Guns are no longer just boy fun in Florida anymore. Woman now make up a higher rate of those who have concealed carry licenses than at any point before. Approximately one out of every four concealed carry permits are issued to women, and that translates to a whole lot of ladies packing heat. Remember, Florida has issued more than 1 million permits.
In fact that means 276,386 women have concealed carry licenses in the state (and that's not counting those who obtained them in other states). In 2004 just 48,316 women had the permits (just 15 percent of the total). Yes, that is roughly a 572 percent uptick in just a decade.
Incidentally the uptick in female registration comes as both gun rights lobbying groups and firearms manufacturers aggressively court women.
For example, Smith & Wesson sponsors a website called NRAWomen.TV. The site features web shows like Armed and Fabulous, about women who "have dedicated their lives to protecting our Second Amendment rights," and Love at First Shot, which features first-time female shooters.
Glock features a section on its site touting guns that may be best for women, but alas none of those come in pink. For that you'll have to head to PinkHandguns.com.
To load those guns in style you can also check out BlingBullets.com. As they name suggests they sell actual bullets adorned with crystals. "Defense with style!" proclaims their tagline.
But there's got to be something behind the uptick besides just sparkle and pink trim, right?
Sean Caranna, executive director of Florida Carry, tells Jacksonville.com that women are motivated by self-defense. Also, as tends to happen when a Democrat is president, more people deeded to get guns now because they fear that new restrictions may make it harder in the future.
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