German gun clubs vote against ‘crowning’ partners of gay champions
German gun clubs say they will no longer crown gay couples at annual ceremonies for their top shooters after a champion gunman’s male partner had to be named ‘queen’ last year.
The shooting fraternities determine their best marksman each year and offer him a coronation, but from now on, if his partner is male, he will not be allowed to participate.
Gay consorts will also not be allowed to stand next to their ‘king’ at formal events as a female partner can.
The 400,000-strong German Association of Shooting Fraternities has held a vote after a gay man’s shooting prowess won him the accolade of becoming his group’s ‘king’.
Rather than determining to treat gay kings equally, 450 of 500 voting delegates in the German shooting fraternity said the idea that a same-sex couple could be coronated was out of line with its values, the Telegraph reports.
While gay kings can still be crowned, The Association of Shooting Fraternities now says the king’s partner must be a queen, citing its “Christian traditions” as the reason.
Dirk Winter was the association’s best marksman last year and attended the ceremony with his partner, Oliver, to be crowned last summer, prompting debate and a vote within the gun community.
The Association said he, and other future gay kings, may now attend formal events with his partner but they will not be allowed to stand next to each other.
Instead, the king’s gay partner will have to follow behind him.
Germany’s Gay and Lesbian Association called it “as a provincial farce” which made the shooting groups look “ridiculous”.
