Today, women firearms experts, advocates, and dealers from across the country will testify at a hearing hosted by the House Judiciary Committee’s Crime and Federal Government Surveillance Subcommittee. The hearing, titled “Second Amendment Rights Empower Women’s Rights,” will explore how firearm ownership empowers women and has led to an increase in female gun owners and discuss the role of the Second Amendment as the nation continues to be plagued by violent crime.
Hearing witnesses include Beth Alcazar, a USCCA member, author of the USCCA’s Women’s Handgun & Self-Defense Fundamentals training curriculum and editor-at-large of Concealed Carry Magazine, as well as Geneva Solomon, a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) dealer; Shirley Watral, State Director for Florida at Women For Gun Rights; and Ruth M. Glenn, President of Survivor Justice Action.
Alcazar’s testimony highlights the growing number of responsible, trained gun owners from all walks of life and the work that the USCCA has done to educate and empower women gun owners.
Highlights from Alcazar’s opening statement include:
“I have made a personal choice to live as a mom with a gun. After all, I have three children who look to me as their guide, coach, counselor, and protector. And my journey in — and my dedication to — firearms, self-defense, and training has all been motivated by them.”
“As a woman and a mother, I am honored to be one of the leading instructors in the firearms industry. With this, I have witnessed, firsthand, a rich diversity as scores of American women are purchasing, training with, and carrying firearms in the name of female empowerment.”
“I view the attempt to limit or even criminalize law-abiding gun owners as anti-productive and dangerous, potentially carrying grave consequences for the safety of our families and our communities. The reality is that violent criminals — many with evil intent — do exist and are terrorizing us. This shouldn’t be the way that we live.”
The USCCA has the privilege of working with thousands of industry-leading instructors and educators like Alcazar, whose testimony provides a clear reminder that law-abiding citizens should be able to defend themselves from danger at all times, especially the growing demographic of women gun owners. While many anti-gun politicians claim to be pro-women, it’s clear that attempts to further restrict the right to self-defense through ineffective gun control laws will ultimately hurt more women than they help.
About the USCCA
The U.S. Concealed Carry Association (USCCA) is an association of responsible armed Americans whose members get exceptional self-defense education, lifesaving training, and self-defense liability insurance, preparing them for the before, during and after of a lawful act of self-defense. Headquartered in West Bend, WI, the USCCA is the largest, fastest-growing self-defense association dedicated to responsible gun owners.
For more information about the USCCA, visit our website.
