OpinionBy Paige Pearson
Depart it to gun management teams to counsel that half of the law-abiding inhabitants of america shouldn’t be thought of for gun possession. And it’s the half of the inhabitants that owns a firearm for self-defense that advantages essentially the most in occasions of want.
Positive, up to now, girls weren’t the phase of the inhabitants that instantly popped in to thoughts as being firearm house owners. However now in 2025, shouldn’t that be completely different? Ladies have already got the identical rights as males – together with the correct to maintain and bear arms. Firearms are part of the American tradition, loved by everybody of any colour, race and nationality. And over the previous 5 years, trade knowledge has proven girls are the fastest-growing demographic of gun purchaser. It is smart that firearm trade companies would take note of their prospects and cater to their wants.
However that’s not what number of gun management activists and gun management teams see it, and they’re now aghast that lawful firearm producers would cater their promoting and advertising and marketing efforts to enchantment to girls.
Oh, the thought!
Smoking Gun Shocked
The Smoking Gun is Everytown for Gun Security’s media arm that describes itself as “the web useful resource dedicated to exposing the gun trade’s” function “in our gun violence epidemic.” Apparently that features exposing the evils of promoting and promoting in a way that draws 50 % of your attainable buyer base.
Enter Greg Lickenbrock, who spoke with three advertising and marketing and sociology professors from Oregon State College about their observations in promoting in direction of American girls from firearm producers and retailers.
“The truth that we now see girls in these adverts, and portraying completely different ‘characters,’ demonstrates the trade’s efforts to extend possession amongst girls,” Dr. Brett Burkhardt mentioned.
“After a number of years of experimenting with sexualized adverts that didn’t correlate with elevated gross sales to girls, the trade now appears to have landed on an promoting concept that works: displaying girls as competent and severe gun house owners,” added Dr. Michelle Barnhardt.
Dr. Aimee Dinnin Huff provided her ideas as properly. “There isn’t but a longtime feminine American gun proprietor identification or picture that buyers can latch onto. Many adverts nonetheless depend on gendered assumptions reasonably than a nuanced understanding of the several types of relationships girls have with firearms,” she mentioned.
Dr. Burkhardt added one other thought, stating, “These new and extra frequent depictions of girls and firearms are examples of how the trade is searching for to naturalize girls’s gun possession.”
The firearm trade is aware of and understands the historical past of firearms and is aware of girls are naturally simply positive dealing with, working, and coaching with firearms.
Historical past Lesson
Sure, whereas American girls have possessed and used weapons all through the nation’s historical past, the idea of the armed American lady, as a cultural establishment, has not attained the identical diploma of legitimacy because the armed American man.
It’s no secret that firearm corporations sometimes tailor to males, as total males personal and buy extra firearms than girls. However that has modified – dramatically – over the previous latest many years, particularly over the previous 5 years. With the shopper market shifting, there are extra girls taking part within the capturing sports activities than ever. And as this has occurred, it appears gun management teams – who seem like all for girls’s rights – are simply not for these rights when firearms are concerned. Seeing robust girls as accountable firearm house owners is empowering to others as properly. It’s not simply concerning the males anymore.
For Lickenbrock, Burkhart, Barnhardt and Huff, historical past paints a really completely different portrait. Ladies have been utilizing firearms since earlier than the founding of the nation. They have been essential to the efforts behind the American Revolution, up by way of Annie Oakley and Martha “Calamity” Jane Canary, and Rebecca Nicholson, who took over the household firearm manufacturing enterprise within the early 1800s when her husband handed away.
Quick-forward to at the moment and there’s no scarcity of fantastic girls within the trade and taking part in looking, leisure capturing sports activities and even selling self protection gun possession.
The late Geneva Soloman, an African American lady and sufferer of home violence, spoke at a 2023 Congressional listening to and defined, demonstrating a typical feeling and realization skilled at the moment by thousands and thousands of girls. “My journey from sufferer to survivor to advocate has led me to this second at the moment,” Solomon mentioned. An NSSF member and in addition a member of the Nationwide African American Gun Affiliation (NAAGA), Solomon added, “As a Black lady, this isn’t a matter of creativeness. It was my lived expertise. I needed to develop into my very own first responder.”
Leaders All Round
Ladies leaders proceed to show their mettle within the firearm trade at the moment. Laurie Aronson is the Chairman and CEO of Lispey’s LLC, a firearm and sporting items distributor. She’s additionally on NSSF’s Board of Governors. JoAnn Weisenford, is President of RSR Group, one other firearm and sporting items distributor. Kelly Reisdorf is the present CEO of USA Capturing. Kirstie Pike is the Founder and CEO of Prios Searching Attire for Ladies. They’re just some among the many quite a few girls in management roles inside the firearm trade and looking market main into the twenty first Century. That’s not even mentioning the 1000’s of robust girls working in retail, manufacturing, schooling and sure, advertising and marketing within the firearm trade from coast to coast.
In Congress, quite a few girls are stalwarts in relation to standing up for the Second Modification, together with U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.) and Ashley Moody (R-Fla.). Within the Home of Representatives, U.S. Reps. Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.), Kat Cammack (R-Fla.), Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa), Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.), Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), Julia Letlow (R-La.) and lots of, many extra have been spotlighted by the firearm trade for his or her management and efforts to advertise protected, accountable firearm possession.
In state capitals, Alabama Republican Gov. Kay Ivey signed into legislation Constitutional carry in her state. And former South Dakota Governor and present Secretary of Homeland Protection Kristi Noem, in addition to Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, each have unquestionable Second Modification credentials and the political monitor report to show it.
The Buyer is All the time Proper
Media nonetheless extensively misrepresents American gun house owners as previous, white guys however latest tendencies in firearm buying couldn’t put this caricature to relaxation any higher. Over the previous 5 years, the surge of recent first-time patrons has made the gun-owning group essentially the most various inhabitants of gun house owners ever. That’s a great factor – because the Second Modification is for everybody. And that features girls.
Ladies are featured extra prominently at the moment in promoting as a result of extra girls are shopping for firearms for any variety of causes – all good ones – and the trade is listening to them. Ladies’s nights at neighborhood capturing ranges, women-only firearm coaching lessons and even good friend teams selecting to go to the vary collectively are all more and more extra fashionable actions as girls select to train their Second Modification rights in any protected manner they select.
Advertising and marketing has modified over the previous couple of many years to observe the shopper. For Lickenbrock and others, which means seeing much more girls with weapons. And that’s a great factor.
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About The Nationwide Capturing Sports activities Basis
NSSF is the commerce affiliation for the firearm trade. Its mission is to advertise, defend and protect looking and capturing sports activities. Fashioned in 1961, NSSF has a membership of 1000’s of producers, distributors, firearm retailers, capturing ranges, sportsmen’s organizations, and publishers nationwide. For extra data, go to nssf.org
