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Women take aim at gun safety
Posted: Sunday, August 29, 2010 12:00 pm
Erin Turner, Daily News-Sun


Just call her Granny Oakley.

Sun City resident Judy North has spent the last year making sure other female friends feel comfortable using a gun. And who better to take them to gun safety and shooting classes than North, a retired police officer comfortable with breaking down barriers and a lifelong firearms lover.

“A gun is like an extension of my arm,” she said. “I used to be a police officer and most of my friends have never handled a gun or are afraid of guns. I just try to change their outlook.”

So far, North has taken eight friends to Diamonds in the Rough, a free firearms training class for women sponsored by Cabela’s in Glendale.
After initial training on different firearms, the class participants practice shooting at Ben Avery Shooting Range on the border of Peoria and Phoenix. Several of them have since purchased guns for protection.

“I just think it’s great. I wouldn’t be taking different friends each time if I didn’t believe in what they are doing,” she said. “Each time a new class starts, I take a different friend out there.”

North and her friends are part of a growing trend in the firearms industry — more women are familiarizing themselves with guns these days, said Pat Zeman, an events manager at Cabela’s.

“I think women are feeling more empowered, and they’re taking control of their own situation. I’d like to think we’re helping them understand and they’re taking advantage of that,” she said.

And more women feel comfortable taking classes for women, so Cabela’s and other shooting facilities like Ben Avery are trying to cater to that.

“Women like to take classes with other women,” Zeman said. “They just feel more comfortable with that.”

Whatever works to increase awareness and proficiency with firearms makes North happy and brings a welcome change from the time when she first began her career as a police officer in West Virginia.

“I was born into a family of cops. When I started there weren’t any females out on the street, so I stuck out like a sore thumb. I’ve always had a really big ego, and I thought if the big boys can do it, so can I. I just have to do it a different way,” she said. “I think women are accepting guns more readily now. More and more women are buying guns and using them. It’s not so strange to them now. I’d like to think the Women’s Movement had something to do with it. But I know the criminal element has something to do with it. We live alone; we own houses; we’re single parents. We need everything we can get our hands on.”

Protection is one of the biggest forces driving North to help educate and familiarize her friends with rifles, shotguns and handguns, she said.

“If they are afraid of it and don’t have any idea of how to use it or maintain it ... it will be used against you,” she said. “You can put on a gun and act like you know how to use it, but without the training and practice you’re just giving the other person a weapon to use against you.”

She knows from personal experience after a career in law enforcement the importance of gun safety and training.

“It balances my concept of being able to take care of myself. It’s no longer in the other person’s favor. I have a chance not to be a victim,” North said.

For information about Diamonds in the Rough or other shooting classes at Cabela’s in Glendale, call 623-872-6700.



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