‘Armed gays don’t get bashed:’ Tucson Pink Pistols provides gun guidance & safe space

One of the first things to know when handling a gun, according to Taylor Cruise, is to not touch the trigger until you know you’re ready to shoot.

She fires a round from her 9mm pistol, a Sig Sauer P365-AXG Legion, and hits the paper target in front of her with ease. But regardless of how much experience she has, she said, safety is paramount and shooting a gun is always going to be an intense experience.

“It’s loud, and you feel the recoil and then there’s the smell,” she said. “You feel it in your soul. You’re throwing lead at 1,100 feet per second.”

Cruise, who was at Zona Tactical Range on West Prince Road on Sunday afternoon, said she usually comes to the gun range alone. This time, she met two other people. All were members of the Tucson Pink Pistols, a local chapter of a national group that promotes firearms education and responsible gun ownership as a means of protection for the LGBTQ+ community.

April Gendill, the founder of the Tucson chapter, said her motivations for organizing were simpler: She wanted to find a group of like-minded people to socialize and go shooting with.

When she started using social media in January to find that group, she discovered that there was initially a Pink Pistols chapter in Tucson about a decade ago, but it hadn’t been active for years.

The group is open to people across the political spectrum and of all sexual orientations, Gendill said, but it is fundamentally pro-LGBTQ+ and supports 2nd Amendment protections for the right to keep and bear firearms.

“We teach the LGBTQ+ community to show, and we teach the world what we’re doing,” she said. “Everyone has the 2nd Amendment right to defend their life.”

‘Guns are the great equalizer’

Kate Brown, one of the first to join Tucson Pink Pistols, said it’s no surprise to her that membership is growing as some lawmakers continue to push legislation and make statements that attack the LGBTQ+ community.

“I think a lot of people are looking to get more comfortable with shooting, and they want to do it with people who they’re not afraid will shoot them or intimidate them with their guns.”

According to the ACLU, nearly 600 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced in state legislatures in 2025. As of early June, eight of those bills were advancing in Arizona.

Brown, who identifies as bisexual, was a teenager in the 1990s. She recalled how dangerous life could be back then for LGBTQ+ people, and how some lost their lives to violent hate crimes.

“Our national motto is ‘Armed gays don’t get bashed.’ I don’t think a lot of people remember how common gay-bashing was,” she said. “People would wait outside gay bars for people to come out and beat them up. It was kind of expected that, if you were gay, you were going to get your ass kicked at some point.”

Compared to this time a year ago, Cruise said, she felt much less safe as a trans person.

“If I felt safe, I wouldn’t have spent $5,000 on guns,” she said. “This is what fills the forefront of my mind now.”

Gendill, the local group’s founder, said she doesn’t like the idea of having to defend herself or someone else from a crime motivated by an anti-LGBTQ+ bias. But it’s a resource her community members have to keep themselves safe.

“Guns are the great equalizer. This certainly empowers the queer community and our allies,” she said.

‘There’s a lot to learn’

Kate Brown, who has lost several friends to gun violence, said she understands why those with little experience with guns might feel intimidated around them.

Cruise, who has taken it upon herself to mentor members with less experience, usually starts by helping new shooters choose the weapon they can best learn with. That’s typically a pistol because of its size and affordable ammunition.

From there, she teaches the fundamentals: How to load the gun, disable the safety and aim properly.

“I really like teaching because when everyone knows how to use their firearm, it’s a lot more fun,” she said.

She has also taught members about the more technical aspects of gun ownership, such as disassembling and cleaning a gun.

“There’s a lot to learn,” she said. “Inevitably, you’re going to have a firearm with an issue.”

Brown said people of all skill levels, from beginners to gunsmiths, are involved. No experience with firearms is necessary to join.

“If you’re a new shooter, it would be a good idea to sign up for one of our new shooter classes,” she added.

In the future, Gendill added, she plans for the group to hold classes to help shooters earn their concealed weapons permits.

“We want to make gun ownership more accessible,” she said. “We can’t buy a person a gun, but we can lower the paywall for things like a CCW.”

‘I just wanted to make friends’

Gendill ultimately found what she was looking for. Hundreds of people have connected with Tucson Pink Pistols via social media, and she’s found friends through the group’s regular meetings, classes and casual get-togethers, like the one on Sunday.

“We also help change the face of what a gun owner looks like to people. The majority of people view us as conservative, or male or far Right, but we have a pretty diverse group,” she said.

Kaitlyn Ritenour, a newer member, said Sunday she wasn’t a gun enthusiast when she joined Tucson Pink Pistols, but her interest has grown as she’s spent more time with the group.

“I just wanted to make friends and socialize,” she said. “Everyone has been so nice and welcoming, and almost everyone is queer.”

Gendill credited Zona Tactical, specifically owner Chris Beltz, for allowing the group to meet there, staying open late to accommodate its regular “range days” and even donating to its raffle events and shell collection drives. Beltz said he’s happy to be working with the group

“This brings them together and it brings us together,” Beltz said, gesturing around the range. “And it gives people a safe place to shoot.”

Tucson Pink Pistols meets every first Sunday of each month at 3 p.m. at the Tucson City Council Ward 3 Office at 1510 E. Grant Rd. Gendill said anyone interested in becoming a member can contact her through the group’s website or its accounts on Facebook, BlueSky and Discord.

“We’ve had a lot of really positive interactions with the community,” Gendill said. “I think people see the need for a group like this at a time like this.”