Black Women Own Guns and The Media Notices

Should that be, "Finally notices?" The Narrative™ is most at risk. A call to arms: Black women embrace gun ownership, too Local & State - The Westside Gazette

This is actually one of the more balanced pieces of journalism I've read in the past few years. Better than anything you would find in the WaPo or the NY Slimes.

As most of these stories do, they follow a particular individual, and the interview woven through the article is interesting.

They do manage to cover quite a few statistics; here are the ones that caught my attention.

The National African American Gun Association has 30,000 members and 60% of those members are women, according to its website. And during the pandemic, the number of new gun owners grew, with 21% of them Black and over 50% women.

They also talk about the statistics of black women as victims of crime at the hands of men, and espcially homicides of women by men. And the reaction of the woman they are following to that reality.

“The real reason why I carry my gun is to kill men,” [Dorrian] Wilson said. “I’ve had instances in my life where guns were pulled on me by men, just trying to get to my apartment. So, my number one goal is still safety.” [SNIP]

“So, if I post a picture of myself shooting, carrying or something like that, the majority of the responses from women are ‘I need to learn how to shoot.’ And men, almost 100% of their responses are ‘I know not to mess with you,’” Wilson said. “In your predatory mind you know now that I’m not prey.”

And they even manage to acknowlege that women, and women of color being armed is not a new thing.

Black women have always used guns to protect themselves from men and other threats, said Antwain K. Hunter, an assistant history professor at UNC Chapel Hill who is writing a book about the history of race and firearms in North Carolina between 1729-1865. “Certainly when you get to the 1820s and ‘30s and then heading through the U.S. Civil War and even through reconstruction there are women who are armed,” Hunter said. “And so, one of the things I think stands out to me the most is thinking about why these women are armed. And a lot of it boils down to pragmatism. They’re able to defend themselves and their family members in ways that unarmed people are not.”

You should click thru and read the entire thing.