SALT LAKE CITY - Memberships have more than doubled in a national LGBT, pro-gun rights organization since a gunman opened fire at a gay nightclub in Florida, killing 49 people.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports Pink Pistols membership has grown from 1,500 to 4,000 since Omar Mateen's June 12 rampage.

That's according to Pink Pistols Utah chapter president Matt Schlentz, who said it's sad that the Orlando shooting is what made some realize this need exists in the LGBT community.

Schlentz owns semi-automatic rifles similar to the Sig Sauer MCX that Mateen used and said he gets mixed reactions from people who learn he's a gun rights advocate.

Pink Pistols organized in 2000 in response to a series of violent incidents like the murder of gay college student Matthew Shepard.