Louisville, KY- Townhall’s own Katie Pavlich addressed attendees of the NRA-ILA’s Leadership Forum, saying that it’s an honor to speak at the organization’s annual meeting as an American, a gun owner, and a lifetime member of the NRA. Pavlich hit liberal media narratives about female gun ownership, while noting that women are playing a major role in the various successes we’ve seen regarding the expansion of gun rights.
First, she discussed how she grew up shooting and hunting with her father, who gave her her first rifle at the age of 10. By the age of 21, she was able to become a handgun owner and took a course to obtain her concealed carry permit. She, like many gun owners across the country, adheres to two rules, besides the basic tenets of safety: 1. You can never have too many guns 2. Refer back to rule number one.
Regarding safety, Pavlich noted how she’s met and worked with leaders in the Second Amendment movement and the gun industry in expanding basic firearm safety—and how that’s been key to reducing household accidents to its lowest levels.
More importantly, we’ve witnessed the explosion of female participation in gun ownership, which has had a ripple effect concerning an increase in firearm-training courses, concealed carry permits, and shooting sports. Women are the fastest growing demographic of gun owners. They’re taking responsibility for protecting their own families—and younger women are fighting for campus carry in our education system.
Pavlich added that the number one reason women buy guns is for self-defense purposes. At the same time, women’s magazines, like Cosmopolitan and Glamour, makes absurd claims about gun ownership.
A writer for Cosmo once noted that using a firearm in the defense of oneself against a would-be rapist on college campuses, and as a tool to deter sexual assaults, was “icky.”
Those who try to defend the Second Amendment when it comes under attack by these publications are called "gunsplainers."
“I’ll take a gunsplainer over pajama boy any day of the week,” said Pavlich, mocking the omnipresent pajama-wearing, spectacled hipster that was used to promote Obamacare in 2013. She added that there’s an appalling lack of self-awareness when the liberal media portray women as whiny to slam Second Amendment rights, while also exhibiting outrage over rape culture, but fight to keep women unarmed from their attackers.
Luckily, Second Amendment advocates have been able to shatter the echo chamber created by the media, which has led to a string of legal victories all over the country. Pavlich noted that Illinois was the last holdout on carry right, but now has a concealed carry process. And D.C. now recognizes carry rights, albeit through stringent regulations. Women have played a huge role in our continued success in the fight for our civil rights.
In closing, Pavlich said she was proud of the men in her family who own firearms, and thankful to her father in showing her how to use them safely and responsibly. Lastly, we’re projected to have at least 14 million concealed carry holders in the country—that’s a cause for celebration.