A growing number of black women in the United States are buying– and learning to use– guns for personal protection, driven by fear of crimes such as shootings and murders. The killing of George Floyd, ascendancy of far-right groups and their, often armed, standoffs with law enforcement agencies following the outcome of the 2020 presidential election are among other contributing factors. About 8.5 million Americans bought their first gun in 2020, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF). Last year also registered more than 58% increase in gun purchases by Black men and Black women over the first six months, the association for the firearms industry says.

67-year-old Detroit grandmother, Valerie Rupert, is among the nearly 1,000 mostly Black women taking part in free weekend gun safety and shooting lessons at two Detroit-area ranges.

“They went up to the Capitol with all those guns. You need to be ready,” she said, referring to an instance of armed protesters descending on the State Capitol in Michigan to denounce Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s stay-home order.

Some of the hundreds of mostly white and former President Donald Trump supporters were openly carrying assault rifles as they entered the building.

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Just 9.3% of gun owners in America are Black men and 5.4% Black women. Nearly 56% of gun owners are white men and over 16% are white women, the NSSF says.

However, 2020 saw “a tectonic shift in gun ownership in America” due to “a huge increase of African Americans taking ownership of their Second Amendment rights,” said Mark Oliva, NSSF director of public affairs.

Beth Alcazar, who is white, said it was rare to see a Black woman taking target practice since he got involved with shooting about two decades ago.

“Honestly, not more than one image pops up of seeing a Black woman at the range,” said Alcazar, now a certified shooting instructor in the Birmingham, Alabama, area and U.S. Concealed Carry Association associate editor.

“With more involvement in the last five years, I see Black women on almost every occasion I go to the range,” she said.

For many Black women, it’s about taking care of themselves, said Lavette Adams, a licensed firearm instructor who participated in the free Detroit-area training sponsored by gun advocacy group Legally Armed In Detroit.

“Crime against women is nothing new. Women protecting themselves, that’s new,” said Adams, who is Black.

(With Inputs from Associated Press)