700 Metro-Detroit Women Empowered With FREE Shooting Lesson by Local Activists

Seven hundred (700) women who expressed an interest in learning about fundamental firearm safety and target shooting were recently given a free range safety briefing and a complimentary shooting lesson in metro-Detroit. The annual event - now in its seventh year - safely introduced all of the women participants to firearms on Sunday, May 20th at the Top Gun Shooting Range in Taylor, Michigan.

This annual event seeks to introduce women to firearms in a safe and supportive environment. The women were scheduled to participate in one of several range safety briefings in which basic firearm safety rules were taught along with training on shooting stances and elements of marksmanship.

After every group briefing, each woman was paired up with one vetted firearm instructor for a shooting session. The session consisted of loading a 9mm semi-automatic pistol with 20 rounds of ammunition which were then shot into a hanging paper target. Feedback and support was then given to every participant by her personal instructor.

This program was conceived by Rick Ector - a Detroit area gun rights advocate - seven years ago. One night while viewing the local news telecast for that evening, he saw a story about a woman who was murdered; her body was dumped in a vacant lot. The story haunted Ector as he pondered what could be done to help women better protect themselves. He came up with the idea of offering a free shooting lesson for women.

That first year only 50 women signed up and attended the program. Ector along with five fellow firearm instructors conducted the training. The next year 100 women signed up and the program continued to grow by leaps and bounds. Last year, 600 women were trained by the program which needed roughly 40 firearm instructors to help oversee the activity. This year's program needed 50 firearm trainers to safely train a record 700 women participants.

The firearm instructors who helped run this year's program are a diverse group. They are too numerous to list individually by name but the organization they represent are listed as the following: the National Rifle Association (NRA), the United States Concealed Carry Association (USCCA), Michigan Gun Owners (MGO), Michigan Open Carry (MOC), National African American Gun Association (NAAGA), and Legally Armed in Detroit (LAID). Many ancillary members also performed useful tasks to keep the event orderly and safe.

Sponsors also had a huge role in this massive training event. First, the Top Gun Range of Taylor graciously donated their facility for the day. Agila Ammunition donated 16,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition, Doug Holloway of ATEi donated the use of his firearms, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) donated gun locks, and NRA-ILA donated canvass tote bags.

In all, this year's firearm training event was a huge success by any measure. Of course, the most important metric was zero injuries, as safety is the most important component of an organized activity this large and complex. In the coming weeks, we will assess how well everything went and set program goals for next year! We may "shoot" for 1,000 women to be trained next year.

Contact Info:
Rick Ector
313.733.7404
detroitccw@gmail.com