Transcripts

SPEAKER: Gay rights and gun rights are two issues that don't often mix. But for the last two decades, the group Pink Pistols has been training LGBT men and women the basics of firearm use. And they say interest in the group has spiked in recent years. Briana Bierschbach met up with some members of the group, and she filed this report.

BRIANA BIERSCHBACH: Mark Steiger sits near the front door so he can greet newcomers visiting the gun range.

[GUNSHOTS]

On a recent Saturday, there's a stuffed fox guarding the entrance and guns and ammo hanging on nearly every inch of the walls at Bill's Gun shop in Circle Pines. Steiger is smiling and approachable. He wants a friendly face to greet any of the LGBT men and women he's invited who might not immediately feel the gun range is a safe space for them.

MARK STEIGER: So sometimes going to a range can be a little daunting for someone who is gay. So we do have some people that do come to our group that don't feel comfortable going alone to a range, but they feel more comfortable coming with us.

BRIANA BIERSCHBACH: Steiger is President of the Pink Pistols, an LGBT gun rights group with chapters in dozens of cities across the nation. It's been around in Minnesota in various forms for nearly two decades, hosting meetings at the gun range about once a month. Steiger says many people who show up have never even shot a gun before, but they come to learn how.

MARK STEIGER: Our slogan is Armed Gays Don't Get Bashed. And in light of the increase in crimes against gays, we do try to do training.

SPEAKER: Eric Inman has been coming to the Pink Pistols for the last five years to help train new shooters. He's an NRA-certified pistol instructor who also spent five years specializing in search and rescue in Alaska. Sporting a long red beard and a Punisher t-shirt, Inman starts orientation for newbies with a fake gun.

ERIC INMAN: For the record, whenever I teach somebody new, I start off with one bullet at a time. The reason is, is that if anything goes wrong with one bullet, it's a flying piece of metal. Nobody really cares.

BRIANA BIERSCHBACH: Then he moves on to the real thing.

[GUNSHOT]

ERIC INMAN: When you pull it back, just release it [INAUDIBLE]

BRIANA BIERSCHBACH: Interest in the group has spiked in recent years, especially after a gunman opened fire inside a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, killing 49 people. Steiger said it was devastating.

MARK STEIGER: It's kind of like it's our place, and it felt like it had been invaded by somebody that shouldn't have been there.

BRIANA BIERSCHBACH: Steiger says he was pushed out of the closet in high school by someone he trusted and confided in about his sexuality. He was teased and called names by other students and even physically attacked once. He doesn't like to talk about it much, but it affects the way he thinks.

MARK STEIGER: We think people should be able to defend themselves. And one of the original gun manufacturers had a saying that their gun was the great equalizer. Whether you're a 100 pounds person or a 300 pounds person, if you have a gun, you can defend yourself against any sized person.

BRIANA BIERSCHBACH: Steiger acknowledges the Pink Pistols occupy an awkward space. Not all gun owners are welcoming to the LGBT community, and not all members of the LGBT community support all gun rights.

MARK STEIGER: Some people call it coming out of the gun safe, as if coming out of the closet. And some people say it's harder to come out as being a gun owner and gay because so much of the gay community is anti-gun.

BRIANA BIERSCHBACH: But he says the group is not political. Yes, they support gun rights, but they avoid events sponsored by one party or the other. Steiger says he votes across party lines.

The Pink Pistols go from events like Pride Weekend to gun rights rallies at the capitol, and they're welcomed at both. He expects he'll be back at the Capitol next year to testify on new gun control bills. Briana Bierschbach, NPR News, Circle Pines.