Despite creating a sense of unity, the Orlando shooting has also highlighted divisions within the LGBTQ+ community. While different gay groups agree on some measures to ensure guns don’t get into the wrong hands, they sometimes differ over where to draw the lines in the gun control debate.

Much of the LGBTQ+ community has turned toward fighting for tighter gun control. On June 17, the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBT civil rights group in the United States, announced its support for tighter gun laws.

Other activist groups in the community, including the Pink Pistols, continue to support gun rights in the United States.

The Pink Pistols are an LGBTQ+ community that seeks to preserve the right to carry firearms.

Nikki Stallard, spokesperson for the Pink Pistols’ San Jose chapter, said the gay community is splintered in its response to supporting or suppressing gun rights.

“We’re looking at the beginning of a firestorm,” Stallard said. “You’re looking at a potential war within the gay community about this.”

Stallard believes that far-reaching restrictions on gun laws would take away the people’s ability to defend themselves in public places. Many gay Americans, as well as straight ones, would not freely follow major changes in gun control rights, she said.

“Civilian disarmament is victim disarmament,” Stallard said. “Disarming potential victims emboldens predators. The American people are not going to voluntarily surrender their firearms.”

David Stacy, the government affairs director for the Human Rights Campaign, believes in “common sense” laws, which advocate for tighter gun control across the nation.

“Across the LGBT community, there’s a diversity of views on gun control, but we really got to this spot because of the ongoing violence against the LGBT community,” Stacy said. “Large parts of the violence have to do with guns. We need to incorporate common sense when dealing with this situation.”

One thing both sides can agree on: The June 12 shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, which killed 49 and wounded 53, shattered any sense of security within the entire American LGBTQ+ community.

“In the immediate aftermath, people saw how dangerous guns really are,” Stacy said. “In a time when expectations of America are rising, to have this attack at a place where people would normally feel safe, is now a deadly space.”

Stallard said members of the Pink Pistols feels stuck between conservative and liberal politics. She criticized how both political parties praised one issue, but vilified the other issue.

“Politicians who are great on gun rights were terrible on gay rights, and people who were great on gay rights were terrible on gun rights, so it is kind of like standing in the middle of crossfire from both angles,” Stallard said. “Why can’t we be for human rights and gun rights at the same time?”

Both Stallard and Stacy supported the use of background checks to ensure that people with felony convictions and mental health issues could not acquire a firearm. Quinnipiac University found in an online poll that 85 percent of Americans support background checks while purchasing a firearm.

“Certainly we should stop bad people from buying guns, like people with mental health problems,” said Stallard. “There’s no reason why we shouldn’t have a solid federal background check system.”

As in the larger society, gay groups are split over the appropriate level of gun control across the United States, but the LGBT community appears to be united in efforts to preserve the Second Amendment. Both the Human Rights Campaign and Pink Pistols believe people should have the constitutional right to bear arms despite their differences on specific gun control measures, Stacy and Stallard said.

“People have a right to the Second Amendment,” Stacy said. “What we want to see is to keep guns out of the hands of people who shouldn’t have them.” The community also agrees on the need to bring people together against terrorism and discrimination against the LGBT community. Stallard believes that people should view the attack at Orlan do’s Pulse nightclub as an attack against the United States rather than the LGBT community.

“This was not just an attack on the LGBT community; it was an attack on America. In order for us to defend ourselves, we keep ourselves open for the rest of America too,” Stallard said.

Darcy Hudson, a transgender male who frequently visits the LGBTQ+ Youth Space in San Jose, agrees with Stallard’s views to look beyond their differences in the debate.

“Regardless of whether we get gun control bills passed or not, there still needs to be a movement in the community where we say enough is enough and move forward,” Hudson said. “Whether or not you want to pass gun laws or don’t want to pass gun laws, letting the fear control you is not going to be good for anyone.”