Piercing the Myths about Women and Guns

[Robb]

Piercing the Myths about Women and Guns

(snip)


Here’s the problem: There’s little if any evidence for the assertion that more women, let alone masses of women, are buying guns. The NRA cites a 2011 Gallup Poll for the claimed increase.

But in fact that poll shows an increase only among women who say there is a gun in their household, not that they own it.[iv] And the managing editor of Gallup Poll says that the increase in women with guns is slight and includes many women who already owned guns buying more of them. Nancy Lanza, whose weapon was used in the Newtown school bombing, was probably one of those (she owned five guns).

It turns out that gun lovers tend to buy multiple guns. The editor of Women & Guns magazine says the average subscriber owns seven.[v] The leading scholar-expert on guns in the US, Gary Kleck, who analyzes the best data—that of the General Social Survey[vi]—believes there has been no increase at all in gun-owning women.[vii]

The gun lobby also relies on claims by the National Sporting Goods Association that target-shooting women increased from 3.3 to 5 million between 2001 and 2011, and women hunters from 1.8 to 2.6 million.[viii] But the Association offers no sources for their numbers. The National Shooting Sports Foundation says that 61 percent of gun retailers believe there has been an increase in women buyers. But they have no data either, because they have no way of tracking sales by sex....

Read More: http://www.progressive.org/piercing-the-myths-about-women-and-guns

[hlthe2b]

1. I was curious about this & it came up in discussion with a group of female friends...

Out of this group and their own circle of friends and family, I figure we covered about 70 women. Only one among that circle of female friends and relatives owned a gun (and that one was left to her after her Father's death, rather than a conscious decision to own a gun). Probably about a quarter felt that they knew how to handle a handgun or shotgun, a couple felt very proficient, but none had a desire to own one. Most had Pepper spray, cell phones, dogs-- a few had tasers and a few others, home alarm systems.... But guns? Nope.

Is my circle unusual? Possibly for some areas of the country, but....

[LiberalFighter]

12. Was the question on whether they had ever gone thru training or

shot a firearm? I'm assuming they had not.

[hlthe2b]

16. The question was whether or not they owned a firearm or intended to...

Ancillary questions were related to ever having handled one (and yes, that included having shot one), proficiency if yes, and how that impacted their intent or not.

BTW, your bias is showing a tad... just sayin.

[HappyMe]

2. When I lived in WI

I knew several women that had hunting rifles.

[LiberalFighter]

23. Out of 11 siblings of my mother in Wisconsin

There are/were 2 out of 7 women that deer hunted. The oldest of the two probably doesn't deer hunt anymore. The rest of them have never hunted to my knowledge. The 5 men have hunted and fished with probably 2 of them not as much. One lost his eye from a stick when he was a young adult. And the other not as enthused about hunting and living more in the city. They all grew up out in the country in a small village. One of my uncles was with the State DNR for fish management.

As to the 2 aunts of mine that hunted. I don't recall them having a plethora of firearms. And the same goes for my uncles. Even their dad didn't have much. Don't recall my grandpa having any revolvers. Just 1 maybe 2 rifles for deer and critter hunting. They would shoot squirrels and maybe snapping turtles after they were caught.

On my dad's side my 2 uncles and my dad had past experience with deer hunting. But nothing very extensive. I recall just a few times that my dad went hunting but usually was home during deer hunting season. My only aunt on my dad's side never hunted. I recall only 1 deer rifle with my dad's dad. And don't recall much in the way of him doing much deer hunting. He was probably busy being a country blacksmith and doing other odd jobs for money while my grandmother ran the country store. It was the place to be for deer hunters to show off their kill in front of the store.

They all were likely prudent with their finances considering the expense of owning a firearm.

Out of my 22 cousins 8 are female. Only 1 maybe 2 hunt or have hunted. Only some of the cousins from 4 of the 11 aunts/uncles have hunted from my mother's side. And zero from my dad's side.

[HappyMe]

24. Okay.

I don't know if these women had a bunch of guns. They would all go skeet shooting and hunting together. They filled their freezers, and then donated meat to Hunt for The Hungry.

[flamingdem]

3. When I was in the boonies one time in my life

I picked up a rifle and practiced saying "Git offa mah land!".

