Gun ownership amongst Black women is on the rise. An increase in firearm sales is largely tied to self-defence and appears to be a growing movement among Black women across the country.
A study by the Pew Research Center found almost two-thirds of Black households now viewed gun ownership as a ‘necessity’, compared to less than a third in 2012.
Philip Smith, who founded the National African American Gun Association in 2012 during Black History Month, said he was stunned by his group’s rapid growth, to 20,000 members in 30 chapters across the country, today, the majority of whom are women.
‘I thought it would be the brothers joining,’ Smith said. But instead, he found something surprising – more Black women joining, most of them expressing concerns about living either alone or as single parents and wanting to protect themselves and their homes.
