Minorities form their own groups
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/page1/ledger/f27d0b.html
04/12/00
By Brian T. Murray
STAFF WRITER
Leaning across a wood bench, Adam Moises steadied his AR-15 rifle, peered into the mounted scope and squeezed off five thunderous rounds that echoed throughout the ledge rocks of wooded Highland Lakes.
As the acrid smell of gunpowder spread through the mountain air, he leaned back with a slow-growing smile, pleased the pattern of his shots 100 yards away were tight enough to cover with a beer coaster.
It was a recent Sunday afternoon, and Moises was at a Sussex County shooting range with about 10 others in his group -- The 1521 Sportsman Association of Teaneck, a gun club formed two years ago by people with one thing in common: all 70 are Filipino.
"We enjoy shooting -- and hunting, fishing and just being together," said Moises, the club president.
Your average American gun club member is still white and male almost anywhere in the country, but tradition is changing in New Jersey where Filipinos, African-Americans and women are splintering off to form their own clubs and shooting events.
More than 150 blacks, Latinos and Asians are registered to attend two days of gun training in June at the same Sussex County range where the 1521 Association shoots. It is owned and operated by an umbrella gun organization called the Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs.
Last year, 130 women turned out for the first Women's Day at the Range under the same Highland Lakes ledges.
"I don't recall seeing or hearing about anything like it across the country, let alone in New Jersey," said John Healey, chairman of the Association of Rifle and Pistol Clubs.
"We've had people of different minority backgrounds at the range, of course, but they seem to be getting more and more organized as groups. Rather than a couple shooting together now and then, we see large groups, especially the Filipino group and women's groups, more and more," he added.
The Minorities' Day is being sponsored by the Tenth Cavalry Gun Club of Newton, a group of 25 black gun enthusiasts. The members of the Tenth borrowed the club name from the African-American "Buffalo Soldiers," who fought with Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders.
"Slaves and even freemen, unless they had a note from their master, couldn't have a weapon, not even a sharp stick," said Percy Bennett, president of the New Jersey chapter. "Most of the rights we have for the common man are because of legal battles fought by black people in this nation, and gun rights are included."
While the 57-year-old retired military man says he has participated in integrated gun clubs over the years, he prefers his African-American gun club.
"I've belonged to many clubs, and I wouldn't say there was any overt racism. But there is a difference between feeling tolerated and being with a group where you can have a good time. That's part of the reason for the Tenth Cavalry," he said.
Mary Youngquist, 40, of Wayne says she first picked up a gun four years ago in order to protect herself and her 12-year-old daughter. Now Youngquist, too, is a firearms instructor. She sits on the board of trustees of the Association of Rifle and Pistol Clubs and organizes women-only shooting matches, training programs and gun-rights lobbying trips to Trenton.
"The stereotype is grounded in reality. It's still largely a white, male thing. But women are the fastest-growing single group taking interest in gun ownership," said professor Mary Zeiss Stange, author of "Woman the Hunter" and co-author of "Gun Women: Firearms and Feminism in America Today."
A former Rutherford native who teaches feminist studies and religion at Skidmore College in New York, Stange said women picking up guns is more than the "flavor of the month" topic it was 10 years ago.
"Gender identities have been changing. It was easier for women to identify themselves as victims of male gun violence, and many feminist groups perpetuated that," Stange said. "But now many women are turning to guns for self-protection and because they enjoy shooting sports, and they are comfortable with it. It's no longer a gender issue for them."
Finding other women shooting and collecting guns, said Youngquist, helped her get beyond the awkwardness of going into a store to buy a gun from condescending male retailers. She owns a .38-caliber revolver and a shotgun.
"The mystique is gone. Guns aren't a good ol' boy thing, and once I found other women who were shooting, that was it. We tend to do a lot of our own things now," said Youngquist.
While perplexed by the emergence of minority gun clubs and women shooting events, gun-control advocates are not alarmed.
"I'm no fan of increasing ownership of guns, but we have never opposed the legitimate use of firearms, such as the shooting sports," said Bryan Miller, executive director of Cease Fire New Jersey, the state's largest gun-control organization.
Still, Miller prefers to see gun clubs concentrate more on debunking what he called a misconception that guns are part of the historic American landscape.
"As soon as more people see guns as inherently dangerous products and potential liabilities, people will view gun violence as a public safety and health problem," he added.
John Rosenthal agreed. He is a board member of Handgun Control in Washington, D.C., and founder of Stop Handgun Violence in Massachusetts, the only state in the nation to license and register guns.
"I don't think gun clubs are a problem. Most are extremely responsible and respectful of firearms. I'm all for people learning to use firearms safely," he added.
