On one of the first warm and sunny Saturday afternoons of the year at a shooting range in Boaz – a rural community in far western Kentucky – a group of women and LGBTQ+ community members joined together to learn the basics of gun safety.
Instructors Karen Farthing and Courtney Beadnell first go over the basics of gun safety, then have attendees form lines to practice holding a training handgun. For most in the room, this is their first experience handling a firearm.
Farthing said Guardienne Solutions – the self defense company she and Beadnell cofounded – created these safety classes specifically for minorities, women and others who don’t fit the profile of a traditional firearm owner.
“You have the right to defend your life. You have the right to defend the people that you love, and the fact that you feel uncomfortable getting training really makes us sad,” Farthing said. “We built the classes that we wished somebody had given us.”
Guardienne Solutions collaborated with OutFit – a Paducah-based LGBTQ+ outreach nonprofit – to host Gays and Gals with Guns, a safety course aimed at educating people who feel threatened because of their gender and sexual identities about guns.
OutFit cofounder Sam Bussey took her first gun class with Guardienne Solutions after a friend recommended them.
“It was the very first time I ever shot a gun,” Bussey said. “Very first time I ever even held a gun in my hand.”
After that first class, OutFit decided to partner with Guardienne Solutions to put together Gays and Gals with Guns and promote gun safety and self defense classes to local marginalized individuals.
“One of the big things that made us want to do this is the political climate right now. The gay community and the trans community are under attack. I feel like, essentially, they are trying to erase us,” Bussey said. “We need people to be on defense.”
Nearly a quarter of all hate crimes in 2023 in the U.S. were attributed to anti-LGBT motivations, according to the FBI. Data from the World Health Organization suggests over one in four women in the U.S. will experience intimate partner violence in their lifetimes.
Jordan Pruitt owns a cosmetology school in Paducah. She decided to take the gun safety course after seeing that it was woman-led.
“That's kind of part of what has pushed me here,” Pruitt said. “Sometimes at night, I see my little girls leaving and I'm like, ‘oh, I would feel a lot better if I had some protection here with them.’”
After spending a few hours in a classroom listening to safety protocols and practicing proper gun holds on the training guns, Farthing and Beadnell took the group down to the firing range.
Once there, everyone put on hats, eye protection, and ear protection. The instructors set up the tables with guns, clips, and ammo while attendees mingled and talked.
The hands-on instruction started with a demonstration and then the attendees split into groups of four. The nervous tension seemed to grow in each group as they prepared to take their turns at the targets. Beadnell and Farthing split up to assist each attendee as problems and questions arose. Once the tension settled, they were ready to shoot.
The first group got ready with their guns and positioned themselves in line with their targets. Beadnell blew her whistle and one by one, the shots rang out.
Beadnell and Farthing kept watch as everyone practiced. They corrected people’s stances, adapted their instructions to personal needs and checked every gun as they were placed down.
After practicing shooting multiple rounds in a row and managing misfires, everyone grouped back up. Farthing and Beadnell encouraged everyone to take a photo with their targets.
The class wound down with some final notes and holster education. Farthing and Beadnell reiterated the importance of personal safety throughout the class and emphasized the importance of people with different backgrounds and abilities feeling comfortable with firearms.
For attendees like Pruitt, the class gave a new perspective to view firearms through.
“I think we get it in our heads that guns can be a really violent, really dangerous thing,” Pruitt said. “ The class really taught us it's a tool, you know, you just need to learn how to use your tools safely.”
The OutFit organizers hope to offer another round of similar classes in the future.
“It's important that we have people operating them [guns] safely,” Bussey said. “They also need a place to come where they are safe, a safe space to learn about this stuff.”
