Despite their efforts, however — and thanks to recent federal and Supreme Court rulings upholding an individual’s right to keep and bear arms under the Second Amendment — more Americans are taking advantage of the Constitution to protect themselves.
This is especially true for women, who have figured out the best “equalizer” in a conflict with bigger, stronger men is a firearm.
As reported by Agence France Presse, women in always-violent Chicago are particularly interested in arming up and learning how to use a firearm to defend themselves, and they range from the young to the old, including Marietta Crowder, 71.
“My husband influenced me and we thought about it a long time,” she told AFP of her decision to pick up a gun and learn to use it at a suburban shooting range near Chicago. “Maybe you need a gun these days, in your house at least.”
She lives in a gated community with her retired bank executive husband, so she is better protected than most. But that doesn’t mean she isn’t at risk in a city known for its spiraling gun violence.
Another retiree, Javondlynn Dunagan, developed the notion of creating firearms training courses specifically designed for women, as well as her “Ladies of Steel” gun club. Following their initial training and successful mastering of basic skills, the ladies meet twice a month to practice.
Dunagan was a parole officer for 25 years but rarely had a firearm when she dealt with parolees and convicts. However, she decided to start carrying one after she got divorced from her ex-husband, who is a police officer.
“I was at home by myself with my daughter, and I was used to having a firearm in a home with my husband,” she told AFP. “So, I wanted to make sure that we were safe.”
However, after she started frequenting gun ranges around Chicago, AFP noted, “I noticed I never saw two women at the range together or a group of ladies,” she said, adding it really hit her that there were very few if any black women like herself who were even interested in learning how to use a gun. She said she she started asking her friends about it, they would say, ‘Yeah, I’m scared of guns.’
Those answers inspired her to start her own business — JMD Defense & Investigations, which in part offers gun training geared at women (the “investigations” portion of her business will launch next year).
She also offers classes like “Mommy & Me Self-Defense Class,” allowing women to bring their daughters, aged 8-18, where they learn hand-to-hand combat skills as well.
“That came about because my daughter was going to college four years ago and she couldn't find a self-defense class on the south side of Chicago,” she said. (Related: America Is Arming Up: Record Background Checks Recorded During First Half Of 2017.)
AFP noted further:
Her clients are from the predominantly African-American communities in Chicago's south side, in or near neighborhoods struggling with runaway gun violence.
Chicago does not have the worst crime rate in the nation, but owing to its large population -- it's the third-biggest U.S. city -- it has seen a staggering number of killings and shootings.
By mid-July, there had been 1,557 shootings and 369 people murdered so far this year, according to the Chicago Police Department.
The Guardian reported in April that more black women are learning how to defend themselves with a firearm.
“This is a movement, and it starts now,” firearms instructor Marchelle Tigner told a small group of students at the Bullseye Indoor Range and Gun Shop in Lawrenceville, Ga.
The Left-wing publication blamed the upsurge in interest among black women to the election of Donald J. Trump, saying they feel less safe now.
Well, many Americans did feel unsafe, but it wasn’t because of Trump, it was because of his predecessor.
J.D. Heyes is a senior writer for NaturalNews.com and NewsTarget.com, as well as editor of The National Sentinel.
Sources include:
Please contact us for more information.
