Let’s Talk About Women and Gun Control

Earlier today, I talked about how more women in Washington state are finding their way into gun stores and onto gun ranges. This is a good thing, especially in a state known for taking a hard anti-gun turn.

I see it as a good thing, overall, because gun owners tend to become gun voters. It’s an important shift that needs to happen.

Why?

Well, because it seems even Republican women view gun control more favorably than men.

The researchers focused on these six key policy items and examined support for each based on the respondent’s gender and political affiliation. They used statistical models to analyze the data, taking into account additional factors such as age, race, income, education, and political ideology. Crucially, they also tested for interaction effects—cases where the influence of gender might differ depending on party affiliation, and vice versa.

The analysis confirmed that women were more supportive of gun control measures than men, and Democrats more supportive than Republicans. However, once the researchers dug deeper into the data, they uncovered more complex patterns. Among Democrats, both women and men showed strong support for gun control measures, with only modest differences between the two. The average gender gap among Democrats was around five percentage points. But among Republicans, the gender gap was much wider—averaging about 12 percentage points. Republican women were significantly more supportive of gun control than Republican men and less likely to back gun rights expansion.

There’s more there, but in short, Republican women favor things like assault weapon bans far more often than Republican men, while Democratic men are more likely to align with the women of their party on the issue.

I could make sooooooooo many jokes about that. I really and truly could, but I won’t. I don’t want to spoil your fun in the comment section.

Now, there are problems with the research in question, in part because it doesn’t ask how important the issue is to respondents, plus the way these questions are asked can actually change the outcome.

So I’m not getting that worked up about it.

But I do find the timing of this a little funny, because over at the NRA posted how Women for Gun Rights will hold a “Rally for the 2A” on the US Capitol grounds on June 22.

Women for Gun Rights, a national nonpartisan organization of women committed to protecting the Second Amendment, will host a “Rally for the 2A” on Sunday, June 22, 2025 at 3 p.m. on the southeast lawn of the U.S. Capitol. The rally will bring together supporters from across the country to advocate for legislation that will make families safer and oppose efforts to undermine public safety, freedom, and our constitutional rights.

The event will feature several prominent speakers and Second Amendment advocates:

• Nathalia Ashba, model, actress and naturalized immigrant from Colombia who appreciates the Second Amendment to protect herself, because gun rights are women’s rights.
• Taylor Winston, Route 91 survivor, hero, and Second Amendment advocate who transported more than 20 people to the hospital following the mass killing.
• Gabby Franco, former Olympic shooter and survivor of socialism in Venezuela.
• Vanessa (@Gothix), new gun owner, content creator and political commentator affiliated with BLEXIT and #WalkAway, known for her bold takes on culture and freedom.

Attendees will also get a teal t-shirt that says “Educate Not Legislate,” which is a great mantra. And I’ve seen these shirts in the past. Teal is a great color for this, really.

See, while the study may be trying to illustrate some divide between men and women, the truth is that there are a lot of women who support the right to keep and bear arms. The juxtaposition of these two stories in my feed just struck me as funny, but mostly because I know what they’re trying to do here.

That includes the fact that we’re not talking about self-identified independents, which includes a large chunk of the population, and includes a lot of people who would be categorized as libertarians (big or little “l”) and would vehemently oppose any kind of gun control.

They just want people to believe they’re winning, that their side is the majority, and that all of us who value the Second Amendment are “on the wrong side of history” or something equally stupid.

We’re not, though, and I think they know it.