Locked, loaded and ready to defend: More women buying and learning to use guns

RIVERSIDE COUNTY (FOX 11) - More than ever, women are exercising their constitutional right to bear arms.

On a Saturday morning in Riverside County, FOX 11 caught up with a class at an Inland Empire gun range.

Julianna Fitz has been coming ever since a home invasion rocked her neighborhood. With recent uptick in crime, she's determined not to be a victim.

Many of these women grew up never having touched a gun, which is why they're here, and find they are actually better than their male counterparts.

The program's organizer, Alex Chavez, said almost all the students are women and they learn faster than men.

"Women tend to shoot better than men because they don't have a preconceived notion on how to shoot," Chavez said. "The men will come in and say, 'I know how to shoot. I've been doing it for a long time.' You see it, and it doesn't work."

What's happening in Riverside County is part of growing national trend, with concerns over crime, mass shootings and terrorism fueling an increase in the number of women who own guns.

Watch Zohreen Adamjee's full report above.

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