When Women Take Up Arms

By Nancy R. Gibbs

American women are taking up arms. Propelled by a rising tide of crime, more and more of them no longer seem willing to trust their safety solely to their husbands, their neighbors or the local police. Between 1983 and 1986, as gun sales to men held steady, gun ownership among women jumped 53%, to more than 12 million, according to a Gallup poll commissioned by gunmaker Smith & Wesson. Even more striking, the poll found that the number of women who were considering buying a weapon quadrupled, to nearly 2 million.

The movement to own and carry guns is spread fairly evenly among age groups, across professions and around the country. "These are young women, older women; many are professional, but some are housewives," says Barbara Mueller, vice president of the Illinois State Rifle Association. "They don't have a cigarette dangling from the corner of their mouth, and they're not closet commandos." Though more women are appearing at shooting ranges and gun clubs, the sporting aspect is not really the issue. The vast majority who are buying guns -- about 75%, by most estimates -- are doing so to protect their homes and themselves.

Gun owners and sociologists agree that the trend reflects a change of thinking, a rejection of traditional roles. Jerome Skolnick, a professor at the University of California law school at Berkeley, describes the increased gun ownership among women as a "gender revolution. The notion that only men protect is no longer valid." Agrees Teryl Jansons, a Massachusetts attorney: "People are less apt to take advantage of your situation, since you don't look like you're afraid -- because you're not."

Shooting instructors observe that women view guns more coldly, and cautiously, than do men. Some suggest that women make better shots. "Men come in with all sorts of bad habits," says Michael Freire of the Tamiami Range and Gun Shop in Florida. "They see themselves as either Rambo, Roy Rogers or Daniel Boone." Women, he adds, take their time in learning to shoot. "Discipline is the whole point of training," explains Carol Kolen, a Chicago psychologist who has taken shooting lessons. "It gives me the feeling that I could take care of myself." Most female gun owners, say police officials, are careful to abide by the laws regulating possession of handguns. But women are less likely than men to advertise their ownership of a weapon. "I don't go around bragging about it," says Karen Elise, 31, from Beverly Hills, whose parents were robbed late one night last year. "I don't think it's good for people to know."

The new gun market has prompted manufacturers to design lightweight weapons with smaller grips, purses with built-in holsters and other accessories aimed at female buyers. Last month Shotgun News even sponsored a "gun and fashion show" in which scantily clad models demonstrated how a woman in a bikini can carry a concealed weapon (in her hairbow). A how-to video, A Woman's Guide to Firearms, released a year ago, has sold more than 8,000 copies.

Many law-enforcement specialists fear the residual effects of even broader handgun ownership in a society already saturated with weapons. "The worst reason to buy a gun is solely for protection," says Police Chief Robert Bonneville of Glencoe, Ill., "because guns are very rarely used to stop a break-in. They are most commonly stolen from homes." The statistics of gun ownership are chilling, for men or women: while about 200 people a year successfully use handguns to defend themselves, another 22,000 die from guns as a result of homicides, suicides or accidents.

With reporting by Robert Buderi/Boston and Sheila Gribben/Chicago