Human Interest

Bend Bulletin: LGBTQ Community Warms to Carrying Guns

When Trinity Rae Anderson pulled her Smith & Wesson Shield handgun from her waistband and trained her sight down its barrel, her fingernails’ sparkly pink and purple polish caught glints of sunlight. As she emptied the magazine at a target situated at Coyote Butte, southeast of Bend, the percussive pops blended with those of several other nearby shooters.

Bend Bulletin: Asexual in Bend

Marian Hansell has identified with masculinity for most of his life, even though he was born female. A couple of months ago, the transgender man had another realization: He’s asexual.

When the Central Oregon Community College student befriended a few people who identified as asexual at the college’s LGBTQ & Ally Club, he learned new terms: allosexuality, feeling sexual attraction toward others; and asexuality, possessing a very low or nonexistent attraction toward anyone.

“It’s like I didn’t know I needed glasses until my friend let me wear hers,” Hansell said with a laugh.

Bend Bulletin: Central Oregonians Love Trucker Hats. How Did They Get Here?

Foam and mesh-paneled trucker hats are everywhere in Bend. They’re perched on the heads of bike mechanics and marijuana dispensary clerks. They grace the brows of the wealthy Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van types and die-hard paddle boarders, shuttling their cattle dogs on the Deschutes River.

By accident or not, trucker hats’ ironclad — if technically adjustable — grip on Central Oregonians’ heads seems long lasting.