Why the future of gun ownership is with women

[BSA1]

I thought I would share a story that I find funny but it drives home the point where the real future of gun ownership is.

First the backstory.

My wife is not anti-gun, she just has not had much interest in shooting because of her small hands, weak wrists and later carpel tunnel she found shooting handguns painful. (Let’s face it you are not having fun when it hurts). We tried all sorts of handguns over the years and the closest we got was with a Colt Police Positive Special.

Well last year we went to a LGS that was celebrating being open for one year. Great event with lots of guns on display and KNOWLEDGABLE NON-SEXIST sales associates. None of this “the little woman needs a little gun” attitude so common including here on THR. My wife handled a lot of pistols such as Glock, Walther, Springfield Armory but hit gold when she handled the S&W M&P 1.0 17 round 9mm. She can not pull the slide back due to her wrists so the associate showed her how to chamber a round by holding the slide and pushing the frame forward.

BINGO! She can easily do that and they made an easy sale.

We spent the warm weather months last year going to the range every two weeks. She discovered that do to the design of the M&P and the striker fired trigger she can shoot pain free. Her confidence has grown greatly. She is very happy that she is able to enjoy shooting without any pain and that she has a full size handgun loaded with premium 9mm self –defense ammunition (no small weak calibers and ammo for “the little woman”).

Now to yesterday and the funny part.

My wife comes to me and asks what model her pistol is. When I ask her why she is having a conversation with a male cousin who just brought a small handgun so she wanted to brag about her pistol being bigger, holds more ammunition and more powerful. (My wife works in a large male dominated department and does not let men push her around).

Why the future of gun ownership is with women.

Daughter #1 was home recently and I showed her my AR-15 budget carbine build. She is disabled Army vet so she is trained with the AR. She handled the carbine, said she really liked it and asked “So are you giving this to me?” Then she went on to announce that she was going to get all of my guns anyway since her brother has no real interest in shooting.

Why all of this is important;

Daughter #1 has two young children and hubby is pro-gun. They have guns in their home so the children are going to grow up in a pro-gun environment. Mothers have the most influence with giving values and beliefs to their children. (Our home motto is “If Mom isn’t happy, nobody is happy.”) They already enjoy coming to the ranch to play with the farm animals and ride horses. My wife and kids are fine with them shooting when they visit and in fact expect me to teach them gun safety and how to shoot. So my wife, daughter, and grand-daughter represent three generations of current and future gun owners.

While much bandwidth is used discussing how to change attitudes about gun ownership, win arguments with anti-2a’s folks, yada, yada, yada, Pro-gun women are the most effective people for shaping future attitudes.

p.s. Son is also pro-gun but is currently living in a anti-gun state. Hopefully he will be moving in the not so distant future.

 

[Hasaf]

Here are some of the headlines from a Pew Research release about how male and female gun owners compare:

Women who own guns tend to become gun owners at a later age than men.

The poll states that the average for women is 27, while it is 19 for men. The poll is based on "first got" instead of "purchased." I can see that, is is less common for a girl to want a gun while in High School than a boy. At the same time, that frame clearly covers women that have children in the home.

I can't really say at what age my daughters first had a gun, I know they had red-rider style bb guns at an early age. The youngest decided that my Makarov was hers when she started trail running in High School. She is now 28 and still has it. Her reasoning was that it fit her hand well and the DA/SA with a hammer droping safety felt safer to her.

That being said, when she recently had to leave the door open for a couple of nights she chose to keep at AR at hand. That is what she was trained on in the ROTC. The AR series, for all the current troubled news, it is a familiar rifle to three generations.

Women are more likely than men to cite protection – rather than recreation – as the only reason they own a gun.

Close to true with my daughters, one has a gun for protection only and seldom shoots. My youngest goes shooting with me frequently.

Women who own guns are less likely than their male counterparts to say they go sport shooting or hunting, though substantial shares of women do so.

Again, using my daughters as a gauge. They both own guns (or claim mine). However, nether is much interested in hunting. I think that if I started target shooting the youngest would go with me. However, she is more interested in Civil War era black-powder. She was in a civil war group when we were in California; but neither of us have gotten involved here in Utah.

Female gun owners are less likely than male gun owners to say they watch TV programs or videos about guns and to say they visit websites about guns, hunting or shooting sports.

My youngest sometimes looks at this site; however, she doesn't post. She also reads the section in the USCCA magazine, "concealed carry," that is devoted to women. That is about it; so I will also call this one pretty accurate.

Male gun owners are more likely than female gun owners to say there is a gun that is both loaded and easily accessible to them all of the time when they’re at home.

Again, even with a CCW, she almost never carries, when she does it is when hiking and in activities that a CCW would not be required anyways. At home they are almost always in the safe.

Men and women who own guns are similar when it comes to how they see gun ownership.
Majorities of both groups of gun owners consider the right to own guns to be essential to their personal sense of freedom (70% of women and 77% of men), and somewhat similar shares say being a gun owner is very or somewhat important to their overall identity (46% and 52%, respectively). On each of these questions, the differences between men and women are not statistically significant.

