'Armed queers don't get bashed': Pink Pistols Pittsburgh marks year as Second Amendment community
On a July day in a suburban Pittsburgh mall food court, Kevin Edler and his wife, Lex, donned their rainbow gear and waited. Families shuffled by. Teens sipped boba. Kevin’s braid trailed from his trucker hat, emblazoned with an AK-47 over a rainbow flag with “Defend Equality” in all capital letters underneath.
The couple posted up at a central table to be seen — not just by other gun-enthusiast queer folk who would meet them there before heading to a nearby gun range social, but also by passersby. Self-defense training alone won’t keep the increasingly targeted queer community safe, they believe. The world also needs to know that they’re ready for the fight.
Their quest for empowered queer visibility is embodied in the Pink Pistols’ motto: “Armed queers don’t get bashed.”
Pink Pistols Pittsburgh formed a year ago, becoming one of 50 chapters of the national organization across the United States and Canada. The local chapter’s first year coincided with heightened tension around gender and sexual identity. Since summer, Pittsburgh’s Public Source spent time with the Pink Pistols as they practiced their sport and built a community now marking its first anniversary.
https://penncapital-star.com/lgbt-issues/armed-queers-dont-get-bashed-pink-pistols-pittsburgh-marks-year-as-second-amendment-community/