know that there are a very large amount int he gay community on the fence. I’ve swung many over to our side and they are all buying up handguns and rifles for themselves like the rest of us. GBLT community is very.. Apprehensive like that.

      • I once had a gay gun owner friend, recently passed. He was not exactly a sport shooter. He served in combat in Korea, with distinction. He went by the appellation “Lady Charles”, and was totally out while in the army. Upon returning home he made a hobby out of visiting redneck roadhouses in full drag, hence the nickel plated Police Positive Special. A queer Cajun badass – glad I knew him.

      • I can see that. An out gay person not taking refuge in one of the more friendly enclaves probably feels like more of a target than the average citizen. It’s natural to be thinking about safety and being proactive about it. In part it must eventually come down to self/community reliance or the idea of social engineering the entire world. Or in other words forcing every one to be as defenseless as you.

      • Good! Not to make light of the particular concerns of gay people, but I would say anyone who isn’t a bit apprehensive these days isn’t paying attention.

  8. This isn’t a big deal… but it is. Stereotypes marginalize 2A support. Anything that changes that equation is a very big plus.

    • I agree. Pelosi’s got to think twice now when she spouts of in San Francisco. Well, “think” might be a reach, but at least ….ruminate twice.

      • We can hope, but the crap that flies out of Pelosi’s mouth never has been closely tied to nor noticeably affected by reality.

  9. OMG this is all soooo 1990. He could have at least come out with something a little more edgy. Alien hybrid. Lost son of Saddam Hussein. Baptist.

    I guess we are going to get the whole Heidi/Spencer thing now in the gun world.

  10. Well, I think he shoots well, but I have been gay, and I have never been homosexual, and his word choice, or society’s doesn’t change the shot he takes for entertainment or for his personal satisfaction. I am sure there are enough shooters that will shoot on a range with those of different anxieties and passions – just don’t mess up my shot nor rhythm, please. It has been a long haul to get here and I can’t help your shot, but mine I think i have a chance with.

  11. I think you are being cynical and rightly so. What two adults do in a room is their business. Same sex couples living the dream….fine. What does smoking pole got to do with rounds down range? Nothing unless you want coin because of your orientation.

  12. So, is he trying to add 2 minutes to his 13 minutes of fame?
    If anybody cares, I’m heterosexual. Just sayin.
    Do I get a cookie or anything?

  13. when did coming out of the closet become something so celebrated and announced? so what he’s gay? did he do something great? did he save somebody’s life? did he make history?

    move along then, nothing to see here

  14. I suppose you wouldn’t be cynical if he wasn’t gay and currently working with a producer developing a cool new idea for a unique reality TV program featuring the diversity of the gun community?

  15. Personally, I fall into the who-cares department…mostly. Being gay has absolutely no bearing on anyone’s ability to shoot guns, support the Second Amendment, or be a decent human being.

    Chris Cheng was on the only season of Top Shot I’ve ever watched, and as far as the TV show went, he came off as a gracious competitor and all-around decent dude. I’m just glad he doesn’t seem to have been Hollyweirded (much) by his celebrity status (such as it is).

    Then again, having a gun owner — not only that, a master marksman and reality show winner — in the public eye who doesn’t resemble the cartoonish apes those apish cartoonists think we are can only be a good thing. One more wave eating at the base of their house built on sand.

    • I agree with your assessment.

      Chris was a considerate and skilled competitor. He may simply have felt some personal or outside pressure, real or imagined, to clear the air on this personal issue.

      BTW, I’ve seen each season of Top Shot (and Top Guns) and have found all of them to be interesting, quality programming except where Jake the ex SEAL self important type A on steroids A-hole was involved. That guy made for way too much unsettling drama.

  17. So, how many of his gay acquaintances has Chris lured to the range for a tryst with some long guns or some pistols?

    He’s in a great position to win over some otherwise unwilling converts, what with all his renowned celebrity and prolific shooting positions on Top Shot.

