Range photo from Athena Gun Club in Houston, TX. Athena has 26-lane indoor shooting range.
A Girl & A Gun (AG&AG) is a club by women shooters for women shooters. With a network of instructors and affiliated ranges, AG&AG operates training clinics and competition events throughout the country. AG&AG recently sponsored a nationwide survey of 6000 club members. This survey revealed interesting trends in gun purchases by females. By way of background, a previous survey by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) estimated that about 40% of 2020 gun sales are to first-time buyers, and that roughly 40% of those first-time gun buyers were women.
AG&AG did a follow-up survey of club members who were first-time gun buyers. This showed that the leading motivator in gun acquisition were concerns over riots and civil unrest. This was followed by worries over the upcoming election and possible future gun bans.
There were some very interesting comments by AG&AG members, who expressed their personal reasons for buying guns and seeking firearms training:
Kathryn in Texas: “I’m a trauma surgeon and have treated a fair share of gunshot victims in Chicago and Houston. I have been pretty ‘anti-gun’ as a result up until COVID. At that point, I figured I might as well get comfortable with at least handling firearms in case I had to use one.”
Theresa in Nevada: “I’ve never felt the need to own a gun or want a one. However, with the extreme levels of crime, every individual should learn to protect themselves. With our political leaders allowing the police to be torn apart, this made me feel the need to step up and take measures for my protection.”
Jan in Michigan: “As a history teacher with 35 years of teaching experience I know that the first thing revolutionaries and tyrants do upon seizing power is to take away the public’s guns. As a child my family lived in inner city Detroit in the heart of the 1967 riots….More recently, the rioters came down my street after their burning and looting rampage downtown in my city of Kalamazoo, Michigan. I decided that I have to defend myself and not allow myself to be a sitting duck. “
Anonymous in Connecticut: “I [was] interested in joining A Girl & A Gun Club for a while and in the wake of the protests and defunding of police I thought this was extremely important. Being from the Northeast it is difficult to find others with the same ideals so I thought this would be the best place to start.”
About A Girl & A Gun
AG&AG is now moving into its 10th year of educating women on the safe use and storage of firearms, and promoting women’s interest and participation in training and competitive and recreational shooting sports. The club’s mission is especially relevant today and the organization is stronger than ever.
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CCRKAB Hopes Millions of New Gun Owners Can Aid Second Amendment Battle
First concern over the COVID-19 pandemic spurred a huge increase in gun purchases. And the civil unrest, rioting, and looting that followed the death of George Floyd caused countless citizens to seek armed self-protection. COVID-19 and the riots convinced millions of Americans to become gun owners for the first time. These citizens wanted to protect their families, homes, and businesses. The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA.org) hopes that these new gun owners may aid the fight to preserve the Second Amendment and gun rights in the USA.
“Look at all of the new people who suddenly decided to exercise their Second Amendment rights to keep and bear arms”, observed CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “We’ve witnessed something that is nothing short of a sea change… about gun ownership. We’ve heard anecdotal reports from all over the country about people flocking to gun shops who had never before owned a firearm. Now that they are gun owners, we expect them to be very protective of their rights”.
March, April, and May 2020 saw record numbers of background checks, according to FBI data and information from industry sources. For example in April 2017, gun sales set an all-time record — up 71% from the pervious year.
Gottlieb added: “We welcome all of these new gun owners to the firearms community… many of them are minorities, especially black and female citizens … from all age groups. They can… gain a new understanding of our efforts to protect the one fundamental right that actually protects all of the other rights.”
“This new wave of gun owners could become a formidable force during this year’s election,” Gottlieb noted. “From now on, we expect millions of new gun owners to pay closer attention to candidates, and reject those who would trample on their Second Amendment rights. With legions of new gun owners ready to protect these newly-discovered rights, it could be a pretty scrappy election year…”
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There’s a good episode of Gun Talk Radio this Sunday 6/7/2020. In recent days we have witnessed mass protests, rioting, arson, looting, and even murder in the streets. We have also seen business owners successfully defending their property. The unfolding crisis of urban unrest and violence have certainly caused Americans to consider armed self-defense.
Protecting your family, home, and property during crisis is the focus of Tom Gresham’s Gun Talk® Radio this week. This Sunday, Tom talks with security expert Wayne Black about current events — the rioting and violence. Black talks about training for first-time owners, and explains how best to protect yourself and your family in the case of a riot. Notably, some armed business owners have had success defending their stores — much like the Korean store owners did during the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles. Listeners can call to talk with Wayne and Tom about self-defense and armed security. Call 866-TALK-GUN with your comments and questions, and range reports.
Gun Talk Radio — Podcast Archive
If you miss the live show broadcast or Live Streaming, past broadcasts can be heard online via the GUNTALK PODCAST Site and Apple iTunes. The Gun Talk Podcast Archive has hundreds of past shows you can access via the internet. Listen via your home computer or mobile device. Here’s a recent podcast focusing on firearms selection for self-defense.
Gun Talk Podcast from 5/31/2020 — Security, Riots, and Gun Choices:
All Gun Talk shows are also archived as podcasts for download or online listening. Gun Talk is also available on YouTube, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and GunTalk.com.
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What will a pandemic combined with social unrest do to gun sales? Drive them through the roof. Last month’s gun sales are up 75% compared to May of 2019, based on Criminal Background Check System (NICS) data, as adjusted by NSSF. Look at that spike in the chart!
NSSF explains that the May 2020 1,595,790 checks figure represents an increase of 75.2 percent compared to the May 2019 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 910,910. What does “adjusted” mean? The adjusted NICS data were derived by subtracting out NICS purpose-code permit checks and permit rechecks used by states for CCW permit application checks as well as checks on active CCW permit databases. For comparison, the unadjusted May 2020 FBI NICS figure 3,066,740 reflects a 32.1 percent increase from the unadjusted FBI NICS figure of 2,320,918 in May 2019.
Though not a direct correlation to firearms sales, the NSSF-adjusted NICS data provide an good picture of current market conditions. It should be noted that these statistics represent the number of firearm background checks initiated through the NICS. They do not represent the number of firearms sold or sales dollars. Based on varying state laws and purchase scenarios, a one-to-one correlation cannot be made between a firearm background check and a firearm sale. For more NICS information or to view the current monthly reports, visit the NICS website.
How to Receive Regular Data Reports from NSSF
Want to get regular sales reports? Then consider joining the NSSF. All NSSF members are able to access historical monthly NICS data by logging in and clicking on “Industry Research” then “NICS Data”. Questions concerning NSSF-adjusted NICS data should be directed to NSSF at 203-426-1320 or research@nssf.org.
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