Women take up shooting for many
reasons. For me, it was about getting control of my life and letting go of my
fears.
Guns
always equaled one thing: death. It started from an early age, when I picked up
on my parents' dislike of guns. As I grew older, I couldn't be in the room with
a gun, look at a gun or even hold an unloaded one. I knew it was an irrational fear: No one in
my life had ever been hurt by a gun.
But the fear festered. After my son was born nearly 11 years
ago, news reports of children getting hurt or killed using their parents'
unsecured guns made my fear almost paralyzing. My job as an online news
producer for more than 15 years, often seeing and working on these stories,
only made things worse.
It was frustrating for my husband, who grew up with guns and
knows how to use them safely. I knew I had to change — for myself and for my
family.
So I picked up a gun.
About 500 trigger pulls in, I realized I loved target shooting.
It relieved my stress; helped me focus on what I could control; boosted my
self-confidence; made me feel strong, powerful and alive. It helped me work on
overcoming other fears, too.
Hitting that target was a symbol of everything I thought I could not do. And with that one shot, I was free of my lifelong fear of guns. A year later, I own a semi-automatic pistol and shoot regularly for sport. My transformation from timid to avid shooter is not unique.
It wasn't long before I was going to the range alone and with my
husband on date nights. I decided it would be cheaper and I could practice more
if I bought my own gun.
I also joined the Orlando chapter of The Well Armed Woman, a
national organization that helps women learn about guns and hone their skills
in the classroom and on the range.
According to White, a lot of
women shoot because they want to empower themselves, have an equal chance to
defend themselves and increase their ability by stepping out of their comfort
zone.
"Women are very much into embracing that type of activity
these days," White said. "Probably anywhere between 45 and 55 percent
of the people that come through wanting to learn and to take classes and your
first-timers getting that first firearm are women, and they nail it. They do
everything just right."
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