by We don’t often associate positive media stories about women shooters with Chicago but CBS Chicago ran a story yesterday about the growth of women taking up shooting in the Chicagoland area.
Dianne McGrath used to spend her free time painting or doing needlework. But now her favorite pastime is shooting — something she thought she’d never do.
In fact, until last year, McGrath had never even touched a gun. It was her husband who encouraged her to learn to shoot for her own protection.
“You know, painting, needlework, guns. I don’t see what the problem is. It’s a really good progression,” she says of her new hobby. “It’s just another fun thing to do.”
McGrath says she’ll always remember the first time she fired a gun.
“It was a .22. I picked it up and I think I shook so bad I think the bullet went anywhere but where it was supposed to go,” she says, laughing.
But McGrath got better, and she was hooked. Now she says going to the range is actually more relaxing than needlework.
The only downside to this story is that CBS Chicago reporter Mai Martinez had to go to suburban DuPage County for it. I look forward to the not too distant future when we will see stories like this coming from within Chicago. When we do, it will be due to the legal work of attorneys Alan Gura and David Sigale and to courageous women like Rhonda Ezell and Colleen Lawson who paved the way.