Gun ownership among women steadily rising

A shift in firearm purchases, and in attitude.

By Rich_Maloof Dec 20, 2012 3:13PM

According to national polls and reports on firearm retailers, gun ownership among women in the U.S. has been steadily rising. The trend is coming to light following information provided by authorities that Nancy Lanza, who was shot by her son prior to his rampage on the Sandy Hook School in Newtown, CT, owned the weapons used to kill her, 20 elementary schoolchildren, and six adults.

Nancy Lanza has been linked to the two handguns and the semiautomatic rifle Adam Lanza took to the school, and to two additional hunting rifles.

NBC News reported in March that, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, gun-store owners have recorded a 73 percent increase in female customers in recent years (dates not specified).The number of women buying guns specifically for personal defense has climbed by more than 83 percent.

The use of firearms for sport among women has likewise seen a substantial rise. According to the National Sporting Goods Association, female participation in target shooting rose from 3.3 million in 2001 to 5 million in 2011, a 51 percent increase. Female participation in hunting lept 42 percent from 1.8 million to nearly 2.6 million over the same period, reports the Scripps Howard News Service this week.

A Gallup poll released in October 2011 also contained insights into women’s changing relationship with firearms. A record-high 43 percent of American women self-reported a gun in their home or somewhere on their property (compared to 52 percent of men), up 7 percent from the prior year.

Asked about ownership, 20 percent of women surveyed said a gun is owned by another household member and 23 percent said they personally own a gun (compared to 46 percent of men). Fifty-five percent of respondents reported no gun in the household.

The subject of the poll was America’s waning support of stricter gun laws. Gallup found the number of women favoring stricter laws on the sale of firearms fell 26 percent in 10 years, from 76 percent in favor of stricter laws in 1991 to 50 percent in 2011.

Women in favor of a ban on handguns fell from 51 percent to 31 percent over the same period. The decline followed a national shift in attitude from a majority to a minority favoring gun bans and stricter laws.

Bing: Obama calls for action on gun violence now.

Photo: David Sutherland/Getty Images

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163Comments

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I want me 2 B me n U 2 B U

Dec 21, 2012 12:03AM

I'm a woman and I own and carry a gun. A carry gun is my tool, my weapon is my mind. I have also taken many self-defense courses and would rip an attacker's throat out with my bare teeth if that's what it takes to keep me and/or my kids safe. Before my kids were of a certain mentality (not age) I kept a flail for protection, still have it at hand, and a dog trained to bite. It's about not being a victim. It's why the first time my ex threw a punch at me it was the last, period. The stats in this article say I'm at greater risk because I have a gun in my home. How many of those stats included a man holding the gun? How many times was a woman not willing and ready to use it? How many women weren't honest about the mental state of other family members? i.e. Adam Lanza. I pray everyday I will never shoot anyone. I pray no one will give me cause. I have pulled my gun to investigate noises in my house. I have neighbors that have had me do it for them too. Thankfully it's never resulted in anyone getting shot, I have trained with police to not hesitate to take the shot if there's no other way. I'll live with my choice. I have to be right only once, maybe. Victims have to be unmolested everyday. Because the bad guys have a hard distinguishing me from you keeps you safer. Police response where I live is 45 minutes. They have told me their job is to "draw chalk outlines, not take bullets for a few 10k a year."

"If there's one thing to say about mankind, there's nothing kind about man."

Tom Waits

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Memerider

Dec 23, 2012 6:28PM

I am a woman who lives in a state where citizens may only carry guns if they carry money or valuables for a business, so although I have a gun I keep at home, I may not carry it for self-protection. And we have one of the highest rape and car-jacking rates in the world here. And I drive isolated roads at night due to family and work responsibilities. I do carry it when I'm in a state that allows me to do so. I am trained, and I have a bedside safe, so if kids are present, I keep it there. I really do see guns as tools, and I think totalitarians pushing to limit access to or ban them are misguided and responding to the horror of emotional trauma when a tragedy occurs. They jump to make knee-jerk decisions. We need to stop reacting to the CT shooting before we end up making sweeping changes that could destroy women's ability to defend ourselves.

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ROBERT AND SHIELA CRAIG (jk4579)

Dec 23, 2012 6:10PM

people kill not guns!

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morejazz

Dec 23, 2012 6:37PM

The FBI has said that the best way for a women to ward off an attacker is with a gun...There are times when we have to be our own first line of defense,and by far the best defense is with a firearm. That's why armed security at our schools will work because it has already been proven that arm security works and can be seen almost everywhere in our society..Where guns bans have been proven not to work...It couldn't be clearer what needs to be done.

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nvrchng

Dec 23, 2012 6:47PM

I am a woman and I to own and carry a gun. My Father taught me to shoot a gun when I was ten years old. I was alright leaving my gun in a locked box and in another room close by until some new males moved into a house that was too close to our home. They would approach me when I was outside. Actually walk up to my front door.

Of course I was not going to open our door to a stranger. When I was outside, these men asked for money to catch a bus or to do odd jobs in my house. Even when they saw the same person arrived and took care of our lawn. I started to carry my gun when ever we are outside. One day I was stopped in my driveway, the garage door wouldn't open. One of these individuals yelled, "Hey, is the power off? He was watching me come home and pull into my driveway. I now and will openly carry my gun whenever

I am outside. It is no longer in another room. It's odd, not one of them has said one word to me of late. I am not waiting for the police to arrive to save me. There is no way they can get here in time. I will dial 911, advise the dispatcher of what is happening and protect myself and my family.

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CARL TOERSBIJNS (CARLT4719)

Dec 23, 2012 6:41PM

Women are fighting back being victims. They have the courage to do something about crime and handle it by being better prepared for personal attacks prompted by those predators preying on women being out by themselves making easy targets to assault, rob or worse. I think this a good thing for women to get the right training and right weapon to defend themselves in times when there are no cops around. It's a matter of survival and these days, survival means being prepared and having the right protection plan.

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flaxon

Dec 23, 2012 6:53PM

Well obviously all you female gun owners are just mean conservatives that don't care about the human race............I LOVE YOU ALL !!

Nothing makes my day more than a piece of scum being put at room temperature by a registered gun owner protecting his/her home, property or loved ones. It's a present to all of society