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“The Intersectionality in Action study also found that female gun owners can more easily be politically “mobilized,” as the study termed it, to fight against bad policymaking, partially because they participate in organizations like the NRA or Women for Gun Rights (formerly DC Project). Such organizations are very popular. The Armed Women of America (AWA), for example, has grown to more than 335 chapters nationwide.”
Excerpt:
Women are embracing their Second Amendment rights like never before. Gun ownership overall has grown significantly over the last few decades, and women make up at least 25% of those saying they personally own a gun in various polls.
Incredibly, estimates tabulated by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) indicate that background checks for likely gun sales in 2023 were nearly 15.9 million. Of that, 4.8 million checks were estimated to be for new gun owners. Since women have accounted for more than 30% of first-time gun buyers in recent years, about 1.4 million women decided to purchase a gun for the first time last year alone.
And we don’t have to trust numbers from the trade association for firearms manufacturers, as a lot of data shows these trends. As for why, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey, 25% of female gun owners say self-defense is their main reason.
“Women are being told not to worry about crime, that it’s all in their imagination,” said Julie Gunlock, a conservative commentator and Director of the Independent Women’s Network. “We’re seeing, in the middle of the day in New York City, criminals hitting women in the face. We’re seeing an incredible increase in carjackings and other violent crimes, and they’ll say, ‘Oh no, violent crime is down.’ Well, when you don’t charge someone and you don’t arrest someone, um, yeah, the rates look really good. But women know.”
Whatever their motivations, it’s worth looking at the impact this demographic change is having and considering what challenges remain.
Culture, Politics and Purchasing Power
A unique July 2019 study, titled Intersectionality in Action: Gun Ownership and Women’s Political Participation, found that female gun owners are more likely to discuss gun ownership with those who disagree with them than were women who don’t own guns. The study attributed this to an increased feeling of empowerment. This openness could help push back against misguided media narratives and the efforts of Moms Demand Action, Everytown and other anti-gun organizations that try to weaponize women against their rights. The study also found that women gun owners were more active in politics, including in contacting officials, contributing money, signing petitions and voting.
Female gun owners in politics can be particularly influential in inspiring other women toward political advocacy. Winsome Earle-Sears, lieutenant governor of Virginia, made waves in her campaign by including a picture of herself in mailed fliers holding an AR-15.
“I’ve heard from many women—especially women of color—who share with me that they are gun owners, even though many of them are lifelong Democrats,” Earle-Sears said when asked about the rising numbers of gun-owning women. “Black women are the fastest-growing group of gun owners in the U.S. Guns are equalizers, and I will continue to be a voice for Second Amendment rights.”
The Intersectionality in Action study also found that female gun owners can more easily be politically “mobilized,” as the study termed it, to fight against bad policymaking, partially because they participate in organizations like the NRA or Women for Gun Rights (formerly DC Project). Such organizations are very popular. The Armed Women of America (AWA), for example, has grown to more than 335 chapters nationwide.
“The camaraderie and support seen in women’s shooting events is incomparable and inspires them to take their training and knowledge of firearms to the next level,” said NRA Women Editor-in-Chief Ann Smith.
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