Study shows gun ownership among women on the rise with 15% rise in ownership among women over last 5 years. Close to half of all new U.S. gun buyers since the beginning of 2019 have been women, a shift for a market long dominated by men, according to a new study.
The preliminary results from the 2021 National Firearms Survey, designed by Deborah Azrael of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Matthew Miller of Northeastern University, show an estimated 3.5 million women became new gun owners from January 2019 through April 2021. About 4 million men became new gun owners over that period, they found.
For decades, other surveys have found that only around 10% to 20% of American gun owners were women.
So why would women suddenly start buying guns?
Here’s my story…
Many years ago (when I was a young 25 years old), I broke up with a guy I was seeing. Something just wasn’t right about the relationship. My gut instincts were correct. He broke into my apartment and held me captive in my kitchen. As he strangled me, my body lifted from the floor with feet dangling. I thought for a few seconds to try to grab for a knife on the counter but couldn’t reach them with all the frantic motions happening. As my mind was spinning out of control, one thought was to gouge his eyes out… but I just didn’t have the strength (or maybe I just couldn’t do it). My last thought before passing out was to “play dead” (or maybe it was “I’m dead”). I literally just dropped my body. What seemed like hours but was probably minutes and maybe just seconds, I woke up curled up on the floor. He had fled the scene. Later we found out he thought I had died.
So what happened? I had the “chance” to gouge his eyes out… I had the chance to strangle him back … but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. For years I told myself that it was due to my lack of strength … but in reality I didn’t have the mental fortitude it takes to kill or harm someone else. Despite the fact that he was doing that to me!
Fast forward in my life…
10+ years ago after going through major trauma in my life (losing my husband to cancer after a 2.5 year battle & being physically run over by a truck as I walked out of a restaurant on the same night just 6 hours before he passed) I was literally and figuratively brought to my knees. In seconds , minutes and a few hours I’d lost almost everything. All I had was my heart, and my son. My parents were dead, my husband had died, I had been run over by a truck and couldn’t walk, we had no insurance and no life insurance and was now left heavily in debt with no guaranteed income.
Sigh.
Months later while I was still recuperating one night, I was scanning the History channel and ran into a little show called TOP SHOT. Understand… I hated guns and had sold everything my husband owned. I yelled out to my son… “I THINK I WANT TO SHOOT A GUN”. He came running in and I showed him this crazy show who had some kid from New Iberia, Louisiana on as one of the “contestants”… Blake Miguez. (who is now one of Louisiana’s staunches 2A supporters as a State Representative for our parish!) I was thoroughly enthralled.
So… the next night we head to Barney’s (their range has since closed). I picked up my first firearm … Scared to death, shaking, uncertain, shocked by the loudness and force… I held that pistol in my hand and hit center mass first shot out. I was officially hooked. This was my new meditation… If I could concentrate and be strong enough and focused enough to place that shot right where I wanted, to handle the force of that explosion… well then, maybe, just maybe… I could finally take back control of my own life.
I shot for a while on my own with my son… no formal training. In my journey I had been hit on, touched inappropriately, yelled at and mishandled in so many ranges. There had to be a better way for women to learn about guns and safety. I have seen so many women purchase a handgun and then never practice and let it sit… giving a false sense of security… or worse… no security at all. I see women who have never shot … who NEED to! If for no other reason but to relieve stress and empower themselves. I see well-meaning spouses or boyfriends purchase a firearm for their “lady” and never take into account the fit of the gun, the woman’s ability to handle it’s recoil, the feel of the firearm in her hand, etc.
I see women take a conceal carry class and walk out with no real sense of what to do now… no more equipped to pull out a gun in a moment of fear and confusion than they were before the class! So at the grand old age of 63, I completed the NRA Basic Pistol Instructor training and submitted to the Louisiana State Police the request to become a certified conceal handgun/renewal instructor for the state of Louisiana.
I have started an entire new business: TACTICAL ROSE FIREARMS TRAINING… and created THE FIRST SHOT CLASS for beginners … small classes of no more than 4-6 women at a time so that I can devote attention to each. MY sole purpose in getting trained as an instructor was to be able to introduce and train women exclusively.
I’m proud to say that I have now introduced and trained over 500+ women in Acadiana in less than 2.5 years. TACTICAL ROSE also has the largest & fastest growing private group on FACEBOOK for women in Louisiana with over 1,600 members.
I know now that I AM worth defending. That is why I carry and practice and train as often as I can. And that is why I have created this business TACTICAL ROSE… to help others learn the same… YOU ARE WORTH DEFENDING! And THAT is the mindset you MUST have to win the fight!
Bottom line… my mission is to TEACH YOU HOW to PROTECT YOUR HEALTH AND YOUR LIFE!
I’m also happen to be a full time Doctor of Naturopathic Ministries (holistic practitioner) serving South Louisiana since 1999.
Last year a young lady, Chelsea Davis, found me via social media. Her goal was to help women purchase the firearms of their dreams and my goal has been to train them… so a little juggernaut has been formed. The TRAINER AND THE DEALER! Working together to help empower women throughout Louisiana!
Chelsea had grown up with a dad who was a green beret in Vietnam and is a bonafide badass. He taught her to shoot little .22 rifles and pistols from the age of 7 near the bayou behind their house.
Being self-taught with mostly shotguns as an adult it took her a while, but she got to the point that she was able to hold her own against the men, and was then able to actually beat them! Fast forward a few years and her efforts did not go unnoticed.
Caesar Guerini (who at the time made some of top dream shotguns on the planet) contacted her about sponsorship and becoming a prostaff shooter for their new line of Syren shotguns made just for women! Chelsea has now traveled all over with Syren for competitions and even represented them in Vegas at SHOT Show for several years. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXDcjbXubEo
After being a prostaffer for several years, Syren asked her to become an exclusive dealer for their entire line of shotguns for the state of Louisiana. She created Davis Defense Firearms (www.davisdefensefirearms.com) and the rest is (as they say… ) “History”!
Chelsea state, ” My journey as a firearms dealer began with just selling Syren shotguns to fellow female hunters and clay shooters. But then I realized my passion…helping women in a male-dominated world. I expanded into selling not only shotguns, but all types of guns. Women now come to me who have had bad experiences buying guns from men in the past or just want to feel independent and not have to ask their husbands for help. Working along side TACTICAL ROSE we have truly empowered Louisiana ladies to take charge of their own lives and personal protection and help them to be the badasses they really are! Marie’s focus has always been training and my focus has always been providing them the tools necessary to do the job! I think we make the perfect team: THE TRAINER & THE DEALER!”
