Less than a decade ago, if you were to do an internet search using the keywords women and guns, you would probably encounter many web pages depicting a woman in a bikini, or other skimpy clothing, holding a gun. These days, however, we see a completely different picture and attitude in the gun community. And the firearms industry has also taken notice.
Long gone are the days when women were viewed mainly as nice looking accessories to a firearm. Long gone are the days when catering to women gun owners meant throwing the color pink or purple on the outside of a gun or accessories for it. Not that there aren’t women (or even men!) around that would prefer the color pink or purple on a gun, or a holster, or any other accessory. Rather we see that today that the playing field is about equal.
“God made man, Colt made them equal.” is a slogan referring to Samuel Colt, inventor of the iconic Colt revolver. Colt’s weapons majorly contributed to the success of the United States Army in the Mexican American War and to lawmen in the new western frontier. He built the legendary firearm and its company in 1835. More than 100 years later, this statement can be applied to men and women within the gun community.
Gun owners are men, women, fathers, mothers, grandfathers, grandmothers, your aunt, your uncle, your cousin, brothers, sisters, daughters, sons, your neighbor, your friends, yourself.
It is me; I am a gun owner.
A gun owner cannot be defined by their physical attributes, profession, gender, race, or religious preference. Guns are used as a defensive tool when necessary for self-defense by a man or woman. A gun can also be used for recreational use for fun; a hobby just as golf or any other professional sport is viewed as a national pastime. Different firearms are also used in different platforms for competition. In many of these competitive arenas, we see women at the front of the scene.
According to a study published by the National Sports Shooting Foundation (NSSF) in 2014, more than 74 percent of retailers reported an increase of women customers in their store over the last 3 years. In target shooting, women participants grew 60 percent (3.3 million in 2001 to 5.4 million in 2013) and 85 percent for hunting. Of the women in the study aged 18 to 65, over a third were new gun owners, having purchased their firearm in the last 4 years.
Women can be found on the range developing their skills with a firearm. Women can also be seen at various competitive shooting matches across the country handling their firearms with the same ease as their male counterparts.
A woman teaching a firearm safety and marksmanship class as the primary instructor is a common scene in the gun community, whereas it used to be the exception. Nowadays, when we hear the term “women and guns” it should be synonymous with how using the term “men and guns” would sound. In the gun community and firearms industry; in the Second Amendment community, it is simply an equal field of citizens and guns.