Although I am a steadfast supporter of the Second Amendment, I had never so much as held a gun until a week ago. With that in mind, I attended a gun safety class led by Carolann Puzio, CEO of Shoot Like A Girl LLC.
In addition to my need to become comfortable and well-practiced around firearms, the journalist in me wanted to see if, in fact, millennial sentiments on firearms are changing. Indeed, eight of us attended the gun safety class, and all eight were millennials, including six young women. My eyewitness account was enlightening and fascinating.
Much of the conversation early on involved the heavy restrictions in New York — and there’s reason for budding gun enthusiasts to be concerned, especially in the Northeast. The Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence’s “Gun Laws Scorecard” ranked New York with the fifth strictest gun laws of all 50 states. For perspective, California takes the cake in 1st place, with Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Maryland (tied with New York) rounding out the top five.
The three-hour class covered all of the basics of owning firearms: how they work, how to clean them, and safety rules.
One thing Puzio noted that truly caught my attention was her transformation from uneasy around guns to uneasy without one. She said that since she received her permit in 2011, she’s gone from an uncomfortable feeling being armed, to feeling uneasy when she isn’t. Puzio estimated she owns 15 glocks and 30 handguns.
“The people I’ve been surrounding myself with doesn’t find that (owning 45 guns is) unusual”, she said. “I’m pretty good at knowing who I should and shouldn’t discuss it with.”
Puzio founded the Orange County, New York branch of The Well-Armed Woman with six members; now they host over 70 women each month.
As for the millennials in the room, while none had a tragic story of being unable to defend themselves during an assault, they all carried a legacy of guns in their family; this was especially true for one woman whose husband is a police officer. Afraid that should he be killed, all the firearms in the house would be confiscated.
Everyone in the room, regardless of personal politics, came together on the common ground of supporting their right to defend themselves. In fact, millennials owning firearms isn’t as uncommon as voting trends would have people think. According to a Pew study from June, of the adults surveyed, a net 43 percent of 18-29 year olds either own or have guns in the house. That’s more than the net 39 percent from 30-49 years of age.
After class, I continued to speak with others in attendance. Much of the discussion was a consensus saying that young people realize no one’s coming to the rescue in time – you must defend yourself. Statistically speaking, the average police response time is around 11 minutes. From 2007 to 2016, the number of concealed handgun permits soared 215 percent, and among states that provide gender statistics, females obtained their permits at a rate doubling men, according to the Crime Prevention Research Center. All these statistics could possibly be attributed to women and instructors like Puzio who have dedicated themselves to feminism in the truest sense of the word – giving women an equal chance to protect themselves in any situation.
Puzio proclaimed the most rewarding element of her job was this Second Amendment type of feminism.
“The fact that I could’ve changed somebody’s life; saved a life without even knowing it, particularly for women and self-protection,” she said. “Nothing monetary, it’s purely joy.”
