Hey there. I'm Anth - they/them - and I want to welcome you to the Firearm Safety Team blog.

If you're reading this, you're probably someone who cares about doing things the right way. Maybe you just bought your first firearm. Maybe you've been thinking about it for a while. Maybe someone you love recently became a gun owner and you want to understand their world a little better. Whatever brought you here, I'm glad you showed up.

Let me tell you a little about who I am and why this space exists.

I spent ten years, eight months, and five days in the Oregon Army National Guard. Six of those years, I served as the armorer for my combat engineer company - responsible for the maintenance and serviceability of every firearm in our inventory. M9 pistols, M16 and M4 rifles, M60 and M249 machine guns, and a gorgeous Browning M2 .50 caliber that rode in the ring mount on my 5-ton supply truck. I qualified Expert with the M16 and M4 rifles and Sharpshooter with the M9 pistol. I deployed to Afghanistan twice, where I served as an embedded trainer for the Afghanistan National Army - teaching soldiers who didn't speak my language through interpreters, building trust through patience and repetition.

After the military, I spent years healing. Therapy - specifically EMDR - helped me work through the things I carried home. I went back to school and earned a Master of Business Administration in Sustainable Business. I started hula hooping. I joined the ecstatic dance community. Love and light and all that.

But recently, the world shifted in ways that woke something up inside me. I spoke with my therapist, made a plan, and channeled that energy into something constructive. I purchased twenty-two pistols, four rifles, and three shotguns - not for combat, not for defense drills, but for one specific purpose: to provide firearm familiarization and safety education to my queer and trans community and our allies.

That's the Firearm Safety Team. That's FST.

Here's what we are not: a tactical training school. I don't teach drawing from a holster or movement drills. There are instructors who do that work well, and I'll point you toward them if that's what you need. What I teach is the foundation underneath all of that - safe handling, proper storage, maintenance, and the confidence that comes from truly understanding the tool in your hands.

So why a blog? Because 26.2 million Americans became first-time gun owners between 2020 and 2024, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation. Twenty-six million people who may not have grown up around firearms. Twenty-six million people who deserve access to accurate, judgment-free information.

A lot of the firearm education space online is - let's be honest - not built for everyone. It can be loud, political, macho, and unwelcoming if you don't fit a certain mold. This blog exists to fill that gap. Here's what you can expect from this space going forward:

Safety education that actually sticks. The four universal rules. Storage solutions. How to handle a firearm around children, guests, and housemates. The stuff that saves lives.

Oregon-specific legal guidance. Our state has seen significant changes in firearm law recently - Measure 114, SB 243, updated CHL requirements. I'll break it all down in plain language so you know where you stand.

Gear and training insights. What to look for in your first firearm. How to maintain it. Why renting before buying will save you hundreds of dollars in regret. What training options are out there, including what we offer here at FST.

Community and culture. Who are the new gun owners? What does inclusive firearm ownership look like? How do we build safety culture from the ground up?

I want this blog to feel like sitting down with a knowledgeable friend who happens to have six years of military armorer experience. No judgment. No gatekeeping. Just real talk about real topics.

If you're new here, take some time to explore the site. Our Safety Fundamentals page covers the bedrock rules every gun owner needs to know. The What to Expect page walks you through exactly what a training session with me looks like. And if you're in the Portland area and want to get hands-on experience with a wide variety of firearms before you commit to buying one, check out our Training Options page - that's really the heart of what we do.

You can also sign up for our newsletter to get notified when new blog posts drop, and you can always reach out through the Contact page if you have questions, want to schedule a session, or just want to say hey.

I'm genuinely excited to build this resource with you. There's a lot to talk about, and we're just getting started.

Stay safe out there.

- Anth