September 18, 2021

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Gun News

Nearly 50 percent of New Gun Buyers are Women

Nearly half of all new U.S. gun buyers since the beginning of 2019 have been women, a shift for a market long dominated by men, according to a new study.

The preliminary results from the 2021 National Firearms Survey show an estimated 3.5 million women became new gun owners from January 2019 through April of this year. About 4 million men became new gun owners over that period.

Historically around 10% to 20% of American gun owners were women.

The number of federal background checks for gun purchases hit an all-time high in 2020 of 21 million, according to an analysis of federal data by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, an industry trade group.

Researchers and gun store owners attributed the jump to fears driven by the Covid-19 pandemic and the protests, sometimes accompanied by violence, that followed the police killing of George Floyd, as well as the divisive atmosphere around the 2020 presidential election.

In addition to its findings on gender, the survey found that new gun buyers were more racially diverse than existing owners who bought more. Among new gun buyers, 55% were white, 21% were Black and 19% were Hispanic. Among new women gun owners, 28% were Black. The 19.6 million existing gun owners who bought more firearms since 2019 were 71% male and 74% white.


Mask Demand Has More Than Tripled! Don't Get Left Behind Like Last Year Stock Up On Our Premium KN-95's

Featured Firearm

Philadelphia Deringer

A small percussion handgun designed by Henry Derringer and introduced in 1852, the Philadelphia Deringer was a popular concealed carry handgun in its day. On April 14th, 1865, while watching the play Our American Cousin, President Abraham Lincoln was shot and killed at point blank range by John Wilkes Booth's Philadelphia Deringer.

Deringer remains known for his single-shot, percussion pocket pistols. His pistols came in many sizes and calibers, ranging form the short 3 3/4-inch (overall length) .36-caliber pocket models to .41- and .44-bore belt pistols measuring up to 9 inches long. It's believed that Deringer was producing his famed pistol by the time of the California Gold Rush of 1849. By the mid-1850s, Deringer's pistols had gained widespread favor, with much of their popularity garnered in California.

Did you know?

The Guns That Shot Presidents

Abraham Lincoln killed by a single shot Deringer pistol used by John Wilkes Booth. - 1865

The assassination of James A. Garfield, the 20th president of the United States, began at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington, D.C. As the president was arriving at the train station, writer and lawyer Charles J. Guiteau shot him twice with a .442 Webley British Bull Dog revolver. - 1881

The assassination of United States president William McKinley took place at the Temple of Music in Buffalo, New York. McKinley was shot twice in the abdomen at close range by Leon Czolgosz, an anarchist, who was armed with a .32 caliber revolver. - 1901

Theodore Roosevelt ran in the 1912 presidential election as a member of the Progressive Party. While campaigning in Milwaukee, Wisconsin John Flammang Schrank, a saloon-keeper from New York, shot Roosevelt once in the chest with a .38-caliber Colt Police Positive Special. The 50-page text of his campaign speech titled in Roosevelt's breast pocket, and a metal glasses case slowed the bullet, saving his life. - 1912

A 6.5mm Carcano Model 91/38 carbine rifle recovered from the Texas School Book Depository was used in the assassination of President John F Kennedy. - 1963

Sirhan Sirhan used a .22 caliber Iver-Johnson Cadet revolver in the assassination of US Democratic presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel in LA, California. - 1968

Lynette 'Squeaky' Fromme used a Colt 1911 pistol in an assassination attempt on US President Gerald R Ford. - 1975

A .22-calibre Rohm RG-14 revolver, identical to the one used by John Hinckley Jr in the assassination attempt of US President Ronald Reagan. - 1981


Thanks for reading,

The Editor

P.S. Did you miss an issue? You can read every issue from the Gophercentral library of newsletters on our exhaustive archives page. Thousands of issues, all of your favorite publications in chronological order. You can read AND comment. Just click GopherArchives