It did feel strangely powerful. Someone living there had just had to do that when an unwanted visitor drove up.
Other than that I have been shown guns by men and it always made me wonder what was wrong with them.

[dawg]

4. I once had a woman excitedly show me her new pistol.

But it didn't make me think anything was wrong with her. This is the South, and I already knew she liked to target shoot. (Which can be lots of fun, even for liberals like me.)

[flamingdem]

7. Would you feel the same way if it was a somewhat macho guy? n/t

[dawg]

9. Of course. That's a pretty normal thing.

I only mentioned the woman because that's only happened the once.

Men show me their guns all the time! (I wonder if I could have worded that better?)

[flamingdem]

10. Oh you live in the South!

I live in Liberal Land where only the gang members show their guns!

[Comrade_McKenzie]

17. I'm an atheist gun control supporter from Kentucky... geographic location is just an excuse for some

[dawg]

19. I'm a Christian gun control supporter from Georgia.

I wasn't making any excuses.

[dawg]

18. Yep. I even have lots of guns myself.

I've never bought any, mind you. But they just kind of *come* to you if you are a male southerner. You inherit them, mostly. I keep them locked up in a gun safe that I also inherited.

I don't really know what to do with them. I'd feel bad about selling them for a number of reasons.

The .22 rifle is kind of nice to have. It would probably be good for target shooting if I ever wanted to do that. It would also be good if anything ever .... um .... needed killing. Like a rabid raccoon or something like that. When you live in a rural area, that is sometimes a consideration.

And if I ever saw a rattlesnake in my yard, I would be working the combination to that gun safe soooooooo fast!

But other than that, I just keep them locked away.

I do, however, have friends who are into guns, hunt, and go to gun shows, etc. The culture is very different down here.

[flamingdem]

20. I give a little space to Southerners and country people

since it make some sense to own a gun in some areas. Really though they make me a little sick to my stomach. I don't want them around me they're a "bad vibe" to me - kind of bad luck that can attract problems more than solve them. That's why I would avoid an urban male who has a gun. We don't really need them for crime here and no one goes hunting.

[dawg]

22. I keep mine locked up. I don't even know the combination to the gun safe.

It's written down somewhere.

I've thought about selling some of them, but I know they aren't hurting anyone while they are sitting, entombed, in their dark resting place. I hesitate to pass them on to someone else.

Plus, this is Georgia. The chupacabra could come out of the woods behind my house at any moment.

[LiberalFighter]

25. I live in the city. If I was out in more rural country I would be more inclined to possess a firearm

Most likely, it would be only one and would be best suited for my need. I'm very careful about my finances.

The rabid raccoon I would definitely want to be rid of as fast as possible. The snake would depend on whether it was poisonous and intruding in the wrong area. If it was in the house I would not be shooting it until it was outside. There are enough ways to capture something like that available in most homes.

[dawg]

35. I let the obviously non-poisonous ones go. (Unless they are inside the house.)

Poisonous ones (and non-poisonous ones on the inside) get killed with a hoe or a shovel.

I would only run for a gun if I saw a rattlesnake. I am very scared of those, and they can get quite long, with a striking distance that rivals my striking distance with a long-handled hoe.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

5. As someone who teaches firearms on the weekends to women and GLBT, I disagree

I know a goodly number of new gun owners here in SoCal. They are buying for self defense, not hunting or sport. Pretty serious bunch.

A thought experiment: Given the furor and that most of the firearms in the nation are not registered/licenesed, if anyone asked you if you had any, be it a survey or a friend, would you answer honestly? We never did...

Anecdotal evidence is always questionable...mine as well as others. But it is something to consider.

[leftstreet]

6. How do you know your students are GLBT?

I can see how you'd be able to tell which are the women

[TeeYiYi]

11. What the hell does that mean?

Re: ”I can see how you'd be able to tell which are the women”

TYY

[ProgressiveProfessor]

13. They get referred to me by the Pinks and other GLBTs. Its not the typical 2 hour gun class

It is more like a seminar and one of the things discussed is why they want to get a gun. Bashing and anti gay threats often come up. Domestic abuse is another. Its a different approach to firearms training. Why, how the stuff works, and the law all figure into it.

