Lots of places have ladies’ night. Bars are probably the most famous, but more than a few gun ranges offer something similar where women are able to attend the range, shoot, and not feel like an island of estrogen in a sea of testosterone.

From a business aspect, it’s smart because it creates loyal customers who, after they’re comfortable, may come back on other days of the week.

Well, it’s smart unless you run into someone who thinks it’s a violation of his civil rights.

For the past several years, Riverside Magnum Gun Range held the weekly event waiving the $12 range fee for women. Firearms instructor John Galleta says the idea was to get women to learn how to properly handle a gun in a comfortable setting.

“They come in, they see other women, they don’t feel as intimidated when they see other women in here practicing,” Galleta said.

Ladies night was called off after owner Peter Lee received a letter from an Orange County man by the name of Gregory Rolando who claimed that waiving the fee for women is a form of discrimination and a violation of his civil rights.

Rolando then thanked Lee for his response, and then offered to drop any legal action in exchange for monetary compensation.

Lee referred to the suggestion as “extortion.”

Frankly, I can’t see it any other way myself.

Now, let’s keep in mind that Riverside Magnum Gun Range was apparently still open to men. There’s no mention of men being barred from the establishment, only that they got free range time. They still had to pay to rent firearms or buy ammo if they chose to, same as the guys. Basically, Lee offered a break to bring in clientele that might not otherwise show up.

For someone like Rolando, that can’t stand.

It seems that Riverside Magnum isn’t the only business Rolando has pulled this with. He’s also apparently done this with a car wash who offered ladies a discount.

Frankly, this is ridiculous.

I can’t help but wonder if Rolando has even set foot at this range, or any range for that matter. Is he even a shooter? A look at California’s firearms license database shows no Gregory Rolando, though that doesn’t necessarily mean he doesn’t shoot. After all, this is California we’re talking about here.

However, since this appears to be relatively common for Rolando, I suspect he’s not part of the gun community in any way. Instead, my opinion is that he’s an opportunist who thinks he’s striking a blow for men everywhere while putting a bit of money in his pocket.

Frankly, I can say that this isn’t the way I want anyone to speak for me.

Women tend to be more vulnerable to violent crime, as a group. I want to see more of them armed. I want to see more of them trained. I want to see them being able to thwart attacks so they never need fear people again.

Yet shooting is an activity more typically associated with men. For better or worse, it’s seen as a “guy” thing, and that makes it intimidating to many women. While the vast majority of gun guys I know are very welcoming to women, it doesn’t negate the intimidation factor.

Lee and Galleta were doing something good to overcome that, but instead we have a beta-male who proves just why we can’t have nice things.