Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2001 18:35:48 -0400 From: sw357mag@MINDSPRING.COM (Nancy) Subject: The Feminine Cast of RKBA... To: AZRKBA@asu.edu
------ Quote:The new face of the NRA IS NOT LIKELY TO BE AS LOUD (emphasis mine), but these newer members- wives, mothers and survivors of violent crimes -- may be harder for politicians to tune out.END QUOTE:
Ladies: Let's make a liar out of this reporter as far as "NOT LIKELY TO BE AS LOUD", huh? Nancy
http://www.dispatch.com/news/news01/mar01/642273.html
Friday, March 30, 2001
Face of NRA is acquiring feminine cast Barbara Carmen Dispatch Metro Columnist
The political talk was loaded. The firearms were not.
Tuesday's annual gathering of Friends of the National Rifle Association was a swell affair, but hardly what I expected.
"You're a shooter, aren't you? I can tell,'' one banquet-goer said to another.
Both were women.
I was eavesdropping, pretending to shop the "Ladies Table.''
I scanned the raffle offerings: a 10-pound vanilla candle, an Oscar de la Renta perfume set, an array of kitsch.
Near a copy of Ted Nugent's book, God, Guns & Rock 'N' Roll, lay a tiny pearl-handled Taurus .38-caliber.
Most women, however, were with the men, gazing down at the long auction tables that held a Remington 870 Express 12-gauge or a Ruger Mark II .22-caliber pistol.
NRA membership is at an all-time high. The reason -- an influx of women -- also explains a shift in the national political landscape.
Politicians, who raced before television camers to thunder for gun control after the bloody rampage at Columbine High, whimpered only feeble platitudes about parental responsibility after the latest tragic school shootings in California and Pennsylvania.
Women are the fastest-growing segment of the NRA's membership. Likewise, they've taken up the mantle for gun control, mounting the Million Mom March.
Politicians, who daily wet their fingers and stick them in the wind, can figure out what this means. They're quickly backing away from a fight that could be as nasty and divisive as the abortion issue.
"Women, just like men, believe in the Second Amendment,'' said Stephanie Henson, manager of the women's NRA program at the organization's Virginia headquarters.
"A lot of women are getting into hunting and shooting, or they are concerned about personal protection. We know their numbers are growing.''
A blond, suburban teacher and mom who often shows up at NRA target practices at a Grove City range proves the point.
"One day when I was sunbathing in my back yard, I saw the police helicopter circling overhead searching for someone,'' she told me. "I went inside, loaded my handgun, put on the safety and tucked it under the towel on my lounge chair. I felt safe.''
She's a good shot; her shots land in the middle of the bull's-eye.
When I practice, mine ping off the metal target stands and crash the contraption to the floor.
Shooting, for pleasure or protection, is not as simple as it seems -- a personal challenge that lured many of the sportswomen attending Tuesday's banquet.
The $24,000 raised from tickets and raffle proceeds will pay for a variety of education programs for women and children, as well as range improvements.
Tuesday's crowd of 365 was the largest in the banquet's eight-year history, said Philip Gray, the NRA's state field representative. An upcoming banquet in Athens is sold out at 450.
"We're turning them away,'' he said cheerfully.
In the dark years of Bill and Hillary, NRA membership soared as gun owners prepared to fight. The NRA figued that the election of a Texas gun-rights governor might soothe fears and nibble away at membership.
But the chance to gloat is an irresistible lure. The mood of this year's NRA banquet was giddy; last year's banter was nervous and bitter.
"Isn't it amazing we've got an adult in the White House again,'' quipped Scott Mote, the master of ceremonies.
The men howled. I saw a lot of women simply nod.
The new face of the NRA is not likely to be as loud, but these newer members -- wives, mothers and survivors of violent crimes -- may be harder for politicians to tune out.
Barbara Carmen is a Dispatch Metro columnist. She can be reached at 614-461-8855