An anecdote some found amusing...I tell the students to wear sneakers or hiking boots. We are out in the desert. I actually check for it before we head out to the shooting stations the first day. Its a safety thing. On the second day, I saw a student shooting in platform sandals. I stopped them and asked why. The response was "I never get bullied when I am in sneakers, I want to know if I can shoot in heels".

[DeschutesRiver]

30. Of course they aren't answering those questions posed by friends or surveys - and not just because

their firearms are not registered/licensed. All of mine are, but I find that even here at DU, the majority of the discussion assumes either that the gun owner is equipped with a penis with self confidence issues or that a woman who has a gun has "daddy" worship issues or has a male who is directing the show for her, or who really owns the households guns.

Woman who own guns are told they are an anomaly, and peer pressure is exerted by some to make them feel like the only possible reason they could have for owning a gun is if it relates to a male somehow. I am not susceptible to that kind of pressure, so I only respond if there is a peripheral issue of interest to me. I don't do surveys of any kind, nor would do I answer questions or debate on issues where a minds are closed to all possibilities. Why would I find that interesting or compelling?

When I was in high school, I was also told that women lawyers were an anomaly, and that there were other ways to be of service to "men" other than competing and taking their jobs from them - as my desire to become an attorney was viewed only through the male filter. A real woman wouldn't possibly be interested in law, unless they were out to get their advanced MRS. degree, ha ha ha. And in fact, there were exactly zero woman attorneys in the largest and most powerful firms in Oregon at that time. However, many women did the right thing and decided not to pay attention to people who could only think of women in terms of how they added to or detracted from a male's experience, and they, like me, did what we wanted to do.

[HockeyMom]

8. This bothers me about the NRA'S Housholds with Guns

They make the assumption that all the people, in particular women, own a gun/s and know/shoot them. Are their guns in your household? Yes, but they are my husband's. I do not now know how to shoot them, or want to know how. The guns are in a safe and I do not know the combination to the safe or where it is written. What reason would have to know when I don't want anything to do with them?

This is how the NRA pumps up their numbers on women.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

15. There are also marketing campaigns and products designed for women as well

which would not be there is there was not some demand. Increases in demand for .380s, .32s and other smaller weapons support this. Additionally, the M4/AR style carbines are much easier to shoot than older and larger rifles.

[LiberalFighter]

26. If they could figure out a way to sell firearms to critters they would.

They would probably support legislation requiring every home and other residences to have firearms.

They are pumping up the numbers for women with the intent to put it in their mind that all women own them or should own. They are using every angle to encourage the purchase of firearms so they can increase their sales.

[Comrade_McKenzie]

14. Patriarchal society brainwashing them to worship what daddy and brother worships.

To male gun owners, a female gun owner is just an object holding another object.

Sad state of affairs.

[rrneck]

21. Is there any data showing women't approval or disaproval of guns in the household? nt

[libodem]

28. Pistol packin' mama

Carrying heat in a handbag, baby.

[rrneck]

29. I had a female friend mention an interest in guns the other day.

We'll probably wind up at the gun store and the range picking something out before it's over.

[LiberalFighter]

27. Is it me or does it look like that woman's holding of the firearm is awkward?

Are firearms mfg especially rifles so that a smaller hand can have a good grip?

[ProgressiveProfessor]

31. The AR family works well for smaller shooters

It looks like the rifle in the picture is a modified SKS. It has a smaller stock and works well for smaller shooters as well.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

32. She is holding it awkward because it does not have a "pistol grip".

Lots of gun control people like to demonize rifles that have pistol grips for some reason - I never understood this. A rifle with a pistol grip is MUCH more ergonomic and comfortable to raise to your shoulder and shot not to mention that you can control recoil better. In fact, a rifle with a pistol grip is actually MORE DIFFICULT to fire "from the hip" spraying indiscriminately (as hollywood loves to portray).

I once had the opportunity to shoot trap/skeet with a shotgun that had a pistol grip and OH MY GOSH - what a difference. Sure, it looks funny to shoot at clays with a pistol-gripped shotgun, but I think it's the best.
I've never understood gun controller's bias against pistol gripped rifles.

[Sissyk]

33. i own guns.

Matter of fact, hubby got me one several years back for Christmas because that is what I ask for!! lol

[guardian]

34. She must have a small penis. n/t