The Pink Panthers
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The Pink Panthers Patrol (often shortened to Pink Panthers) were a civilian patrol group based in New York City, founded by members of Queer Nation in the summer of 1990 in order to combat anti-LGBT violence in Manhattan's West Village. Gay bashings in New York City were happening on the streets with regularity at the time. The organization's logo was the pink triangle with a paw print in it.
Gerri Wells founded the organization. It recruited about 150 members shortly after its establishment. The members would organize into groups to do foot patrols in gay areas. These patrols would carry whistles to scare off assailants, and some groups carried citizens band radios to call for help. If necessary they would seek police support. In case of an attack, they would intervene to protect the victim. Wells explained that there was a public perception that people could physically assault gay people without consequence, and that the gay community would no longer tolerate this behavior.
They received notoriety when they were successfully sued in 1991 by MGM Pictures, the owner of the rights to the Pink Panther cartoon. The neighborhood watch group would patrol areas that had a large number of gang assaults on LGBTQ people. In NYC, where the Pink Panthers was founded these patrols would generally be in the East and West Village. There was a number of patrols in the rambles (Central Park).
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Partygeil - 2025-05-01 00:00:00
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