More queer women, particularly lesbians, are choosing to own firearms, citing fears of political hostility and violence linked to the MAGA movement. The conversation has been amplified by pop culture. The Hunting Wives, starring Brittany Snow and Malin Akerman, portrays gun-toting, MAGA-coded women in a fictional Texas town. The series, released last year, drew criticism for being “outrageous” and provocative.
Real-world events, however, are driving deeper concerns. Last month, tragedy struck when Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother, wife, and US citizen, was shot and killed in Minnesota by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent. The incident sparked protests and conflicting responses from lawmakers. Before this an alarming incident happend around a couple of years ago. In St. Cloud, Minnesota, a man allegedly pointed a rifle at his lesbian neighbors, telling them to leave.
According to Queerty, the confrontation occurred shortly after President Donald Trump’s re-election in 2024. Writing for Slate, journalist Christina Cauterucci observed: “Some queer friends are learning to handle firearms, purchasing new weapons, or researching rifles for defense. Together, we talk through worst-case scenarios that would have seemed fantastical just months ago, imagining ourselves into a million futures that seem possible and unthinkable in equal measure.”
Reports from The Guardian and NPR indicate similar trends among LGBTQ Americans. Yet advocates warn that increased gun ownership is sometimes weaponized rhetorically, as seen in debates surrounding the death of Alex Pretti, where his firearm ownership became a point of political controversy.
