"The patrol groups are kind of sprouting up around the country but it's still cutting-edge stuff; they're still only a few," said Robert Bray, a spokesman for the national task force. "They have arisen in the last three years or so as the level of gay-bashing has skyrocketed."

New York City and San Francisco have the oldest and largest patrol groups. Houston also has a patrol.

The Pink Angels were formed about six months ago, and never have the group's members felt more necessary. Not far from their basement headquarters, a gay man, Ron Cayot, was shot and critically wounded on March 31 after he and a friend were confronted by a carload of men who had been insulting them, the police said. 'We're Not Going to Back Down'

A week later, Mr. Cayot is still fighting for his life in a local hospital.

"We shouldn't have to worry about being beaten up or killed just because we're walking down the street," said Wendy Rhein, 23, the president of the Pink Angels. "That's why we're out here. We're not going to back down anymore."

The Pink Angels have about 50 members, but only 35 are willing to patrol. Because they are so few, they patrol only on weekends, so they were not on the street at the time of the shooting.

The Pink Angels are not strictly homosexual. Ms. Rhein said the group includes a rainbow of sexuality and race: blacks, whites, heterosexuals, homosexuals and bisexuals. "We're learning a lot from each other," she said.

Last Friday, the six-member patrol, two men and four women, checked their radios and flashlights before splitting up into pairs and heading into the uncertain night. Two other members stayed in their headquarters in the basement of an apartment building to operate the radio and, if necessary, to call the police. Danger in a Hurry