By Jim Irvine

The infamous Columbine shootings in 1999 were carried out by two evil young men. They killed 13 people, including a teacher and 12 fellow students and injured 24 others. The nation responded by crying out for more gun control, which has done nothing to stop such violence.

This month, in the wake of heinous crimes including sexual assault and murder of our children by criminals with guns, the nation has reacted differently. While the rabid anti-self defense nuts regurgitate their same old ilk, most have realized their “solutions” can do nothing to defend innocent life from evil men. As a country, we don’t want slick press releases, we want real solutions. We demand real answers to combat real dangers. We are finally insisting that sensible action be taken to insure our children are safe at school.

When status quo fails, people begin to consider alternative ideas. Arming our teachers and administrators who complete firearms training with a gun, the only tool capable of stopping armed killers, is not a new idea. But for the first time it has begun to gain traction. That is a dramatic shift in the mindset of our nation and our media.

Consider that my response was printed in the USA Today
last week. That only happens because the editors consider arming teachers an idea worth printing. But that was just the tip of the iceberg.

Click on 'Read More' to continue reading.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation is reporting that a new survey suggests amazing growth in female participation in hunting and shooting.

From the report:

According to the survey, 72 percent more women are hunting with firearms today than just five years ago. And 50 percent more women are now target shooting.

Here's a roundup of specific NSGA findings on female participation from 2001 through 2005: hunting with firearms, up 72 percent; hunting with bow and arrow, up 176 percent; overall (net) hunting, up 75 percent; target shooting with rifle, up 53 percent; target shooting with shotgun, up 16 percent; target shooting with handgun, up 33 percent; target shooting with air gun, up 55 percent, overall (net) target shooting, up 50 percent.

The NSGA survey suggests more than 3 million women now hunt and over 5 million women now enjoy shooting. From a business perspective, women account for roughly 15 percent of the shooting, hunting and firearms marketplace. Programs to introduce females to the traditionally male sports deserve part of the credit, as do more and more manufacturers designing products especially for women.