RSWC #110 Sharyn Hinchcliffe – Riding Shotgun With Charlie

Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#110
Sharyn Hinchcliffe
Pink Pistols Seattle

I really appreciate the friendships I’ve made in the firearm community since I started RSWC. Sometimes the friendship turns into another friendship. Thanks to Derek LeBlanc from Kids S.A.F.E. Foundation for making the connection to Sharyn Hinchcliffe. She’s a busy woman in Washington state for our Rights on many levels and fronts.

She grew up in New Jersey to a family of police officers. Unfortunately, there was an incident. She had a relative who, as a 5 year old child, climbed up and over things the way kids do. And found their father’s revolver. Due to the weight of the gun and the age and strength of the child, the firearm went off. Their family lost a child. This incident is why her father instilled firearm safety to her and her other family members at a young age.

In 2008, Sharyn and a blind date for coffee…it is Seattle. They eventually went to a shooting range. And things changed for her. She enjoyed her new partner’s company. And she rediscovered firearms. After the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016, she decided it was time to get involved with advocacy. A lot of times, there are people who work on the 2A activism more than they shoot. I’ve had several of these people on the show. Sharyn is not an exception. She’s involved with Pink Pistols & Operation Blazing Sword, which are the 2 LGBTQ groups in the firearm community. A couple years ago, they joined together. I had Erin Palette on the show in Dallas. She’s the President of PP/OBS.

Sharyn and Pink Pistols Seattle are very active in Washington. She forgoes heading to Las Vegas for the SHOT (Shooting Hunting Outdoor Trade), as she testifies during ‘the first day of gun control legislation’. Her group also attends several events during the year, handing out firearm safety brochures and books, all in the name of educating people and getting them into the fold.

We also talk about some of the laws in Washington state that state that a lever action rifle, a Ruger 10/22, and even a Marlin Model 60, and similar firearms, end up being classified as “assault weapons” because of the way the firearms are designed. And with this designation, there’s an extra fee to purchase one.

On the same activism side, she’s also very involved with the suicide prevention aspect of firearms. She’s worked with Hold My Guns (Sarah Albrecht RSWC #092) and Walk The Talk America (Michael Sodini RSWC #067). Suicide prevention is a very big deal in Seattle, with 75% of their firearm deaths being suicide.

Sharyn and I have a really good conversation while we drive through Tacoma, WA, and take in some of the scenery. It’s great to see that there’s people out there who are working very hard to maintain and fight back in states where politicians are working hard against freedom and gun rights. With someone as knowledgeable and well spoken as Sharyn, I’m glad she’s on our side of freedom.

Favorite quotes:

“The assault weapon bill that was pushed through last year…had lever action rifles called out as being assault weapons.”
“I don’t care about the NRA on the national level. What I care about is ILA (Institute for “There is also a city attorney that will go after anyone pro 2A.”

“If you talk to someone about suicide…it’s going to acknowledge they’re in a crisis and you are listening to them.”

“It’s more important to give out that safety information, than it is to be on anything else.”

Pink Pistols

https://www.pinkpistols.org/

Pink Pistols Seattle

https://www.facebook.com/groups/PinkPistolsSeattle

Operation Blazing Sword