“Does Pamela Geller regret organizing the Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest that ended in gunfire?
No, she says confidently. In fact, she says, she probably saved lives by hosting the event and plans to have more just like it, with one difference: Next time, she’ll be wearing a bulletproof vest.
“I will continue to speak in defense of freedom until the day I die,” Geller said Thursday in an interview with The Associated Press, as a grim-looking personal security guard hovered nearby. “It’s just that simple. It’s not even a choice. It’s a calling.”
Geller has always hired armed security personnel to protect the scores of events she has spearheaded across the nation in recent years to decry Islamic extremism. But furor over Sunday’s shooting in Garland, Texas, has led to a specific threat against Geller, posted on a website related to the Islamic State group, and the New York Police Department is taking it seriously. Now she doesn’t travel anywhere without protection.
Geller said she believes she saved lives by hosting the contest because the two Muslim gunmen shot to death by police would have picked another soft target and killed innocent civilians.
“Would you regret saving lives?” she asked.”
Larry Pratt has been Executive Director of Gun Owners of America for over 30 years. GOA is a national membership organization of 300,000 Americans dedicated to promoting their Second Amendment freedom to keep and bear arms. GOA lobbies for the pro-gun position in Washington, D.C. and is involved in firearm issues in the states. GOA’s work includes providing legal assistance to those involved in lawsuits with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the federal firearms law enforcement agency. Pratt has held elective office in the state legislature of Virginia, serving in the House of Delegates.
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