Chicago women worried about violence join gun club
Sun Jul 23, 2017 10:35 am
Should have tried that 50 years ago instead of banning handguns and concealed carry.
http://www.france24.com/en/20170723-chi ... n-gun-club
"I noticed that I never saw two women at the range together or a group of ladies," she recounted.
- 'Scared of guns' -
Dunagan was particularly struck by the lack of African-American women like herself interested in learning how to use firearms.
"I started asking friends and they said, 'Yeah, I'm scared of guns.'"
That answer prompted her to start JMD Defense & Investigations, offering gun training programs geared towards women. The "investigations" side of the business will debut next year.
Dunagan also offers classes such as the "Mommy & Me Self-Defense Class," where women can bring their daughters, ages 8-18 years, to learn hand-to-hand combat.
"That came about because my daughter was going to college four years ago and she couldn't find a self-defense class on the south side of Chicago," Dunagan said.
Her clients are from the predominantly African-American communities in Chicago's south side, in or near neighborhoods struggling with runaway gun violence.
Chicago does not have the worst crime rate in the nation, but owing to its large population -- it's the third-biggest US city -- it has seen a staggering number of killings and shootings.
By mid-July, there had been 1,557 shootings and 369 people murdered so far this year, according to the Chicago Police Department.
http://www.france24.com/en/20170723-chi ... n-gun-club
"I noticed that I never saw two women at the range together or a group of ladies," she recounted.
- 'Scared of guns' -
Dunagan was particularly struck by the lack of African-American women like herself interested in learning how to use firearms.
"I started asking friends and they said, 'Yeah, I'm scared of guns.'"
That answer prompted her to start JMD Defense & Investigations, offering gun training programs geared towards women. The "investigations" side of the business will debut next year.
Dunagan also offers classes such as the "Mommy & Me Self-Defense Class," where women can bring their daughters, ages 8-18 years, to learn hand-to-hand combat.
"That came about because my daughter was going to college four years ago and she couldn't find a self-defense class on the south side of Chicago," Dunagan said.
Her clients are from the predominantly African-American communities in Chicago's south side, in or near neighborhoods struggling with runaway gun violence.
Chicago does not have the worst crime rate in the nation, but owing to its large population -- it's the third-biggest US city -- it has seen a staggering number of killings and shootings.
By mid-July, there had been 1,557 shootings and 369 people murdered so far this year, according to the Chicago Police Department.