How Women Are Transforming Gun Ownership

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Once upon a time, the statement “she owns a gun” would be something equivalent to a statement like “she cheated on her husband.” Females didn’t talk about their guns, and it definitely wasn’t an expectation that females even had guns.

However, now women are not only owning and carrying them, but they are changing the general idea of who owns guns and why they own them. Increasingly women who live in urban areas who didn’t grow up with guns are getting them, and they are open about wanting them for protection, as well as, the confidence and power they feel about knowing how to use and shoot one.

One survey conducted from Northeastern University and the Harvard School of Public Health states that of those who own handguns, 43% are women and nearly a quarter of those women live in urban areas. Many of these women who choose to learn to shoot and own a gun are participating in gun clubs, competitive shooting, or even recreational shooting. They are even finding that they feel safer having one, but that it also gives them more power and confidence to be the strong women that they are.

The demography of gun owners will change from the fathers and sons who hunt to urban women who enjoy the sport of shooting. In the last decade, women ownership of guns has increased 60%. Furthermore, women are not only adopting the idea of guns for self-protection, they adopt them for confidence, power, preservation of the second amendment, for competition and sport, for recreational hobbies as something to enjoy, and as a means of overcoming a potential fear.

Gun ownership traditions are being transferred not only from father to son, as is past tradition, but also from mother to daughter. Many are using it as a way of connecting to their daughter and helping them overcome fears. They use it as a way to begin the process of self-confidence and self-exploration. Instead of a spa day (or along with a spa day), they are visiting the shooting range, teaching their daughters to shoot, and spending quality time and instruction that in the past didn’t come from the mother.

As we continue into the 21st century, it won’t be surprising to find more families spending time together at a shooting range, hunting or learning to shoot, not only as a means for protection but also a way to connect with each other and enjoy each other’s company.

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