MichiganRadio

More Women Getting Gun Training ANN ARBOR, MI (Michigan Radio) - Robin Boruta is a saleswoman and instructor. Tonight, she's teaching our ladies-only gun class.
"We're seeing a lot more women take that next step, and kind of be brave about it," she says. "They're still a little unsure. They're still a little intimidated. But they want to be able to carry those guns."


The other women in the class tonight range from early twenties to seventies.
Mara Kimmel is dressed in a navy blue suit and scarf that make her look like a flight attendant. She's not.

"I'm a mortician, and I oftentimes have to drive to Detroit to make removals, and it's quite unsafe, actually for a female, in my opinion," she says. "And sometimes I'm alone."

One young woman has her own gun and accessories. She's the mother of a 12-week-old baby boy. She's worried about gun rights.

"Me and my husband purchased a assault weapon, assault rifle, just before the holidays, just before the current president was elected, just because of the fact that the current vice president that we have was one of the top supporters of the Brady Bill, which originally banned all assault rifles," she says.

We file into a classroom into the back of the building -- 22 of us. It's a full house.

We fill out a one-page questionnaire asking for basic information ... and if we have a criminal background, or suffer from a mental illness or disability.
About half of us -- like me -- say we've never fired a weapon before.

Boruta gives us the basic safety protocol.

Then it's time for us to learn to load our gun.

Mine's a nine millimeter, so it has a magazine. It's not easy -- the bullets, in this case plastic -- keep popping out, falling onto the floor.

Once the magazine is loaded, we learn to slide it into the gun, and chamber the round.

Then Boruta shows us the proper grip -- with a word of warning:

"After every shot, the slide goes back with a lot of force," she says. "And it will go back whether you're in the way or not. And it will take a nice little chunk out of the top of your hand -- which there's not a lot of meat there, so it really hurts, and it really bleeds a lot."

Now, for the first time in my life, it's time to shoot a gun.

"When that front site's in focus, go to put your finger on the trigger, just using the beginning pads of your finger, pull nice, slow, straight back," my coach says. "OK?"

I fire the gun.

"Good!" My instructor seems pleased. "Good! We get a lot that don't hit it."

"Did I hit it?" I think my eyes were closed when I shot.

"You got a seven!" she says.

Diane Polanski is helping to teach the class tonight. Polanski says shooting can be emotional.

"I've had people cry after the first shot," she says. "I've had people almost drop the gun and start to back away. It's very overwhelming. It's a very powerful thing to feel that gun go off in your hand, and they go, "wow" and they light up like it's Christmas morning. Everybody's different."

After a couple of rounds, the bulls-eye target is replaced by a paper silhouette of a man. I'm feeling more confident now. I put eight shots dead center and a few more close to it.

It's exhausting. It's smoky. Even with ear protection, it's loud.

I roll up my paper targets and take them as a souvenir.

I can understand the appeal of the sport, and why a woman might feel more secure with a weapon she knows how to use.

It's not for me.

I'm Rina Miller, Michigan Radio News.
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