“Why do you own a gun?”
My answer to that frequent question is always this: Because I feel that I have to.
Being a transgender woman today can be scary, especially with the current presidential administration and its crackdown on transgender rights. I pray that I’ll never have to use my weapon in self defense, but I am prepared to do so to save my life or the life of someone else.
According to the FBI, 2,936 hate crimes took place against LGBTQ+ people in 2023. That’s a 135 percent increase in incidents compared to the early Trump era in 2017. Donald Trump’s 2024 election campaign rested heavily on anti-trans sentiment, with Trump’s campaign spending $21 million on anti-trans messaging by Oct. 9, 2024.
Firearms are a highly controversial topic right now, and even more so in queer, left-leaning communities. But the trend of queer folks buying guns, arming themselves and getting trained is growing.
There’s a saying I hear a lot from the armed queer community, and that’s “You go far enough left, you get your guns back.” From pistols to AR-15s and AK-47s, queers are learning to bash back, protecting themselves from surging levels of violence and political hatred.
Not everyone agrees guns are an answer to the attacks. And according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 642 people died in Oregon from gun-related incidents in 2023. Seventy-six percent of these deaths were due to suicide.
During his first day in office, Trump signed the “defending women from gender ideology extremism and restoring truth to the federal government” executive order. This order was the biggest assault on federal protections of trans rights since the rollback of Obama-era protections in 2017.
The order effectively removed transgender people from existence in federal documents, defining a male as “a person belonging, at conception, to the sex that produces the small reproductive cell,” and a female as “a person belonging, at conception, to the sex that produces the large reproductive cell.” Trump’s order removed all “non-biologically accurate” gender markers from all federal documents, including passports.
Beyond this is the effort to erase transgender people from history. The order mandates federal agencies to remove any references to so-called “gender ideology,” which includes terms like transgender, gender identity and pronouns. For example, the mention of transgender protesters in the National Park Service’s webpage for the Stonewall riots has been removed as of Feb.13.
Getting Started
The first thing to do before buying a gun is to learn how they work, when you can legally use one and how to safely handle one. To be a responsible gun owner, you must know how to operate the tool you hold in your hand.
The next step is to shoot one — more than once — to learn what it’s like to hold a literal explosion in your hands. It can be scary, and it’s important to get an idea of what it’s actually like before committing to a major purchase.
I personally know a number of people in Oregon and the greater PNW who are involved in educating, training and informing queer folks about safe, responsible gun ownership. One of these people is Zella.
Zella is a certified National Rifle Association instructor. The NRA is one of the only government-approved organizations whose training certifications hold up in a court of law for things like a concealed carry license. Eugene Weekly is not including Zella’s last name due to concerns over safety due to the controversial nature of her work as a trans woman involved with firearms.
Zella is an instructor for Shuten Defensive Group, a firearms training company based in Portland. “The entire goal of Shuten is to protect and to educate those who need protection,” she says. “We cater almost entirely to queer people, people of color or anyone who is disenfranchised from the Second Amendment — anyone who’s stereotypically not allowed into that space.”
She bought her first gun in 2021 after facing credible, personal threats — but her reasoning for continuing to own a gun has shifted over time. “Now, I’m dealing with the rising political tension against anyone who doesn’t fit into a specific block of people and that fear keeps me alert,” she says, “I don’t rely on my firearm as protection from them, but I do feel safer knowing I have another means to protect myself if I have to.”
A gun isn’t a solve-all solution, but it’s a start. It can help you feel more confident when walking alone at night, or when you’re alone in your house.
But guns aren’t for everyone, and there are alternatives. Learning how to de-escalate verbally and using non-lethal methods such as pepper spray are important aspects of learning to defend yourself. I recommend that anyone who buys a gun and plans to carry it also carries pepper spray and knows how to de-escalate a conflict.
In a court of law, there are five elements of self defense. They are: innocence — you were not the initial aggressor; imminence — the threat you face is immediate; proportionality — the force you used in self-defense is what was necessary to stop the threat; reasonableness — a reasonable person would have taken the same action; and avoidance — you did not escalate the conflict and made an effort to avoid violence.
An important note about using a gun in self-defense is that you are not “shooting to kill,” instead, you’re shooting to stop the threat that is coming toward you. Shooting center mass, not in the legs or the arms is the most effective method to stop an approaching threat quickly.
Oregon has no official “Castle Doctrine,” which is a law that makes it legal to not flee from a threat, but Oregon law functions similarly to a Castle Doctrine in that there is no duty to retreat from a threat anywhere you are lawfully present. If you use deadly force, the state will determine if all five elements of self defense were met. If the prosecution finds you did not meet these criteria, you may be charged with a serious crime.
Carol Rozek, a firearms instructor in Eugene, says, “If you’re going to own a gun for a defense, or any weapon, you owe it to yourself to know the law.”
So, how do I actually buy a gun?
The process of buying a gun varies depending on your state. But here in Oregon, current law requires you to not be a prohibited person (convicted of a felony, misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, involuntarily committed to a mental institution, dishonorably discharged from military service, addicted to controlled substances including marijuana or subject to any court order prohibiting you from owning firearms); be over 18; be an Oregon resident; and be a U.S. citizen. These provisions may change as Oregon is considering new laws that would alter the way residents can buy guns.
