For better or worse, some women aren’t comfortable training with male shooting instructors. This is especially true when someone is first starting out as a shooter. Furthermore, men and women sometimes have different approaches to problems, which may make some women more likely to want to gravitate toward a female for instruction. It’s not sexism, necessarily, just comfort.

Plus, frankly, sometimes even experienced women shooters want some time with other women who share their interest in firearms. To be fair, there are a lot of reasons a woman might prefer to be in the company of women for a short time. Again, it’s not sexism.

For those ladies, there’s some good news. The NRA’s “For Women By Women” Rifle Instructor Training registration is now open.

Registration is open for NRA’s “For Women By Women” Rifle Instructor Training Course, scheduled for Aug 10-12, 2018, at NRA Headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia!

The course, taught by experienced NRA Certified Instructor and Lead Women’s Program Training Coordinator Diane Danielson, will provide the instruction and training necessary to earn NRA Certified Instructor credentials in the Rifle discipline. Designed by a female NRA instructor exclusively for women and taught in a women-only class, this course provides a comfortable environment for women looking to take the next step in their firearm instructor careers in a curriculum catered to their specific needs.

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Completion of the NRA Basic Rifle Course is required prior to the start of the class. Find an NRA Basic Rifle Course near you by clicking and searching here.

As a bonus, those who take the course will also receive the NRA Home Firearm Safety Instructor training and certification free of charge.

I’m not going to go into more pontification on why women need a course all to themselves. Frankly, it doesn’t matter.

What matters is that as more women become shooters, the more they become instructors, the more the image of gun owner meaning “good old boy with a lump of chewing tobacco in his mouth and a hatred for anyone not of his skin pigmentation” continues to fracture. That makes it harder to dehumanize gun owners as a group.

If part of helping that happen is women-only training, so be it.

Frankly, I don’t particularly care, though I suspect someone will get all bent out of shape because they figure male-only training would get lambasted. The thing is, none of that should matter.

What matters is more people being trained, more people learning how to train others, and more people with certifications that can help make them part of the new face of gun ownership in America.

If you’re a woman who is remotely interested in something like this, I want to encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity. Learn, then teach others. Expand your knowledge and then share that knowledge. The more people know, the more gun owners know, the better off we all are.

While the NRA’s basic courses are, well, pretty basic, they’re still training that many people desperately need. So give it a shot!