Not many people could speak about hate crimes and gun control and also describe themselves as an openly gay, gun-owning, pro-choice feminist.

Topics including gun control and the prosecution of hate crimes were discussed by Tammy Bruce, former president of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW). She spoke to a crowd of about 50 for several hours last night in Kern Building.

Bruce said special interest groups isolate and victimize people.

"In order to be a victim, there has to be a perpetual oppressor," she said.

Bruce said blacks and gays are not being killed in America to the degree hate-crime legislators say they are, and that every murder happens because hate is involved.

"I am more likely to be murdered because I'm a woman than for being gay," Bruce said.

She also talked about the recently disbanded Tolerance and Equality Committee (TEC) within Undergraduate Student Government (USG).

"Joe Stalin would have loved that committee," Bruce said. TEC was created to investigate hate crimes committed at Penn State.

Bruce said she is against all drugs because they destroy lives.

"Heroin and cocaine can't be used responsibly," she said.

However, she said owning guns does not necessarily mean they would be used to kill people.

"I think a firearm is the ultimate equalizer," Bruce said.

She said she wanted people to be more open to debate as she has been, so they could be improved by discussion with others.

"I've been improved because they've influenced me," she said. "That's the benefit of sitting down and listening to others."

Bruce said recent trends in society that mirror George Orwell's futuristic 1984 inspired her to write a book The New Thought Police: Inside the Left's Assault on Free Speech and Free Minds.

Adam Kennett (junior-political science) read The New Thought Police before attending last night's event. He said he came because he was interested in Bruce's views on freedom of expression and dissent in light of local controversy about the installation of cameras on Beaver Avenue and the disbanding of TEC.

"These liberties are coming under fire on campus," Kennett said.

Members of Womyn's Concerns attended and asked Bruce why she, a pro-choice woman, voted for President Reagan, who implemented a program which limited funding to overseas reproductive clinics unless they could prove money was not being used for abortions.

"I don't vote on a single issue," Bruce said.

Jenn Elliott, co-director of Womyn's Concerns, said she agreed with Bruce that there needs to be dialogue between groups for changes to occur, but she would have liked to hear her speak on more than hate crime legislation.

"She focused so much of her attention on how the left is trying to pass hate crime legislation," Elliott said.

Last night's event was sponsored by the Independent Women's Club.