After Donald Trump’s re-election, many transgender Americans began purchasing firearms, fearing an increase in violence and discrimination against them. The newspaper The Washington Post reports the testimony of a transgender student, May Alejandro Rodriguez, who decided to buy her first handgun for self-defense, a choice she shared on social media to inspire others in the LGBTQ+ community to do the same.
The phenomenon began to see a significant increase, with growing membership in training groups like Operation Blazing Sword and Pink Pistols, as well as in gun safety courses, such as those offered by Arm Trans Women, and an increase in members in online forums like r/transguns.
Rodriguez, initially a supporter of gun control and involved in music and photography, radically changed her stance after the Republican electoral victory. Hearing stories from trans friends in conservative states, forced to use bathrooms that did not align with their gender identity and deprived of hormone treatments, pushed her to consider armed self-defense. The fear of losing more rights and the memory of incidents of violence against queer people strengthened her conviction.
The purchase of firearms by oppressed minorities is not a new phenomenon in the United States. According to some experts, transgender people are following a path already taken by the Black Panthers, the African American political and militant movement born in the country in 1966 to fight racism, or by women seeking means of defense in the 1970s and 1980s. Professor David Yamane, an expert on gun culture at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, pointed out that in times of threat or uncertainty, people seek security, and in America, this security is often associated with owning guns.
It is estimated that U.S. civilians own around 393 million firearms, with an average of 120.5 guns for every 100 people. This high availability is associated with significant rates of gun violence. In 2024, around 17,000 deaths were recorded due to shootings.
While the National Rifle Association NRA, an organization that promotes armed self-defense, has recognized the phenomenon as an expression of Second Amendment rights, some activists fear that this trend could lead to new restrictions. If being transgender were classified as a mental condition incompatible with gun ownership, in states like Colorado, red flag laws could prevent access to revolvers, rifles, and pistols for anyone deemed psychologically unstable.
For many transgender Americans, owning a firearm is not an act of aggression, but a declaration of resistance. In an increasingly tense political and social climate, the LGBTQ+ community seems determined not to be caught unprepared.