    • See, I don’t know. I’m operating under the assumption that people close to him (family, close friends) knew this already. If I’m right about that, then I don’t see any particular courage here, I see self-aggrandizement. Because it shouldn’t matter to anyone outside that circle. If sexuality mattered outside that limited circle, then why don’t heterosexual competitive shooters feel it necessary to broadcast their proclivities to the world?

      For me, it all comes back to my original comment. “So?”

    • Ten years ago, I would have agreed wholeheartedly. Now, I think it is tougher to come out of the closet as a gun owner. Maybe, it’s just where I live.

      • Especially if the closet has a 90 minute fire rating and is locked with a tumbler lock and 1/4 steel. Errr… what kind of closet did you mean ? 😉

    • Agreed. You never know how folks will react, and based upon the people I meet in the gun shop and at the range, I’m not sure that the positive attitude displayed in the comments here was to be expected. Good job Mr Farago and crew!

  19. I guess his 15 minutes was about up and this was his way of resetting the clock. I don’t really care who he shares his bed with.

  20. So he’s a happy guy so what everyone should be Gay…..lets all smoke a ……..cigar…..LOL…who is this guy?

  22. In case you hadn’t noticed, RF, a whole lot of conservative-type people have serious issues with gay people.

    And a whole lot of the shooting community… Wait for it… Is resoundingly conservative.

    So, yeah, I think it’s perfectly appropriate for him to announce this so that he can live his life without worrying that his shooting sports career will be derailed by a whisper campaign regarding his orientation. I also think it’s better to get out ahead of any PR issues by clearing this up before any media announcements.

    There’s cynical and then there’s being a jerk.

    • I run into that issue sometimes. I’m unapologetically hardcore conservative, and sometimes I forget that just because this is a gun blog doesn’t automatically make everyone here conservative. That difference gives me pause when reading/commenting on this site sometimes.

      • Yup. I’m a conservative libertarian (i.e., I live my life conservatively, but think libertarian is the way to govern/legislate). Basically pretty much two issue: pro gun, anti big government. Anything else is do what you want (and those first two are really just do what you want, too).

        I like this site BECAUSE it’s politics are pretty much just the one issue, so there’s no chance I’m going to find myself all riled up and having to get in a fight with somebody in the comments 😉

    • A whole lot of bible belt conservatives think homosexuality can be cured with some therapy and is a sin. A whole lot of anti-gunners capitalize on that, and heck they even have a study to show we are collectively racist.

      This blog tends to skew pretty libertarian from my observations, so I am not surprised at the ho-hum responses.

      I don’t see this as self aggrandizement so much, as some others here, more like accepting a mission to be an ambassador. An ambassador to perhaps foreign occupied territory like Kalifornia. Honestly, probably a gay guy is just what we need as an ambassador to Kalifornia, he’s more likely to stay on message and not get blinded by Kamala Harris.

    • +1 AlphaGeek. I absolutely agree.

      There are plenty of folks out there who see the gun community as NOTHING BUT a bunch of politically conservative white males. Destroying that stereotype is not only helpful but absolutely necessary for the political fight for the RKBA. If the gun community can be successfully portrayed as an “exclusive conservative whites club” it is damaging politically to the cause of gun rights.

      The more minorities of all types that are part of the gun community, the better off we are.

      FWIW, under his blog post, there’s this interesting exchange in the comment section:

      Sean D Sorrentino (a commenter): Dear Chris. Please don’t take this the wrong way, but so what?

      Yes, I realize that it is a big part of your life, so it’s important to you. But the rest of us, the vast majority, really don’t care. It simply isn’t something that bothers us.

      Oh, sure, some will make a deal out of it. And of course, I support your choice to be public about who you are. But in the end, none of our opinions on the subject are of any value to you. Your value as a human being isn’t subject to anyone’s opinion.

      And if the gun haters’ heads explode because they can’t conceive of a gay man being good at shooting, that says more about their stereotyping than it will ever say about you or me.

