Go ahead, make her day

You may want to rethink the way you treat your lady. I recently watched a woman get beaten up in New York City. She was driving, he was in the passenger seat. Then I read about Rihanna, then, a couple of days ago I saw her brand spankin’ new gun tattoo. Nice.

Guns and women are back. An estimated 11 million to 17 million women in America own guns now—a number that is definitely on the rise, as more women than ever are taking up target shooting and hunting and feel the need to bear arms for better protection against domestic violence and abuse.

The National Rifle Association’s target-shooting classes for women “have been skyrocketing” in popularity too, according to Stephanie Henson, manager of the NRA’s women’s programs department. The number of women attending clinics from 2005 to 2008 soared 788 percent, to 4,403 from 496, while the number of clinics offered jumped 1,008 percent to 144 in 2008 from 13 in 2005.

In January the NRA began publishing a magazine for women, Women’s Outlook, which has been growing in circulation 15 to 22 percent each month. The magazine has more than 50,000 current subscribers.

As you might expect, emotions still run high on the gun issue. Bill Jenkins, 46, of Northfield, Illinois, is an author and frequent speaker on gun issues. His 16-year-old son was fatally shot during a fast-food robbery in 1997. His wife, Jennifer Bishop-Jenkins, had a pregnant sister and brother-in-law were was fatally shot in 1990. The couple met at a conference for families of murder victims. Jenkins says that the rising interest in guns among women is the result of manipulation by the gun industry, which has seen sales lag among men.

“The gun industry has tried to increase market share among women, because they are desperately underrepresented in that population,” he says. “It has tried to increase fear among women, and has been making products that appeal to women, making firearms lighter and more manageable, making designer guns that are literally cute.”

“It’s propaganda,” agrees Rose Woods, 47, executive director of Victims of Violence, a support service for families and friends of homicide victims. Woods’ 16-year-old son, Nick Jaramillo, was killed in a restaurant robbery in 1996.

“They’re using the old-boy mentality that women can’t think on their own, but … we understand too much,” says Woods, an organizer of the first Million Mom March in Washington, D.C. “A gun is not a security blanket. I wouldn’t want it in my home, even locked up. Kids can find it, kids can play with it. We’re not living in Lone Ranger times.”

Strong opinions, but not reflective of the national sentiment, as the National Sporting Goods Association says more women are participating in target shooting and hunting than ever before. Gun manufacturers since the mid-1980s have been designing lighter firearms for women, while gun-toting purses and fanny packs are also on the market. With the advent of the Internet, women’s pro-gun groups—with names like the Second Amendment Sisters, Armed Females of America, Liberty Belles and Women Against Gun Control—have gained steam. Websites like womenandguns.com are on the rise as well, and offer history, viewpoints, and information about both the realities and the folklore of females and firearms.

In her new book Blown Away: American Women and Guns (Pocket Books), journalist Caitlin Kelly—herself a crime victim—points out the stark reality that violence against women remains a pervasive problem, affecting about 1 in 3 American women in their lifetimes.

“Women living alone may say [having a gun] is my best choice; that’s the decision they’ve made to protect their families,” says Kelly, 46, who does not own a gun. “Power, to me, is not just, `I can be a lawyer or a doctor or get into MBA school.’ In the most profound sense, I want to feel safe in the morning. To me, that’s really a feminist issue.”

Carol Oyster, psychology professor at the University of Wisconsin, co-wrote a book in 2000 called Gun Women: Feminism and Firearms in Contemporary America (New York University Press). Oyster is a hunter, NRA member and feminist.

“Feminism is about choice. To me, there’s no difference in making an informed decision about firearms or reproductive rights,” says Oyster, who, along with her 17-year-old daughter, Katherine, teaches hunting safety. “My daughter talks to her peers about it as a feminist thing to do. In our hunter-education classes, we are seeing more and more girls all the time, 12 years old even, girls and moms together.”

But Linda Ward sums it up. The 57 year old, gun-owning retiree said, “I don’t think a woman should have to depend on a man to protect her. He can’t be there 24/7. There are a lot of single women now. If the bad guy comes at you, you can’t just tell him,`Play nice.’” Word.

Bottom line? Women, and we hope Rihanna, may just be ready to stop taking it lying down.—R.T.