The New York Times has noticed that not all Second Amendment advocates are male.
In the debate over firearms regulations, the voices of gun owners have largely been those of men. But at firing ranges across the country, a growing number of women are learning to use firearms and honing their skills.
Women’s participation in shooting sports has surged over the last decade, increasing by 51.5 percent for target shooting from 2001 to 2011, to just over 5 million women, and by 41.8 percent for hunting, according to the National Sporting Goods Association.
And this woman is my new hero:
Advocates of tighter firearms regulations have argued in the past that advertising by gun manufacturers manipulates women into buying guns for protection. An advertisement by Colt in the 1990s showed a mother tucking a child into bed — “Self-protection is more than your right … it’s your responsibility,” the ad said — and academics argued in 1991 in The Whittier Law Review that such ads were intended to trick women.
But Ms. Tartaro bridles at the idea that women are not smart enough to decide for themselves whether to buy a gun. After the article appeared, her publication went on the counterattack, running a cover line that said, “Are You Too Stupid to Read This Magazine?”
Give her a Master of Juvenile Scorn™!