Here’s an interesting statistic — according to an NSSF survey, the percentage of gun owners who are female has increased dramatically since 2005. Seven years ago (in 2005), just 13% of U.S. gun owners were women. By 2012 that number had risen to 23% — a huge increase in less than a decade.

The vast majority of first-time female gun buyers acquire a handgun for defensive purposes. However, the statistics also show that many new female gun owners are also getting involved in sport shooting and/or competitive shooting. That’s a good thing.

In the video below, NRA News host Cam Edwards interviews Celia Bigelow, who has written about the rise of gun ownership among ladies on the Townhall.com website. Celia explains why American women are arming themselves, and why the Second Amendment safeguards a key fundamental right.

Celia writes: “As the number of proposed gun-control measures increase rapidly across the country, the amount of women purchasing guns is increasing even faster. While folks in the media are blaming the spike on the guns-and-glam advertising, women — including myself — have a different reason. It’s self-defense, stupid. [T]he logic is simple: Women want to protect themselves and their family, and guns are the great equalizer between sexes[.]”

Celia notes that liberals propose that women defend themselves using “call boxes, ball-point pens, whistles, buddy systems … as long as it isn’t very sharp and doesn’t have a trigger.” Celia is not convinced: “As a young, 22-year-old, 140-lb woman, I know that call boxes, pens, and whistles won’t do much good if [I am] ever faced with a crazed man twice my size. What frustrates these male elitists the most is that women are arming themselves, and it’s working.”