      Keep being an awesome shooter.

      Chris Cheng: Hey Sean, the “so what” reply is actually my favorite. It means it’s not a big deal, like it should be. If we want gays and guns to be accepted, both communities have to reach a point where no one blinks at the thought of a gay person, or a gun owner.

      Thank you for the kind, thoughtful post. It means a lot to me.

      So … in short, I’m glad he made the post. And the more “non-conservative non-white” folks show themselves to be gun owners and 2nd amendment supporters, the better off we are.

    • Half my friends are gay, so this isn’t really a big deal to me, but to other people it is. Here’s why:

      He defies stereotypes. Outside of TTAG, the gun community can be strongly conservative. Nothing wrong with that per se, but homophobia can be quite rampant, and the POTG can’t afford to alienate people on the fence or who have a budding interest in guns.

      This also helps normalize gun ownership in the gay community as well. There’s the Pink Pistols, but anything else to break the hoplophobic gay stereotype helps.

      Most importantly, this takes more wind out of the gun grabbers’ sails and further invalidates their stupidly ignorant view that gun enthusiasts are old, fat, white, and (heterosexually) male. I suspect people admire Colion Noir for similar reasons as well, besides him being one of the youngest, brightest, and quick-witted spokespeople we have.

    • Even better: back in the day, I discovered that gay friends made the best wingmen ever. They were like a terrain funnel into a kill zone — better looking than me, and of course completely disinterested in competing for the affections of the ladies we met.

      • I used that strategy throughout boarding school. Had a friend, later Bill Blass’ best model. At school dances they’d approach him and….there I was, ready to fill the void. Different hunt, same idea. If a “crying rabbit call” would’ve worked, I’d have used it.

        • The only gay person I’ve known well enough to try that with would have been competition, unfortunately. Her name was Angi.

  24. D) He is happy because he gets to fire a gun.

    If you are white, straight, & have kids who are normal (with no illnesses, crazy personality traits, etc.), then you are no longer the norm.

  25. OK, it might be to gin up publicity, granted.

    However, many of the firearms community aren’t as welcoming as we might hope.

    As a community we need to be as welcoming of everybody as we can. Hard to hate your friends.

  27. Normally I don’t care about what relationships a person prefers, but I’m hoping he becomes more well known so he can help break the usual gun owner stereotype.

  28. This may not mean a whole lot to the gun community as a whole but as it is, it means a tremendous amount to the GBLT / Gay community as a whole. It’s huge to see a homosexual get accepted into somethign that is, and will continue to be largely viewed as an OFWG-exclusive club that the media pushes onto the rest of the public. The longer you remain cynical about this reality the more people you will lose to the Left. The GBLT community simply needs an icon. Watch how the Pink Pistols membership explodes once they have that icon. They are unfortunately THAT narrow minded.

    So, by all means, its not a big deal for you at all and it shouldn’t have to be. But it is to those that will take this for a consideration and stop being scared of or expecting the OFWG gay-hating conservative stereotype that surrounds gun owners.

    • All that can be done to expand the base of the gun owning crowd the better. For years the Pink Pistols (I think they started in San Francisco) have been making the point that gay men, typically liberals and presumably anti-gun, are often targeted for beatings and other crimes; they need to be armed. Although the west coast franchises are largely composed of people who will never get a CW (not because they don’t want them, but because people like Chief Beck deny then the right to bear arms), they need to be actively involved in the fight to keep and bear arms.
      It is the same with blacks. There are many black gun owners, more typically rural than urban (among the law abiding crowd that is), but they are not organized, not members of the fogey NRA, and not able to demonstrate the normalcy of guns in our society. A sense of normalcy will destroy the Bloombergs and the MDAs.

    • Emfourty Gasmask: Homosexuality not being a big deal to the community at large is pretty good news. That means we don’t make a ruckus out of it either way and accept people of the gun as they are, regardless of the other adjectives they might use to describe themselves. It may not be the same as a standing ovation for Mr. Cheng, but a “Meh” sure beats the hell out of how most people would have reacted 30 or 40 years ago.

