By Lucretia Hughes Klucken
HARTWELL, Ga. — Women from across the country are heading to Washington, D.C., this weekend for the Women for Gun Rights National Summit, bringing together mothers, daughters, grandmothers, veterans, firearms instructors, business owners and advocates united by a common mission: defending the Second Amendment and ensuring women have a voice in the national debate over gun rights.
The three-day summit runs Sept. 12-14 and will include training, policy discussions, grassroots advocacy, a rally near the U.S. Capitol and direct engagement with lawmakers. For the first time, the organization has opened its annual Washington gathering to all members, expanding an event that historically centered on state delegates and organized advocacy teams.
Women for Gun Rights describes itself as a nationwide, nonpartisan organization focused on protecting the Second Amendment through education, advocacy and responsible firearms ownership. The organization says its members believe firearm safety and violence prevention are best advanced through education rather than additional restrictions on law-abiding citizens.
The summit begins Saturday evening with a gala in Washington, followed Sunday by a full day of training designed to prepare attendees to communicate effectively about the Constitution, firearms policy and civic engagement. Scheduled sessions include leadership training, Civics 101, Second Amendment history, discussions about the current legal and political landscape and mock meetings with lawmakers and congressional staff.
Sunday afternoon, attendees are scheduled to gather on the west side of the U.S. Capitol for a public rally highlighting Second Amendment rights and the role women play in America’s firearms community. Organizers say the rally will give women from around the country an opportunity to stand publicly for constitutional freedoms while hearing from speakers and connecting with fellow advocates.
The weekend will continue Monday with a Capitol Hill experience that gives attendees an opportunity to engage directly with the political process and see firsthand how citizen advocacy intersects with public policy. The organization has also scheduled a limited White House briefing for registered participants who secured available seats.
But this summit is about more than meetings, speeches and political strategy.
It is about the women.
They are women with different backgrounds, different life experiences and different reasons for becoming involved in the Second Amendment movement.
Some are law enforcement veterans.
Some are survivors.
Some are competitive shooters and firearms instructors.
Some are mothers who began asking questions about how they could better protect their families.
Some are women who once supported additional gun-control measures before changing their views after learning more about firearms, self-defense and constitutional rights.
Others entered the fight after violence touched their families personally.
Women for Gun Rights was founded by Dianna Muller, a retired 22-year veteran of the Tulsa Police Department and two-time national 3-gun champion. Over the years, the organization has built a nationwide network of state directors, regional leaders and advocates who regularly travel to state capitals and Washington to meet with lawmakers.
Previous Women for Gun Rights advocacy trips have brought women from dozens of states to Capitol Hill. During its 2023 fly-in, for example, 65 women representing 45 states contacted more than 130 congressional offices while participating in training, rallies and meetings with lawmakers.
That history matters because the image of the American gun owner has changed.
Women are part of that change.
The debate over the Second Amendment is no longer a conversation that can be reduced to stereotypes about who owns firearms or why they choose to do so.
Women own firearms.
Women train.
Women teach.
Women compete.
Women hunt.
Women serve in law enforcement and the military.
Women defend their homes.
Women protect their children.
And women have every right to walk into the halls of Congress and tell lawmakers what the Second Amendment means in their own lives.
I will be among those women traveling to Washington this weekend as a delegate and speaker.
My reason for standing in this fight is deeply personal.
My 19-year-old son, Emmanuel, was killed by a convicted felon using an illegal firearm.
That tragedy did not teach me that law-abiding Americans should surrender their constitutional rights because criminals refuse to follow the law.
It taught me the opposite.
We must hold violent criminals accountable.
We must protect our communities.
And we must never confuse the actions of criminals with the rights of law-abiding citizens.
That is part of the message I will carry with me to Washington.
Women for Gun Rights has consistently argued that women should be empowered to become their own first responders and that firearm ownership can be part of personal safety and self-defense. The organization has also emphasized training, education and responsible ownership as central elements of its mission.
There will undoubtedly be political disagreements surrounding gun rights, as there always are.
But those disagreements should not erase the voices of millions of American women who believe the Constitution protects their right to defend themselves and their families.
This weekend, many of those women will be in Washington.
They will be learning.
They will be meeting lawmakers.
They will be standing on Capitol Hill.
They will be telling their stories.
And they will be reminding Washington that women are not merely spectators in the national debate over the Second Amendment.
They are part of it.
Different women.
Different stories.
Different reasons for showing up.
But one shared message:
Our voices matter.
Our safety matters.
And our constitutional rights matter.
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