A Surprising Group Of Americans Are Becoming Gun Owners

Conservatives are proud of our Second Amendment rights to keep and bear arms.

Many Americans carry a firearm and keep them in their homes for defense of their families.

And in the last decade, women have become the fastest growing demographic of American gun owners.

Breitbart reported:

[A local news outlet] ran a story in which they looked at the exceptional growth in female gun ownership and described it as another expression of “girl power.” From stay-at-home moms to business women to grandmothers, the realization that self-defense really rests in their own hands has taken root. And with concealed carry legal in all 50 states, the handgun has increasingly become “the must-have accessory.”

The emergence of women as a gun-owning demographic to be reckoned with became evident in 2011 and 2012. The NRA reports a Gallup Poll showing a 23 percent jump in female firearms ownership between 2005 and 2011, and this poll is complimented by National Shooting Sports Foundation research showing that among those female gun owners, the largest percentage own more than one gun. In fact, “42 percent of women who own a firearm have at least three.”

But among female gun owners, it may come as a surprise that mothers with young children are emerging as a powerful new force.

Mothers always want to put the safety of their families first, and one aspect of that for many moms is now carrying a firearm while out and about with their children.

This can be a controversial topic, with liberals outraged that mothers would “put their children at risk” by not only having firearms in the home, but actually carrying while out with their children.

But “babywearing and carrying” is becoming increasingly common, with training classes even being offered nationwide on how to safely carry concealed and how to react while toting around little ones.

The women’s blog, Jezebel, reported on this new trend:

It’s a surprising twist in the story about guns in America. With young children, regularly the focus of tragic gun-related accidents and public health experts warning that kids are less safe when there is a firearm in the home, moms seem like the last demographic group that would be interested in packing heat, but more moms feel gun ownership and concealed carry are reasonable steps to take to ensure their family’s safety.

“With women especially, there’s this desire to take protection into their own hands, to protect themselves and their families,” said Catherine Mortensen, spokeswoman for the National Rifle Association (NRA).

But to a mom who is responsible for small children, access to a firearm means leveling the playing field against a would-be attacker.

Often, women are perceived as more of a target to an attacker — especially if they appear distracted when out with young children.

Moms are realizing that gun ownership is a matter of personal responsibility in protecting their children from all dangers.

Just as a mom would hold their young child’s hand in a parking lot, they are increasingly becoming aware of their surroundings to prevent an attack while out with their children — and learning how to use and carry a firearm to protect them if the need arises.

Jezebel also reported:

“You may be a petite woman and you come across a large man who is a threat to you or your family, a firearm is what they call ‘the great equalizer’ in any confrontation,” Mortensen said.

And even though the likelihood of a confrontation that could lead to an attack is slim, Lauer argues carrying a gun is no different than preparing yourself for other unlikely, but potentially devastating events.

“People commonly ask me what I’m afraid of in that I carry a gun, and my response is always, ‘I’m not afraid of anything.’ And most of these [moms], I don’t think that they are afraid, I don’t think that’s the driving force,” Lauer said.

“It’s more along the lines of it’s a logical step of preparation, like, I’m not afraid that my house is going to set on fire, but I’m going to go out and get a fire extinguisher, just in case.”

While the liberal media continuously reports on stories of gun violence, and even children being harmed when getting ahold of a firearm in the home, conservative moms are now making it the new normal to raise their children around firearms and teaching them about gun safety.

And it has already been proven that so-called “gun free zones” are not a deterrent to crime, which has especially been seen in our children’s schools and college campuses with tragic shootings.

When children are raised to respect firearms, and learn the guidelines and rules for the family’s safety, gun ownership is the ultimate protection.