Reading List + Follows
Curated, values-aligned firearm books, legal references, harm-reduction resources, and people to follow - a counterweight to NRA-published material for Portland's LGBTQIA+ firearm community.
How we pick retailer links:Powell's first (Portland-local, unionized, LGBTQ-friendly). Publisher or author direct when Powell's doesn't carry it. Bookshop.org next (indie-bookstore network). Amazon only as a last-resort fallback. None of these are affiliate links- we don't make a cent if you click.
Inclusive Training Manuals
Books written by (or explicitly for) women and first-time owners, in tones that don't rely on tactical bro culture.
The Cornered Cat: A Woman's Guide to Concealed Carry
Kathy Jackson · 2010 · White Feather Press
Landmark women-authored carry book with a warm, non-macho tone. Written as if you're being taught by a patient friend.
Heads up: 2010 content; some gear references are dated and legal sections need supplementing.
Shooter Ready: A Handgun Training Manual
Gabby Franco · 2015
Olympic shooter and Venezuelan immigrant. Skills-focused, 'everyone belongs here' energy.
Heads up: Light on legal content - pure technical skills book.
The Well-Armed Woman: Concealed Carry and Self-Defense
Carrie Lightfoot · 2013
Practical first-gun book written with a gentle, non-intimidating tone.
Heads up: Brand leans conservative-coded in marketing; the book itself is apolitical.
Lessons from Armed America
Kathy Jackson & Mark Walters · 2009 · White Feather Press
Case studies of defensive firearm use, written without chest-thumping.
Concealed Carry for Women
Gila Hayes · 2013 · Gun Digest Books
Straightforward women-focused concealed carry reference from a respected author.
Non-Partisan Reference Material
Technically competent reference books without NRA political baggage. Where authors carry their own caveats, we say so.
Deadly Force: Understanding Your Right to Self Defense
Massad Ayoob · 2020 · Gun Digest Books
The standard lay-reader legal reference on use of force. Cited constantly in self-defense cases.
Heads up: Ayoob is a career LEO trainer; framing is cop-adjacent. Use as a legal primer, not a values document.
Gun Digest Book of Concealed Carry
Massad Ayoob · 2018 · Gun Digest Books
Solid, non-NRA intro-to-CCW text covering equipment, training, and carry logistics.
Glock Reference Guide
Robb Manning · 2020 · Gun Digest Books
Platform-specific maintenance and reference for the most commonly-encountered polymer pistol.
USCCA Concealed Carry and Home Defense Fundamentals
Michael Martin · Delta Defense / USCCA
Widely-used non-NRA class textbook. Technically competent on fundamentals, law, and defensive thinking.
Heads up: USCCA is a for-profit insurance product with conservative-leaning marketing; the textbook itself is apolitical.
Serious Mistakes Gunowners Make
Claude Werner · Self (Tactical Professor)
Data-driven, explicitly skeptical of gun-culture machismo. Short-form but professionally respected.
Self-Defense Law
The legal reference shelf. Oregon-specific content intentionally lives on FST's own pages instead - state law moves too fast for a commercial book to stay current.
The Law of Self Defense
Andrew Branca · 2016 · Law of Self Defense LLC
State-by-state technical legal reference on self-defense law, widely respected in that narrow lane.
Heads up: Branca's public platform leans strongly conservative. The book is a legal text; the author's commentary is a separate thing to weigh.
For Oregon law specifically:
FST maintains current, dated references on these pages rather than point to a book that may be stale within a year:
Trauma / Stop the Bleed Companions
Free authoritative resources that complement any bleeding-control course. Pairs with FST's Stop the Bleed resource page.
Stop the Bleed Course Manual
American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma · ACS
The official ACS Stop the Bleed course material. Free digital version; also available in print.
Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) Handbook
US Army Institute of Surgical Research · Public domain
Free, authoritative source for the bleeding-control concepts every reputable civilian course teaches.
Emergency War Surgery (5th ed.)
Borden Institute · 2018 · US Army Borden Institute
Free PDF. Deep austere-medicine reference.
Heads up: Military framing and graphic imagery - an instructor reference, not student-facing.
Harm Reduction + Safe Storage
Free, evidence-based resources on suicide prevention and safe storage. This is the research spine behind how FST talks about storage.
Means Matter (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health)
Gold-standard harm-reduction framing for suicide prevention + firearms. Free printable materials and clinician guidance.
Counseling on Access to Lethal Means (CALM)
Free, evidence-based training from the Suicide Prevention Resource Center on how to talk about temporary firearm storage in crisis.
Oregon Alliance for Gun Safety
Oregon-specific safe-storage advocacy and printables. Aligned with how FST frames storage conversations.
LOK-IT-UP (Washington State)
Our northern neighbor's state-backed safe-storage campaign. Free downloadable materials.
Academic + Policy
Heavier reading for the public-health and policy framing behind responsible ownership conversations.
The Gun Debate: What Everyone Needs to Know
Philip J. Cook & Kristin A. Goss · 2020 · Oxford University Press
Academic, genuinely non-partisan overview of US gun policy including suicide data. Background for why FST teaches storage the way it does.
Private Guns, Public Health
David Hemenway · 2017 · University of Michigan Press
Public-health framing of firearm injury from one of the field's leading researchers.
People to Follow
The best queer-adjacent firearm education often lives outside books - in podcasts, newsletters, and blog archives. These are the voices worth subscribing to.
Tamara Keel
Blog
Columnist, Shooting Illustrated + RECOIL. Practical, data-driven, no-BS.
Annette Evans
On Her Own
Podcast + blog. Beginner-friendly, welcoming, Pacific-Northwest-adjacent.
Melody Lauer
Citizens Defense Research
Co-founder, Citizens Defense Research. Strong courseware; articles on real-world defensive thinking.
Claude Werner (Tactical Professor)
Blog
Retired trainer who writes with skepticism toward tactical bro culture. Heavy on data.
Community Orgs + Printables
Free downloadable resources and affinity groups. This is where a lot of the queer firearms conversation actually happens.
Socialist Rifle Association
Leftist firearm org with free zines, reading lists, and a national network of affinity groups.
Liberal Gun Club
Long-running non-partisan-to-progressive firearm community with training events and local chapters.
Pink Pistols
Original LGBTQIA+ self-defense organization. Chapters across the US; resources and connect-with-local-members.
Operation Blazing Sword
National network of instructors offering free or low-cost firearms orientation to LGBTQIA+ people.
Also worth knowing: FST's full community resources directory has more orgs, Portland-area groups, and inclusive training partners.
Honest gaps
- No traditionally-published queer-authored firearms book exists that we can verify with a stable publisher and ISBN. Most of the best queer and queer-adjacent firearm education lives in podcasts, blogs, Discord servers, and org zines - which is why the People to Follow and Community Orgs sections above carry as much weight as the book list.
- No Oregon-specific commercial bookis listed. Oregon law has been moving fast (Measure 114 litigation, permit questions). A book published in 2024 may be half-stale in 2026. Rely on state sources and FST's own dated pages instead.
- Know of a title worth adding? Email Anth@FirearmSafetyTeam.com. If it checks out, it lands on this page.
Pair Reading with Hands-On Training
Books build the foundation; range time builds the skill. When you're ready to put concepts into practice, FST has you covered.