  29. Now wait. On the same day you post your ruminations about the need for more media-friendly, pro-gun non-OFWGs to counter the (allegedly) media-friendly, pro-citizen-disarmament non-OFWGs, you toss up a hard-boiled “Meh” when a prominent shooter comes out of the closet. It may be obvious to all of us pro-2A folk that ours is a big tent, but it certainly is not obvious to many who otherwise would be fertile soil for the statists. I don’t really care what Cheng does in the bedroom, either. However, anything that helps to change the popular paradigm is a good thing, IMO, ’cause the popular paradigm right now is whack. If it helps him in some way with whatever new venture he has lined up, so be it. I’m glad he made his announcement.

  30. Chin-Japanese, worked for Google, top shot winner, gay.
    Interesting , Interesting , Interesting , who gives a shit?

    Just keep knocking steel & posting on TFB.

  31. It takes zero guts to come out these days… unless you don’t fit the political stereotype like this guy. Then you risk being hated by everyone. Same dilemma for black conservatives. So hats off to him. 2A is about freedom… not skin color or sex.

    • Yes, and it was a necessary business decision to out himself before building a TV project: Producers would probably like to know that focus group numbers and audience ratings wouldn’t fall apart later when the whisper mill inevitably began: “Who will stop the vent of hearing when loud rumor speaks?”

  32. If he came out cause he thinks some liberals might think that not all gun lovers and 2nd amendment supporters are red neck bigots. That is weak. On the other hand If it makes some gay folks want to join the NRA or own a gun it’s a good thing. The broader we can make the pro-gun nation the better. I used to keep my gun thing quiet because I live in liberal Seattle. But I found my fellow high tech geeks were curious and they didn’t see me as gun nut. Talking about the 2nd amendment is a great opportunity to teach folks about the history and rationale of amendment which protects all the other amendments.

  33. I think it’s actually important for him to declare his sexuality. Yes, I’m sure there is some self promotion involved, but that is beside the point. Mr. Cheng is a perfect example of the diversity that gun enthusiasts actually in direct contrast to what the anti-gun lobby would have the world believe.

  34. If this is some issue HE has had troubles with in the past coming to terms with, then good for him. Myself, I could give a damn. It reminds me of that NBA guy that came out earlier this year. Guy was a career 10th-12th man, bumped around from team to team, lost his contract and is facing obscurity then decides to come out. Timing seems fishy to me. I get the point that it is difficult to go public with this and all, but if he is doing it to claw up to C level celebrity status I think that’s friggin’ shallow as hell and diminishes those who came before him that have genuinely faced hardships.

  35. I’m gay, NRA member, lifelong hunter and shooter. I’m also liberal, Southern, and surrounded by people who still believe that being gay is a mental illness or possession by the devil. Yes, it is a big deal that this guy came out. You see, gun culture is conservative culture, however, not everyone fits that mold. A little more awareness and diversity can only help.

  37. I could care less if it was self-serving on his part. He is a heck of a good ambassador for the gun rights community and from everything I’ve seen and read about him, TV success couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. Sometimes you have to make things happen and than means grabbing the reins with everything you have. Go get ’em, Chris.

    And my 20 year old, gay son thinks Chris is pretty hot. I may never get that, not being gay, but so what… I gave up trying to find answers for other people years ago and am perfectly happy to find answers for myself and to let others discover their own path.

  38. I have not seen anyone comment yet that what LGBT community is pretty good at is advocating rights for a minority. That is what getting the gay community involved in pro 2A activism would do for the movement.

    • Yep, time to point out that Shannon may be a homophobe, eager to deny an often violently attacked minority their right to defend themselves with effective tools.

