Annie Get Your Gun

Annie Get Your Gun was the musical based loosely on the life of Annie Oakley.   She was  part of  Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show where she was billed as the “Little Lady from Ohio who never missed a shot.”   The Wild West Show boosted her to the stardom.  She made a living as a sharpshooter. That was then…

Today, something is happening with women and gun ownership. What it is?   According to national trends gun ownership hit record sales in 2011. A  Dayton Daily News article stated that “The FBI performed 16.45 million background checks for firearms sales in 2011, shattering the previous years record of 14.41 million checks, according to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. Background checks do not necessarily lead to gun purchases, but most do, and the record checks and sales are being fueled in part by the growing number of women who are buying firearms, experts said. About 23 percent of adult women last fall said that they personally own a gun, which is up from 13 percent in 2005, according to Gallup polls.” *

Why the increase in gun ownership? The issues of gun ownership are complicated.  According to the article, women want to feel informed and have a greater sense of security. I have two girlfriends who own guns. Both of my friends are well informed. They have made the decision to take classes, register, and carry concealed weapons. While I respect my friends, I will not be part of the growing trend of women owning guns.   

* Source Dayton Daily News, Cornelius Frolik, Staff Writer 2/3/2012

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