I think this one applies pretty well

Among Republican and Republican-leaning gun owners, women tend to be more supportive than men of policy proposals that would restrict gun ownership.

Not much to say about this chart except that it seems a bit unclear. Looking at it, I think he positions are a bit closer to those of male gun owners; however, we would have to go over the text of the questions to address this one.

We recently went to a few gun stores together. She talked to the dealers and I wandered off so I wouldn't seem to be "hovering." Only one of the stores struck her as off (a condescending manner). As stereotypical as it seem, the "blue-green" pistol was very attractive to her.

I agree, trying to sell more guns to the "super accumulators" is not a long term plan. IN addition, more people need to see that gun-ownership rights matter to them too. For both marketing and political reasons, the gun industry needs to reach outside of its core.

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

BSA1,
Well written and spot on.

 

[FL-NC]

Gun ownership drops yearly, as I understand- based on population and the percentage of gun owners. About 50% of the population is women. Do the math.

 

[somethingbenign]

I keep trying to get my wife out so maybe she can reach out to some of her friends. God knows they won't listen to me. Last time she shot she took a hot brass down the shirt and flagged everyone trying to get it out. She's too embarrassed to go again, I wonder if a revolver would make her more comfortable since there is no flying brass.

 

[MedWheeler]

When more than three quarters of men between the ages of 18 and 24 do not meet entrance eligibility requirements for military service (due to obesity, drug use, mental issues, or criminal records), the future of a LOT will lean on women.

Sounds like your house is part of a good pattern there, BSA1.

 

[Hasaf]

When more than three quarters of men between the ages of 18 and 24 do not meet entrance eligibility requirements for military service (due to obesity, drug use, mental issues, or criminal records), the future of a LOT will lean on women.

Sounds like your house is part of a good pattern there, BSA1.

I sounds like you are leaning on the report by Mission Readiness, Ready, Willing, and unable to Serve.

As you stated, they open with:

Although there may be multiple reasons why an individual is ineligible to serve in the military, the three biggest problems are that too many young Americans are poorly educated, involved in crime, or physically unfit

They go on to point out that, in many cases, it isn't just a single problem:

Solving one problem is often not enough to allow someone to join. For example, some of the overweight individuals are also involved in crime or have other medical problems that would disqualify them even if they were to lose enough weight.

I find it interesting that their conclusion is a call for increased investment in early education:

If members of Congress, governors, and state legislators act now to ramp up both the quantity and quality of early education programs, they can count on strong support from the retired generals and admirals of Mission: Readiness. America’s military leaders fully understand what is at stake. America can, and must, do a better job of preparing our children for a successful life with many options in adulthood, including a career in the military if they choose to serve. Increased investments in high-quality early education are essential for our national security.

It should be remembered that this report was published in 2009, the problems are probably worse now.

 

[readyeddy]

I agree that women are critical for the survival of our gun rights. The simple fact cited above is that they comprise 50% of the population. And I also believe that women make very effective advocates.

Would it make sense to have a women only sub-forum on THR?

 

[MedWheeler]

Hasaf, yes, that is the report from which I got the number. I do remember back when it broke, and I agree that it's probably worse, with even more reasons why added to the list.

 

[entropy]

Yes, women are the future of gun ownership. This is why was a 4-H Shooting Sports Leader for over ten years, and try to encourage the girls who shoot, whether Archery, Air Rifle .22, or Trap. Our best Trap shooter is a girl, and she can top me more often than not. Quite a few of the girls can outshoot me with a bow, and the top .22 shooter this year was a girl. I emphasize the outdoor sports aspect, not just hunting, (though many of the girls in it hunt) and add some fun into it, while emphasizing safety.
The girls are a joy to teach, compared to the boys, because they listen, have respect for the gun or bow and what it can do, and apply what they learn, all without a macho bullcrap attitude. And when it crops up in the boys, I remind them of some of the excellent shooters that are female.

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

And the nice thing about 4-H shooting sports, I was an Archery Leader for a few years, is that the guys and girls compete together against each other in all the different venues.

 

[entropy]

Yup, like I said, our top Trap and .22 shooters this year were female. The .22 Champion beat her brother out for the top spot. He beat her in Trap, but was beaten by another girl, the one who can outshoot me sometimes.

 

[RPZ]

Dissenting opinion.

Your points are well taken but the future is with children. They are the future, and the next series of voters as they come of age.

 

[entropy]

Dissenting opinion.

It is with children. They are the future, and the next series of voters as they come of age.

I don't see that as dissenting at all. Boys gravitate towards it, the girls less so, though after The Hunger Games came out, lots of girls wanted to be Katniss Everdeen.

 

[Bill50]

You guys are way over thinking this. Just bring a female to a shooting range and give her a 22. Spend 5 minutes showing her how to use it.

Let her plink away while you shoot whatever else you brought, and she'll love it and ask to shoot whatever else you're shooting