  39. It isn’t important, except that he is attempting to normalize behavior that is contrary to nature, e.g. homosexuals do not reproduce, therefore are genetic dead ends. But politically, it is an attempt to normalize politically a group that is 99.9% against the Second Amendment. Homosexuals, like blacks and Hispanics, vote overwhelmingly for the Demoncrat Party, which, one should know, wants to, shall we say, violate the rights given by God to man and enumerated in the Constitution of the United States. You may not be interested in someone’s homosexuality, but homosexuals are very interested in their orientation, as well as imposing that orientation on you, and more importantly, your children. They consider themselves to be enemies of gun owners, who they consider racist, homophobic, backward, rednecks, who need to be educated, or dealt with by the power of the State.

    Just like the immigration issue, people of the gun need to realize that homosexuals, like immigrants, are not a live-and-let-live group. They want to impose their values on you, and one of their values is no one should be allowed to own a gun, except for agents of the State. The sooner you realize this the better.

      • You can certainly argue the morality of homosexuality based on your own values, but there is no valid argument for the “normalcy” of it with regards to human biology and nature in general. If it Homosexuality were truly normal, the human race would become extinct since no one would be reproducing.

        • Your argument is exactly the one which proves that homosexuality never can be the norm. So why worry? They may not reproduce, but they do vote.

          I have a beef with the pedophile bit, but that just isn’t a gays-only problem. It sure as hell isn’t a Democrats Only problem.

          As for the argument that it is ‘against nature’: Washington is full of politicians who, gay or straight, certainly seem to be unnatural creations of an alien overlord (bankers, I’m thinking). Gay is the least of the problems.

    • You do realize that it is this line of thought that is going to get our guns taken away and our rights restricted, right? You’re not helping at all. In fact you’re making things worse.

    • Congratulations! You are the stereotype that we are trying to get rid of. In one post, you have managed to:

      (1) bash homosexuals;

      (2) bash racial minorities (for voting “Demoncrat”);

      (3) bash immigrants;

      (4) alienate non-Christians; and

      (5) manage to give a great example of irony, when you say that they consider gun owners “racist, homophobic, backward, rednecks, who need to be educated” … and you make a valiant attempt to PROVE THEIR POINT with your idiotic rant.

      A good friend of mine is homosexual, and I’m pretty sure he’s never tried to “impose his orientation” on me. He is also a former officer of a state-level Libertarian Party, so I’m pretty sure he has that “live and let live” thing down – far better than you, in fact.

      You are not helpful to the cause of liberty.

      • “You are not helpful to the cause of liberty.”

        That’s the ironic thing about Liberty – it’s for everybody, even bigots and idiots. You have a Creator-given natural, human, civil, Constitutionally-protected right to express your opinion, no matter how stupid it is.

        I sometimes get the impression that people think you have to make a choice between the First amendment and the Second.

    • “Genetic dead ends” ha. Cute elementary school understanding of biology. For a simple organism like bacteria this is true. If it can’t reproduce it won’t survive. For complex social mammals, reproduction isn’t a necessity. It’s perfectly fine and normal to have non-breeding individuals in a thriving population. You’re also ignoring the fact that among higher level organisms (especially mammals) homosexuality is commonplace.

      I didn’t know rights were supposed to be applied spitefully. I know when I vote for pro-2A politicians and legislature I want that right protected for EVERYONE, not just other pro-2A people. That includes people who are against guns and those ambivalent to the cause.

      /is gay
      /is a gun owner
      /wouldn’t even know how to begin “imposing orientation”

      Seriously, how the hell do you impose orientation? It’s usually set in stone early on in your life. Are you on the fence or something?

      • I think, think that what he meant by “imposing their orientation” on you is not in the sense of “making you gay like them” but in the manner of imposing the knowledge of their orientation on you, and then demanding enthusiastic acceptance, and in the absence of that enthusiastic acceptance, screaming discrimination or rejection. For some of those who “come out,” nothing less than fawning praise is an acceptable response, e.g. “Good for you, you’re so brave, etc.”