Once you’ve met these requirements, you can purchase a gun. You can do so online, or in person at a gun store. To purchase a gun online, you must place an order and have it shipped to a local firearms dealer. Once it’s delivered, the gun store will start the paperwork for your background check. Gun stores are not known to be very progressive nationwide, but there are a few places in town that I’ve had personal success with as a transgender woman: Gun Pro in Springfield and Ace Buyers in Eugene. Neither of these stores have given me any issues in my transfer process, and they are where I recommend queer people looking to get into gun ownership go to buy their first gun locally.
The process looks like this: You walk in, present your state issued identification and inform them you had a firearm delivered (or pick the gun you want). The dealer will then have you fill out a form which determines if you are the actual buyer and if you are a prohibited person. In an email to Eugene Weekly, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms public affairs office writes that purchasers must mark their sex assigned at birth when filing out the form, regardless of what the state issued ID says. The ATF says it is in the process of changing its form 4473, the firearms purchase form, to be consistent with Trump’s executive order. This means “non-binary” may be removed from the options listed for sex. This may cause issues in the future when purchasing a firearm if your state issued identification has a gender marker inconsistent with your gender assigned at birth. As of this publication date, the form has not been updated.
Once the form is completed, you will give your thumbprints and the dealer will put all this data into the Oregon background check system. Once you’re approved, you can walk out the door with your new gun. Sometimes approvals happen instantly, other times they take a few hours or, more rarely, days.
The kind of gun you choose to buy is mostly up to personal preference, but there’s definitely some to stay away from. In the gun community, there are infinite debates about which gun is best.
The most important aspects to consider when buying a gun are if it’s reliable, if it’s sufficient to take down an expected threat and if you’re proficient in shooting it. For beginners, I recommend a polymer 9 millimeter, striker-fired pistol. Nine millimeter is the most common handgun caliber in the U.S. because it performs very well against human-sized targets, the recoil is manageable and it is relatively cheap. The best options are a Glock 19, a Smith and Wesson M&P or a Walther PDP. All of these options can be purchased in a price range from around $800 to as low as $300 for police trade ins.
I’ve got one, now what?
Now it’s time to start training. Taking classes is the most effective way to learn how to use a firearm. Your instructor will teach the basics of how to hold, load, fire and unload a firearm. Many instructors will also go over legal aspects of gun use, how to avoid conflict and de-escalate situations.
Make sure you vet your instructors. This means choosing an instructor who is qualified (certified NRA instructor), is queer-friendly and has good reviews in the community.
The most important things to remember when handling a firearm are to treat every gun as if it were loaded; do not point the gun at anything you do not intend to destroy; keep your finger off the trigger at all times; and be aware of your target and what lies beyond it.
If you follow these rules at all times when handling a gun, you are significantly less likely to put yourself or anyone around you in danger. The most important thing is to be familiar with the tool you own and know how to effectively — and safely — use it.
You’ll need to obtain a concealed handgun license — a card that allows you to conceal a handgun on your person legally. In Oregon, if you’re found to be carrying a concealed handgun without a license you can be charged with a serious offense.
The steps to getting one as of now are relatively simple. First, you must complete an approved training course. This can be either online or in person. There are a few other ways besides taking a class to qualify for the educational aspect of a CHL, but a class is the most effective and common way.
Next, make an appointment with the sheriff’s office. Once your appointment is made, you’ll have to fill out a form similar to the one you fill out when buying a gun. You’ll also have to bring two forms of identification that show you as an Oregon resident and U.S. citizen. The form will ask for two character references and you are required to pay a fee. The sheriff’s office will take your fingerprints and your picture. Once your background check is approved, the sheriff will mail you a new concealed carry license. You must keep your license on your person at all times when carrying a firearm to follow the law.
What next?
You’ve got your gun, you’re training with it and you feel comfortable either carrying it concealed, or storing it in a safe. That’s all you need to do. A gun is a tool, nothing more. It is not a tool to be used for evil or harm and should only be used for defense or recreation in a safe, controlled environment. If you’re queer, and have been considering buying a gun, now is the time to do so.
I encourage all those who are able to handle a gun both physically and mentally to buy one as it’s now more important than ever to learn how to protect yourself and each other. “For anyone out there who is in the position where they are like, ‘I still have a bit of time,’ no, you don’t, and you didn’t two years ago, and you made excuses two years ago, and you are still making those excuses now,” Zella says.
All of this, plus the 114 anti-trans bills that states have passed since the beginning of 2025, combined with the real, credible threat of violence is leading people like myself to arm and train themselves.
Guns can be scary, but they don’t have to be. I’ve learned a lot since I’ve started shooting and there’s still more to learn. Becoming a queer person that’s comfortable with guns can open a door to a community you never knew existed. One that’s queer, left-leaning and progressive. To learn more about gun laws and regulations, visit ATF.gov or contact your local ATF office.