Activists Respond to a Video Game Where Players Can Shoot Up a Gay Club

Last week OUT reported on a disturbing 80's-inspired arcade game where the main character heads to various sites to murder gays, Jews, journalists, racial minorities, and communists.

In the shooter game, Angry Goys II, players have various weapons at their disposal -- including guns, knives, pepper spray, and more -- to kill "mongrels and degenerates." There is even a portion of the video game where you can walk into a gay club and slaughter figures toting rainbow flags.

The game is being promoted by white supremacist Christopher Cantwell, the now infamous "Crying Nazi" who was heavily mocked for openly weeping at the prospect of being arrested during the deadly Unite The Right rally in Charlottesville last year.

He described Angry Goys II as "the season's hit game for White males who have had it with Jewish bullshit."

OUT reached out to Gays Against Guns (GAG) -- an inclusive direct action group of LGBTQ people and allies who's mission is to nonviolently stop the gun industry's investors, manufacturers, the NRA, and pro-gun politicians -- to get their thoughts on the game.

"This horrific video [game] is a symptom of the violence and hate that is running rampant in this country," Cathy Marino Thomas of GAG explained. "The current administration has unleashed the beast and we are seeing this hate seep into all avenues of our lives."

"From the looks of the cheap graphics, I doubt that anyone will even 'play' this game," GAG's Kevin Hertzog said. "Some people choose to spend their time filling the world with hateful rhetoric. We choose to spend our time trying to make this country safer for everyone. You tell me which choice makes more sense."

Activist Adam Eli, founder of Voices4, responded to the initial article by being "stunned."

"Both of my peoples -- queers and Jews -- have been killed as sport or for the sake of entertainment in the past. I shut down for a few minutes [after reading the article]," he said. Later that night at the Gays Against Guns Trans Day of Remembrance, he consulted Marino Thomas, his mentor, who told Eli exactly what she told us: The game is a symptom of the violence that is being allowed in this country.

While GAG is New York-based, there are GAG chapters in other cities to ensure safety for all individuals, particularly vulnerable communities such as people of color, women, individuals who struggle with mental health issues, LGBTQ communities, and religious minorities.

Get involved with GAG by heading to their website.