        Speaking as someone who has said, here and elsewhere, that I don’t care what people do, and it doesn’t matter to me if someone is gay, straight, bi, whatever, there’s a scenario that happens, maybe not a lot, but enough so that it’s recognized, that someone will announce that they’re gay (or make it astonishingly obvious by their actions), and if they are greeted with anything less than full-throated acceptance and rejoicing, they get (and act) offended. If you are the one not offering that full-throated acceptance, then you can be accused of being anything from insensitive to varying levels of homophobic. My reaction to overt heterosexuality is the same as my reaction to overt homosexuality. Some variation on “get a room” or “I don’t care.”

        That said, thanks to AlphaGeek’s comment above, I have a better understanding of why someone in Cheng’s position might find an announcement necessary. But I, personally, still don’t care either way.

        • “Good for you, you’re so brave, etc.”

          Antismokerists are like that when they get a new member to join their cult. It makes me want to slap them upside the head.

  41. I didn’t know who this guy was before and to suddenly give a shit now because he came out is bigotry and i, sirs, am no bigot!

  42. So by announcing he’s gay, does that mean he’s volunteering to decorate my house, clean my firearms, and make me a sammich? Enough with the coming out parties already. Be gay, go away, and shut the hell up.

    • He’s just diffusing the issue before producers say “you can’t do a gun show. The key demographic wouldn’t accept a gay shooter/host.” It’s still not a sure thing, but he’s cleared the air enough to allow for more reliable market sampling.

  43. I’m getting sick of people “coming out” and acting like I’m supposed to give a crap. I don’t care what they do behind closed doors and frankly I think drawing attention to something so private and in my opinion trivial dilutes their actual achievements. Why do we need to know that this dude is gay? We do not, or at least I do not.

  44. We seem to have a triple standard in this country. Say you’re walking down the street and you pass a young “hetero” couple making out in a doorway. Most people will ignore them, some might grumble or go “Pssht!” or even say, “Get a room!” but it’s not that big of a deal. If there’s a young gay male couple making out, a lot of people will ignore it, many will scoff, some might cross the street so they don’t have to see it, and some will probably want to <obgun>shoot</obgun> them. Still really not that big of a deal, unless someone initiates violence, then it’d be news. If there’s two young gay WOMEN making out in a doorway, they’ll attract a crowd of spectators.

    • It’s a natural function of guys’ brains. They see two women turned on and think “there’s no guy in the picture, so they must be waiting for me!” That double standard ain’t goin’ away. Turned on women and no male competition in the picture is always going to have an effect. It’s not rational, but how much of emotional life is?

      • I see 2 women making out or having sex and I am immediately attracted to the scene because it’s 2 women. I don’t have to see a guy, clothed or not. Men are visual, we’re predators by nature. My visual isn’t ruined by another guy in the scene. It’s really that simple. Instead of 1 set of boobs, I get to see 2, and so on. No guy parts at all.

  45. To me this maters little. However, if this allows Chris to live a more authentic and meaningful life, more power to him.

  46. For F*ck sake… no one cares if your gay. If no one can tell by looking at you as an individual on their own, your doing it right. I really don’t want to know nor do I care what holes you like. Stop being a political attention whore…

  47. I think it’s a decently interesting announcement because there are a lot of gay athletes and they’re mostly closeted.

    • And that’s the rub … someone’s sexual orientation shouldn’t be relevant, but because of stereotypes, it is a bigger deal than it ought to be.

      Destroying the stereotype of gun owners is something that must be done.

      • “Destroying the stereotype of gun owners is something that must be done.”

        True, but isn’t invoking another stereotype to do it somewhat equivalent to “we had to destroy the village to save it?”

  48. I’m of mixed opinion.

    First, in the interests of disclosure: I’m that stereotypical OFWG most people seem to think of. Conservative. Scots-Irish. Grew up on the farm. Low-income (well, zero-income now). About the only abberration from said stereotype is that I’m Catholic, which is pretty ununsual in these parts. And I guess a politically conservative Catholic would make me even more so. But what do I know.

