Author: Erin Palette

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Daytona Beach, FL, 15 September 2025: All deaths are tragic, and all murders are crimes. Who the victim was, what his politics were, or what he was saying at the time of his murder are as irrelevant as what clothes he was wearing. To argue otherwise is to condone crime when politically convenient, and Operation Blazing Sword – Pink Pistols (“OBS-PP”) finds this monstrous, unethical, and hypocritical.

Although our organization advocates solely for the Second Amendment and the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, OBS-PP staunchly supports all Constitutional Rights, including the vigorous exercise of Free Speech. Whatever Mr. Kirk’s opinions regarding queer people, he had the right to express them peacefully. Those who claim to cherish liberty yet celebrate his murder reveal they cherish expedience over principle. OBS-PP condemns both Mr. Kirk’s murder and the celebrations surrounding it in the strongest possible terms, and solemnly affirms our purely defensive mission. The murderer, and those who cheer him, do not represent us, our ethics, or our mission. Our hearts go out to Mr. Kirk’s family for their tragic loss.

Accusations that the murderer was tied to a Salt Lake City Pink Pistols chapter are false. No such chapter exists now, nor did one exist at the time of Mr. Kirk’s death. From 2020 to 2021, a University of Utah student named Ermiya Fanaeian ran a Salt Lake City chapter. While initially welcomed, she began using the Pink Pistols name to promote broader political issues, violating our rule that we are a single-issue organization devoted solely to the safe, legal, and responsible use of firearms by the queer community. In 2021, her group and Pink Pistols parted ways, and she renamed her organization Armed Queers of Salt Lake City. From that point forward, she no longer represented Pink Pistols, and the Salt Lake City chapter was formally listed as defunct on our website, where it remains. Any Utah-labeled social media tied to her group did not and does not represent Pink Pistols.

To restate the facts plainly:
• Ms. Fanaeian parted ways with Pink Pistols in 2021. She has had no involvement with us since.
• Any social media accounts calling for or celebrating violence are not affiliated with OBS-PP.
• OBS-PP abhors all violence, particularly violence that denies rights to any person or group.
• We extend our sincere condolences to the Kirk family for their devastating loss.

Operation Blazing Sword, Inc. is a grassroots 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to helping queer people become responsible firearm owners by maintaining a database of over 1,900 queer-friendly volunteer firearm educators located in every state of the USA. It also submits legal briefs (amicus curiae) to protect the rights of not just queer people, but all peaceable citizens, to have access to the most effective tools for self-defense. www.blazingsword.org

Pink Pistols, a division of Operation Blazing Sword, is dedicated to the legal, safe, and responsible use of firearms for self-defense of the gender and sexual minority community. www.pinkpistols.org

Media Contact: Ms. Erin Palette, 386-401-0386 (text), erin@blazingsword.org

Over the past six months, the Atlanta Chapter of the Pink Pistols has been doing amazing things for its members.

While everyone was still reeling from the Club Q shooting in November of 22, Pink Pistols Atlanta held a Stop The Bleed class in early December, which was taught by local firefighters and paramedics from the organization Frontline Medical Defense.

 

The current average response time of emergency services in the city of Atlanta is 9.5 minutes, yet traumatic blood loss can render a victim unconscious in less than a minute. Stop The Bleed, designed by the American College of Surgeons and promoted by the Department of Homeland Security, follows the principle of “You Are the Help Until Help Arrives” by teaching the medical skills associated with bleeding control and stabilizing victims of violent trauma prior to emergency services arriving.

18 members of the Atlanta chapter were taught how to apply a tourniquet, when to pack a wound versus when to ventilate it, and what order of operations to follow when stabilizing patients to prevent blood loss. This class empowered those members with the skills and knowledge necessary to protect themselves and others in an increasingly dangerous word.

In January, the Atlanta chapter relaunched its annual Introduction to Pistols class, which has been on hiatus due to the COVID-19 lockdown. Last offered in January 2020, this class provides a safe and low-cost environment for members and guests to learn firearm safety and the principles of pistol shooting by certified instructors.

Conducted at the Quickshot Shooting Range in Buckhead, GA, this course consists of three hours of classroom time covering the safe handling of pistols, instruction of the mechanical components and common faults within handguns, pistol marksmanship techniques, and the consideration which must be made prior to arming oneself.

Following the classroom portion and practice with simulated firearms, participants were provided with one hour of structured range time to practice what they learned, and get comfortable with a few types of pistols and revolvers.

This past April, Pink Pistols Atlanta offered a private Everyday Carry class for its members, focusing on lawful concealed carry with an emphasis on techniques for those that intend to carry a handgun daily. The instructor, Edgar Mills of Osprey Shooting Solutions, has worked with Pink Pistols members in the past, but this was the chapter’s first formal partnership with him for private instruction.

This course included two hours of classroom time, which covered safe handling, variations in carry holsters and positions, changes to traditional safety rules when handling a firearm outside a gun range, and legal considerations for concealed carry and drawing a firearm in self defense. Following the classroom portion, participants were provided with five hours of structured range time at a private facility to practice what they learned, with a focus on drawing from concealment and engaging threats with their own firearm.

Both Stop The Bleed and Introduction to Pistols were financially sponsored by Operation Blazing Sword, Pink Pistols’ parent organization, making these classes free to attend by members of the Atlanta chapter. Osprey Shooting Solutions offered a discounted rate for its Everyday Carry class, with additional financial support from Operation Blazing Sword.

If your Pink Pistols chapter is interested in hosting classes like these, please do the following:

1. Find an instructor and venue.
2. Contact Erin Palette, President of Operation Blazing Sword, with the class invoice(s) for approval.
3. If approved, Operation Blazing Sword will pay the invoices.
4. Conduct the class.
5. Submit a written report of the event, ideally with pictures. Please ensure that consent to be photographed is given.

When considering a class, first talk to your members. It may be that one or more of them are already instructors, and someone may be able to provide space for the class.

 

 

 

Pride month begins this week, and so Operation Blazing Sword – Pink Pistols is proud to announce that we have tri-fold information pamphlets for download. They are double sided, with one side for Operation Blazing Sword and the other for Pink Pistols. Print them out for your table, or grab a handful and pass them around to Pride attendees!

To anticipate a question, “Why Say Queer?” and “Full Circle Support” are deliberately on both sides. Someone may not think to look at the back, or the flyers may be printed out as a single-sided and unfolded sheet, and the repetition ensures that an important message is seen (“Queer”) and the other org is listed (“Circle”) so that the viewer knows to look for more information.

Special thanks to David Bock and Tiffany Reynolds for their help in making this project a reality.