Girl With A Gun

Out of Lansing (Michigan's Capital), from the Lansing State Journal, a story from an anti-gunner who faced her fears and found out guns aren't scary:

Emily Smith | NOISE

A few months ago I realized that although I was born in America, raised in a hick town and once even dated a guy whose pickup truck was so big I needed a stepstool to get into it, I had never shot a gun.

Alerting the NOISE office of this was the right thing to do because as soon as our editor got notice of a gun event specifically for women, he sent me out.

I guess I have mixed feelings about guns. Growing up, I was never exposed to them. The first thing I learned about guns was how dangerous they were. From there, I just heard about kids accidently shooting kids or kids shooting kids on purpose. It's hard to see "Bowling for Columbine" and understand why guns are even legal. But all of that just added up to me being scared of guns.

But there is another side to guns and their use - an estimated 80 million Americans own them for protection or sport - and I was ready to see it.

On a very muggy night last week, I headed out to the National Rifle Association's Women on Target event at the Capitol City Rifle Club.

Kay Lockwood, a club member, said the group has been holding women-only events for the past eight or nine years.

"The purpose is to provide women with a low-stress, safe, friendly environment for them to learn basic firearm skills," she said.

I was a few minutes late, so when I pulled up a group of women, most older than I was, were already gathered and watching a demonstration by Lockwood. As the plastic gun demonstration was nearing an end and I put on my ear and eye protection, it started to sink in: in a matter of moments, I'd be shooting an actual gun. In all honesty, I was scared.

There were already a few women shooting guns with another instructor when we approached. Two rectangle card tables held handguns and multiple boxes of bullets with bright green Wal-Mart price tags on them.

The women were aiming toward paper targets on plywood placed in front of a large dirt hill.

To start, Lockwood had us load magazines, which hold the bullets for automatics. That was easy. Once that was done, she was ready for the first shooter. We started with a .22.

Before I took my first shot, I watched a few women begin firing. It didn't seem so bad. But watching someone shoot a gun is totally different than actually doing it. I later found out that most of these women had done this before.

I considered briefly about passing on it all together but then I'd be without a story and without a new experience. I had to do it.

I stepped up.

Lockwood must have known I was nervous. I wasn't shaking but I was sweating far more than the average person, even for a muggy night. In a few simple steps, the gun was loaded and ready to go.

I braced myself, probably looking like the most awkward person to ever hold a gun - and fired.

I'm not sure what exactly I expected but it was OK. I shot 10 bullets, none coming close to hitting the target and then I was done. The gun felt as though it was welded to my hand as I started to lower it to the table.

Surprisingly, I felt a sense of relief. But you don't stop with a .22 at the Women on Target events - you've gotta move up.

Next we shot a 9 mm. It definitely had more of a kickback. After that, Lockwood wanted us to try the .22-caliber revolver. To me, the revolver is the stereotypical gun. The first thing that came to mind when I saw it was Russian roulette. Not inspiring. But I'd come here to shoot guns, so I went for it.

I thought it had more kickback than the 9 mm but one of the instructors said it was all in my head, which may have been true.

After most of the guns had been sampled, a lot of women gathered around and starting chatting about their experiences. Some of them were skilled competitors. They talked about the process of buying guns and which guns are specifically made for women. At this point, it was more like a Tupperware party than a handgun tutorial but still interesting.

Before the class ended, I wanted to give the .22-caliber automatic another try. By the end of the night, I felt comfortable with that. After a few pointers, I ended up hitting the target with almost two rounds of bullets.

I was proud but ready to go.

I doubt I'll ever be as into guns as some of these women were but I am glad they are there to help women like me lessen their fears and try something new.