    I don’t approve of same-sex marriage on moral grounds, nor do I think the government should recognize said civil unions, but I’m also of the opinion that the government shouldn’t have it’s nose into the Sacrament of Marriage in the first place, either. But I guess it’s a little late for that. And neither here nor there.

    So why do I mention this, you might ask? Simple – it’s not so much a matter of moral approval (yes, there is that) as a matter of minding one’s own business versus getting others caught up in said business. For all my supposed misogynist opinion about gay rights, I can safely say that I and most folks simply wouldn’t care, except for one little thing….they’re dragging me into it. Making it my business, you might say. So it’s only natural that I would protest thusly. I’m not into 3 gun or any other shooting sports at the moment, but I have gone to a Garand match not too long ago. If anybody there was of the other persuasion, I probably would not have noticed it (kinda hard to flaunt homosexuality when wearing a shooting coat, gloves, hat, etc). So, not an issue, right?

    My personal opinion is that at least some (not all) celebrities in Hollywood claim homosexuality simply because it’s fashionable in that circle. So this Cheng fella may merely be crazy, like a fox. Whatever. His problem. I am compelled to agree that it could be a plus for educating people in the LGBT community about the RKBA and maybe participating in the shooting sports in a positive manner, instead of parroting the current ‘progressive’ agenda But I also wish it didn’t have to be this way. I only wish it didn’t have to be such an issue in the first place, just as I wish the progressives and the haters would only go away and leave well enough alone, which as we all know, they won’t. :/

    Tom

    • Seems as though you’re the one dragging yourself into it. What does private business between consenting adults have to do with you? You can think what you want, but once you get in the way of someone’s freedom you become the bad guy.

      • At ease, AnotherMatt. I was making an observation.

        As to this part about dragging myself into the matter.

        I have no TV at home, nor have I had one in over six years now. Whatever news I get is online, and the occasional dead tree in periodicals at the store. I think you will have to agree that the topic has become virtually all-pervasive in the media over the last decade and especially last spring with the Supreme Court stuff. How is that ‘dragging myself’ into the whole thing? My opinion is simply that people need to keep certain private affairs private instead of advertising. Hell, that’s the whole point of the thing. The only reason I pointed out my demographics was to provide context regarding said commentary. If I went on and on about being Catholic I imagine somebody, somewhere, would tire of it. Same thing, just on a more individual level.

        The irony is that I now know who Chris Cheng is not because he’s a competitor in the shooting sports, but because he’s proclaimed, er advertised, his sexuality and RF posted it, with his own commentary. Which proves my point completely.

        I think I’ll go run some errands now….sheesh.

        Tom

        • Keep in mind that not so long ago keeping it to your self meant that when men in white coats dragged you away never to be free again… Nobody knew or cared. When you were beaten to death … There was no call for justice. When you went to the police for help… They would likely leave you to die. The whole motive behind the parades the protests the campaigns was to force the public at large to recognize them as human and deserving of the same rights as others. For a gay man to suffer abuses in silence like you suggest is the very same as telling the gun owners of America to simply keep their life styles to them selves despite the constant barrage of hatefull rhetoric from certain quarters.

          • I heard an approx. third-hand anecdote where some guy picked on a gay guy who just happened to be buffed, and the gay guy said, “If there’s anything I like better than a good dick, it’s a good fight!” and proceeded to open up a big ol’ can o’ whupass. 😉

  49. I think somebody took that whole “AR-15’s are Barbie dolls for guys” thing a bit too far.

  50. Now to see if the gay community accepts him, or if they go with the same routine as the black community and “Uncle Tom”/Oreo him.

  51. First Amendment and whatnot.

    Asking “Why does he need to say that?” Is like asking “Why do you need a magazine that holds more than 7 rounds?”

    Because it’s his right.

    • Fact. The more gun owners voting, regardless of party, is going to change the narrative and make both parties more pro gun.

