Annie get your gun. Or Susie. Or Donna. Or Melissa. Females and firearms are a growing trend in America. According to the Pew Research Center, 1 in 5 American women now own a firearm, and the number has been steadily rising in recent years. "Over about the last five years or so, there has been a significant year-on-year increase in women purchasing firearms and getting their licenses to carry," says Emily Taylor, Houston attorney with Texas Law Shield.
Gun sellers and manufacturers seem to have noticed the trend too, as many are now openly catering to female customers. Taylor tells KTRH that many women are taking up firearms for fun and friendship, rather than safety. "We have a lot of all-female shooting clubs that are becoming more and more popular," she says. "It's let's go have a girls' night and go to the range because we've got this ladies group, which is really something that's helping to fuel this boom."
Still, other women are arming up out of necessity. "They're looking at the news and saying when I'm out with my kids, or I'm going to the grocery store or the mall, I don't want to be in a situation where a shooter comes in and I'm unprepared to protect myself and my family," says Taylor. "And that's a sad driver of this trend, but it's certainly a driver."