GRAPEVINE, Texas—More than 200 women gathered at Texas Gun Experience, an indoor firing range, to celebrate National Women’s Range Day on March 9, the day after International Women’s Day.
According to the International Women’s Day website, the purpose of the day is to promote a “gender equal world.” Organizers of National Women’s Range Day say they share the same goal.
Antonia Cover, director of women’s outreach for Gun Owners of America (GOA), previously told The Epoch Times that firearms have traditionally been viewed as a “male” pursuit.
“Second Amendment rights are women’s rights,” Ms. Cover said.
Ms. Cover heads up Empowered 2A, GOA’s program to “provide education, training, and advocacy content that encourages and equips women of all ages in their gun ownership journey.” GOA and Empowered 2A organized the inaugural range day event.
The women who came to the Texas Gun Experience shooting facility got to shoot various guns on the indoor firing ranges and peruse vendor booths filled with guns and accessories designed for women.
Need for Self-Defense
Hannah Schildcrout of Dallas agrees with Ms. Cover that Second Amendment rights are women’s rights. But, while women have the same right to carry a gun, for many of them, the need to carry is greater, she said.“I feel like sometimes it’s easier for a bigger person to come after a woman, and we need to be able to protect ourselves,” Ms. Schildcrout told The Epoch Times.
Just a few feet away from Ms. Schildcrout, Rachel Sumler held her sleeping child as she looked at purses designed for carrying concealed guns.
Ms. Sumler, from Arlington, Texas, is less than 5 feet tall. If not for her 18-month-old daughter, she could be mistaken for a high school student browsing purses on a weekend shopping trip.
Though she owns a handgun and most of her family members carry guns, Ms. Sumler hasn’t been much of a fan.
“Firearms scare me just a little bit, so I don’t have much range time. But I am around firearms a lot because my family is very involved with firearms,” Ms. Sumler told The Epoch Times.
She said her attitude changed when her daughter, Lilliana, was born.
Ms. Sumler has had some alarming experiences. Her sister was once the target of a failed kidnapping attempt. On more than one occasion, Ms. Sumler has been followed and approached by strangers. The thought of being in those situations with her young daughter is a source of concern.
“There’s definitely been times where I’ve wanted to have been armed and wasn’t, and that kind of pushed me to participate today,” Ms. Sumler said.
Both women said their National Women’s Range Day experience allayed some of their concerns about carrying a gun. Ms. Schildcrout said she got information she could use to select a gun to carry.
Ms. Sumler said she was able to work on her shooting skills in a nonthreatening environment. She is determined to become a proficient with her gun for one reason.
More Women Becoming Gun Owners
Ms. Sumler is not the only woman looking to exercise her Second Amendment rights.Taylor Allen, the membership and business operations manager for Texas Gun Experience, agrees. She said she got involved with firearms four years ago as she realized that she needed to be able to defend herself and her family under any circumstances.
“Things happen in grocery store parking lots, at schools, they can happen anywhere,” Ms. Allen told The Epoch Times.
She said that almost half of Texas Gun Experience’s clientele are women. In addition to the indoor firing ranges, the facility offers private instruction and firearm rentals. This means first-time gun buyers can learn about and try various guns before they buy them.
According to one vendor, this is part of the effort by the firearms industry to reach out to women.
Addison Monroe, marketing manager for XS Sights, of Forth Worth, Texas, said that historically, many gun manufacturers took a “shrink-it-and-pink-it” approach to marketing to women. She said firearms manufacturers are starting to understand that they need to consider function as well as style when designing products for women.
“I like pink things, to be fair, but shrinking it, especially a firearm, is not necessarily going to be super helpful. A lot of times, the smaller guns are a little bit snappier and a little bit harder to shoot. And just because it fits in your hand a little bit more nicely, doesn’t mean it’s going to be a better shooting experience for that person,” she told The Epoch Times.
Tamara Musch, event manager for Texas Gun Experience, said that’s why the range was glad to partner with Empowered 2A and GOA for the event. She said that the goal is to give women the skills and tools they need to defend themselves, because there may be times when they have no one else to turn to.
“You are your own first line of defense,” Ms. Musch told The Epoch Times.