Bennett said about half of his comrades in the Tenth Cavalry hunt deer or bear (in neighboring states) while others stick almost exclusively to the target range. The same holds true for the 1521 Association.
Women have been moving from the range into the field to stalk game, said professor Stange, who has been hunting for over 15 years.
In her book, "Woman the Hunter," she contends that women were common in hunting circles in the early part of the last century -- "before changing social mores pushed them back indoors."
Opinions about gun control among minority and female gun owners are varied. Some agree there should be restrictions on certain assault weapons, while others favor enacting laws allowing any citizen with an unblemished record to carry a sidearm.
Most of them, like Bennett, fear that the public debate on gun control has become dominated by extremists seeking to ban firearms.
Specific trends in gun ownership are unclear because there is neither a national firearms registry nor registry in most states. A rise in women members has been reported by gun clubs throughout the nation. But the NRA also does not keep tabs on the race or gender of gun-owners.
"We've never kept numbers on anything like this, so I can't tell you statistically what we're seeing," said Jim Manown of the National Rifle Association. "But women have been organizing their own events, and there is a growing interest within the different minority groups themselves to go out into the community and get others involved in shooting sports."
That type of common identity fueled The 1521 Sportsmen Association. The 1521 Association took its name from the date explorer Ferdinand Magellan was killed in the Philippines, when Filipinos began to fight back against the Spanish conquerors.
"We started with about four of us, and then word spread," said Pedro Reyes, a bank manager and the 1521 club's liaison. "I think it is a combination of being interested in firearms, hunting and fishing, and being Filipino that brought us together."
Organizers of "Minorities' Day at the Range," this June 10 and 24, say they hope the events help demystify guns and destroy the macho, gangster image of firearms among young inner-city people, Bennett said. The Tenth Cavalry's goal is to create 300 firearms experts who will return to their neighborhoods to debunk pop-culture stigmas surrounding guns, while acting as a community teacher about gun safety.
A black policeman also will be on hand to talk to participants.
"The most endangered species in this nation is the young black man, and there are a lot of social reasons for that, that have nothing to do with firearms," Bennett said.
"But if you want to do something about kids and guns, especially in urban minority areas, you expose a young person to the proper use of firearms. You take away the gangster ideas, and you generally find that the kid doesn't get into trouble with firearms," he added.
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/page1/ledger/f27d0b.html
04/12/00
By Brian T. Murray
STAFF WRITER
Leaning across a wood bench, Adam Moises steadied his AR-15 rifle, peered into the mounted scope and squeezed off five thunderous rounds that echoed throughout the ledge rocks of wooded Highland Lakes.
As the acrid smell of gunpowder spread through the mountain air, he leaned back with a slow-growing smile, pleased the pattern of his shots 100 yards away were tight enough to cover with a beer coaster.
It was a recent Sunday afternoon, and Moises was at a Sussex County shooting range with about 10 others in his group -- The 1521 Sportsman Association of Teaneck, a gun club formed two years ago by people with one thing in common: all 70 are Filipino.
"We enjoy shooting -- and hunting, fishing and just being together," said Moises, the club president.
Your average American gun club member is still white and male almost anywhere in the country, but tradition is changing in New Jersey where Filipinos, African-Americans and women are splintering off to form their own clubs and shooting events.
More than 150 blacks, Latinos and Asians are registered to attend two days of gun training in June at the same Sussex County range where the 1521 Association shoots. It is owned and operated by an umbrella gun organization called the Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs.
Last year, 130 women turned out for the first Women's Day at the Range under the same Highland Lakes ledges.
"I don't recall seeing or hearing about anything like it across the country, let alone in New Jersey," said John Healey, chairman of the Association of Rifle and Pistol Clubs.
"We've had people of different minority backgrounds at the range, of course, but they seem to be getting more and more organized as groups. Rather than a couple shooting together now and then, we see large groups, especially the Filipino group and women's groups, more and more," he added.
The Minorities' Day is being sponsored by the Tenth Cavalry Gun Club of Newton, a group of 25 black gun enthusiasts. The members of the Tenth borrowed the club name from the African-American "Buffalo Soldiers," who fought with Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders.
"Slaves and even freemen, unless they had a note from their master, couldn't have a weapon, not even a sharp stick," said Percy Bennett, president of the New Jersey chapter. "Most of the rights we have for the common man are because of legal battles fought by black people in this nation, and gun rights are included."
While the 57-year-old retired military man says he has participated in integrated gun clubs over the years, he prefers his African-American gun club.
