BELLEVUE, WA – A report in the Wall Street Journal showing that nearly half of all new gun buyers since January 2019 are women is not surprising, considering efforts to defund police agencies, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today.
The WSJ report on the 2021 National Firearms Survey notes approximately 3.5 million women and 4 million men bought guns for the first time between 2019 and April of this year. Overall, the draft report suggests more than 81.4 million Americans over the age of 18 own firearms, translating to 31.9 percent of the adult population.
“We’ve known that women are the fastest-growing segment of the gun-buying public,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “We’re delighted to see so many women joining the firearms community, learning new skills, making new friends and taking more responsibility for their safety and the safety of their families.
“In the process,” he continued, “these new gun owners are learning more about their rights and responsibilities. We have always encouraged new gun owners to seek good safety instruction through local gun ranges or gun clubs so they can become both competent and confident.
“As a result,” he added, “we’re seeing more women joining our organization. They’re willing to fight to protect their newly-exercised gun rights, and we’re proud to have them on board.”
Gottlieb said nobody should be surprised by the rising interest in gun ownership, especially during a time when many law enforcement agencies are losing officers due to political posturing by politicians who seem more interested in headlines than public safety. Crime rates are increasing as a result, and law-abiding citizens are realizing they must take more responsibility for their personal safety.
“Millions of Americans appreciate now, more than ever, the fact that our Second Amendment protects their right to own a gun,” Gottlieb observed. “This should send a message to anti-gun politicians and the gun prohibition lobby that increasing numbers of American citizens aren’t buying the nonsense they’re selling. Instead, these good-sense citizens are buying firearms, learning to use them properly and making it clear they will not surrender their safety, and that of their neighborhoods, to an emboldened criminal element.
“Too many proponents of public disarmament live in gated communities, enjoy private security and all the perks of elitism,” he stated. “Average citizens enjoy no such luxuries. They don’t live in a bubble, and they’re not going to live in fear.”