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Afraid of Being a Target, These Black Women Just Graduated From Handgun Training
These women say the debate over gun control versus ownership is, well, complicated
As racist groups like League of the South, the American Guard, and the Proud Boys made their way to Virginia to descend on the streets of Richmond alongside hordes of other white men armed with rifles and AR-15s, an entirely different kind of pro-gun gathering was unfolding at an office space in High Point, North Carolina.
Of the nine women settling into the conference room holding Bojangles bags and Starbucks coffees, eight were African American. They chatted excitedly, waiting for Rhonda Carson to start the concealed handgun training, a jam-packed eight-hour course that would culminate at a gun range, where all nine women would obtain their permit. Carson is the owner of the company GIRLZ on FIRE (Feminine, Independent, Resilient, and Empowered), which specializes in educating women in the safe use and operation of firearms. Carson is a certified National Rifle Association (NRA) pistol instructor and a North Carolina–certified concealed carry handgun instructor with more than 30 years of experience handling firearms. She considers her company — and the firearms safety training she offers women — a sort of divine calling.