"I've belonged to many clubs, and I wouldn't say there was any overt racism. But there is a difference between feeling tolerated and being with a group where you can have a good time. That's part of the reason for the Tenth Cavalry," he said.
Mary Youngquist, 40, of Wayne says she first picked up a gun four years ago in order to protect herself and her 12-year-old daughter. Now Youngquist, too, is a firearms instructor. She sits on the board of trustees of the Association of Rifle and Pistol Clubs and organizes women-only shooting matches, training programs and gun-rights lobbying trips to Trenton.
"The stereotype is grounded in reality. It's still largely a white, male thing. But women are the fastest-growing single group taking interest in gun ownership," said professor Mary Zeiss Stange, author of "Woman the Hunter" and co-author of "Gun Women: Firearms and Feminism in America Today."
A former Rutherford native who teaches feminist studies and religion at Skidmore College in New York, Stange said women picking up guns is more than the "flavor of the month" topic it was 10 years ago.
"Gender identities have been changing. It was easier for women to identify themselves as victims of male gun violence, and many feminist groups perpetuated that," Stange said. "But now many women are turning to guns for self-protection and because they enjoy shooting sports, and they are comfortable with it. It's no longer a gender issue for them."
Finding other women shooting and collecting guns, said Youngquist, helped her get beyond the awkwardness of going into a store to buy a gun from condescending male retailers. She owns a .38-caliber revolver and a shotgun.
"The mystique is gone. Guns aren't a good ol' boy thing, and once I found other women who were shooting, that was it. We tend to do a lot of our own things now," said Youngquist.
While perplexed by the emergence of minority gun clubs and women shooting events, gun-control advocates are not alarmed.
"I'm no fan of increasing ownership of guns, but we have never opposed the legitimate use of firearms, such as the shooting sports," said Bryan Miller, executive director of Cease Fire New Jersey, the state's largest gun-control organization.
Still, Miller prefers to see gun clubs concentrate more on debunking what he called a misconception that guns are part of the historic American landscape.
"As soon as more people see guns as inherently dangerous products and potential liabilities, people will view gun violence as a public safety and health problem," he added.
John Rosenthal agreed. He is a board member of Handgun Control in Washington, D.C., and founder of Stop Handgun Violence in Massachusetts, the only state in the nation to license and register guns.
"I don't think gun clubs are a problem. Most are extremely responsible and respectful of firearms. I'm all for people learning to use firearms safely," he added.
Bennett said about half of his comrades in the Tenth Cavalry hunt deer or bear (in neighboring states) while others stick almost exclusively to the target range. The same holds true for the 1521 Association.
Women have been moving from the range into the field to stalk game, said professor Stange, who has been hunting for over 15 years.
In her book, "Woman the Hunter," she contends that women were common in hunting circles in the early part of the last century -- "before changing social mores pushed them back indoors."
Opinions about gun control among minority and female gun owners are varied. Some agree there should be restrictions on certain assault weapons, while others favor enacting laws allowing any citizen with an unblemished record to carry a sidearm.
Most of them, like Bennett, fear that the public debate on gun control has become dominated by extremists seeking to ban firearms.
Specific trends in gun ownership are unclear because there is neither a national firearms registry nor registry in most states. A rise in women members has been reported by gun clubs throughout the nation. But the NRA also does not keep tabs on the race or gender of gun-owners.
"We've never kept numbers on anything like this, so I can't tell you statistically what we're seeing," said Jim Manown of the National Rifle Association. "But women have been organizing their own events, and there is a growing interest within the different minority groups themselves to go out into the community and get others involved in shooting sports."
That type of common identity fueled The 1521 Sportsmen Association. The 1521 Association took its name from the date explorer Ferdinand Magellan was killed in the Philippines, when Filipinos began to fight back against the Spanish conquerors.
"We started with about four of us, and then word spread," said Pedro Reyes, a bank manager and the 1521 club's liaison. "I think it is a combination of being interested in firearms, hunting and fishing, and being Filipino that brought us together."
Organizers of "Minorities' Day at the Range," this June 10 and 24, say they hope the events help demystify guns and destroy the macho, gangster image of firearms among young inner-city people, Bennett said. The Tenth Cavalry's goal is to create 300 firearms experts who will return to their neighborhoods to debunk pop-culture stigmas surrounding guns, while acting as a community teacher about gun safety.
A black policeman also will be on hand to talk to participants.
"The most endangered species in this nation is the young black man, and there are a lot of social reasons for that, that have nothing to do with firearms," Bennett said.
"But if you want to do something about kids and guns, especially in urban minority areas, you expose a young person to the proper use of firearms. You take away the gangster ideas, and you generally find that the kid doesn't get into trouble with firearms," he added.