      • Precisely. Only the absolute hard-liners on guns will continue to push gun bans if the people who put them in power speak up. The more gun owning Democrat voters we have (who care about their 2A rights and not just the basic Fudd shooting ones), the better off we all are.

    • More likely than what? Than a non gun owning homosexual? That has as much meaning as ” you are more likely to shoot your self with your gun”. More likely than what??

      • I’m pretty sure he meant “than a gun-owning anything else.” But I think you knew that.

        His point was that in the hierarchy of issues, most homosexuals seem to value the issues surrounding their sexuality well above the issues of gun rights, therefore, they will vote Democrat because that is the party more likely to be in their favor on the issues they hold most important. It might hurt their feelings to see their gun rights infringed, but it would hurt more to vote gun rights and see their “gay rights” infringed.

        But again, I think you knew all that, and you’re being purposefully obtuse.

        • I daresay the same thing applies to potheads, sadly. Between the weather, the pot, money, and guns, I’m afraid I kinda have to pick staying where I’m at in the People’s Democratic Republic of Taxifornia, at least in the foreseeable future..

  54. Cool, that’s nice.

    Just don’t vote for anti-gun politicians and you won’t have a problem with me.

  57. I cringe a little every time a train-wreck ‘celebrity’ tries to get themselves some free publicity by blabbing about their sexual preferences (cough Lindsay Lohan cough) because 1) I absolutely don’t care, and 2) That’s exactly the last kind of message that ordinary, decent gay people need to have out there.

    Mr. Cheng’s announcement *does not* fall into that category.

    He’s a regular decent fellow who doesn’t want to be misunderstood, and I see his coming out as a good thing for everybody except bigots and antis. Good for him because it takes more than a little courage to come out, good for equality because it shows (again) that what people do with other consenting adults is utterly irrelevant to their value as human beings, and good for the 2A community because it drives another nail into the ‘Angy White Bible-Clingers’ stereotype of gun owners that our dear President continues to perpetuate.

  58. “Destroying the stereotype of gun owners is something that must be done.”
    I agree and the only way to get that done is to accept, support, and promote those who have spoken out.

  59. I’m glad he came out because the LGBT community is very strong in CA and we can use a spokes person who also represent that community.

  60. Upon further reflection: its possible that the new problem will be “special” 2A rights depending on which protected group you happen to be in…if you are gay, maybe you “need” high capacity magazines. OFWG? Mmmm…5 rounds is all you get.

    • Those already exist in May issue areas. In theory any way. It’s perfectly logical to tell your sherif hey I’m a gay man and likely to be target for assault, may I please have a gun? The reality is though even the most justified circumstances won’t get you a permit in some places. No any so called concessions by the grabbers are hollow at best.

  61. If he wants to boink puppies in the privacy of his own home, that’s his business, though it is a bit cruel to puppies.

    I’m sick of homos always putting out there as if we are to be impressed.

  62. So will Obama call him a hero like the basketball player that came out as gay? I doubt I think the only reason Obama called Jason Collins a hero is because Obama wanted to get in his pants.

  65. Ok so now that this nobody came out and wants to send everyone a message, where is he speaking out for gun guy and Christian Phil Robertson? I’ m waiting…..

  66. And….

    Anyone with half decent gay-dar saw this one coming a mile a way. Whatever. Nice guy. Good person. Great shooter.

  67. The Bigger news is that this is not News, and I don’t mean that in the we don’t really care type of way. Think about it, like a twelfth string NBA player comes out as being Gay it’s all over the new and television, or some figure skater just came out as Gay is on the frond page of MSN, it’s all considered a big deal. But when a big time competition shooter and strong 2nd amendment supporter comes out as being Gay, it is ignored by the media. If the liberal elite really believed that people that it is very important that famous people come out as being gay was really important to gay rights, his story would be all over the news. Instead because he does not conform with their own views on what gay people are suppose to believe it is ignored.

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