Why 87% of Women Who Buy Guns Never Actually Carry Them—And How 314 "Armed Queens" Broke the Cycle

Dear Friend,

Let me tell you about a woman I met three years ago.

Her name was Maria. 37 years old. Married. Two beautiful kids.

She bought her first gun after a break-in in her neighborhood. The kind of break-in that makes you lie awake at night thinking: "What if they'd come when we were home?"

She was terrified. But she was also determined.

So Maria did what every responsible gun owner does:

She took a concealed carry course. She learned the fundamentals. She got her permit.

She even practiced at the range a few times.

For the first month, she carried her gun everywhere. In her purse. On her hip. Even just running errands.

She was finally prepared to protect her family.

But then...

The Gun Went Back in the Drawer

It started small.

First, she left it home when she went to Target. "Just this once. I'll only be 20 minutes."

Then she stopped carrying to church. "It feels weird carrying around all these people I know."

Then she stopped wearing it to work. "My boss might see the outline."

Within six months, Maria's gun was back in the nightstand drawer.

Right where it started.

And Maria went back to hoping nothing bad would ever happen to her family.

Sound familiar?

Here's Why You're Probably Going to Quit Too

If you own a firearm—or you're thinking about getting one—I need you to hear this:

Most women stop carrying within their first year.

Not because they're weak.

Not because they don't care.

Not because they can't handle it.

They stop because they're doing it alone.

And here's what nobody in the gun industry will tell you:

You can't do this alone.

The Brutal Truth About the Firearms Industry

Less than 8% of firearms instructors in America are women.

Let that sink in for a second.

92% of the people teaching you are men.

And here's what that means in practice:

• You walk into a gun store and get talked down to like you don't know what a magazine is.
• You show up to the range and feel eyes on you because you're the only woman there.
• You ask a basic question and get "mansplained" about grain weight, MOA, and "threat neutralization."
• You try to find a holster and everything is designed for a man's flat torso and square hips.
• You listen to instructors talk about tactical scenarios while thinking: "I just want to know what to do if someone tries to grab me in a parking lot."

You feel like you don't belong.

Not because firearms aren't for you.

But because the entire firearms industry was built by men, for men.

And they forgot to make space for you.

So you take one course. Maybe two.

You try to carry for a few weeks.

And then you quietly fade away.

Your gun goes back in the drawer. Your training materials get buried. Your confidence disappears.

And you're right back where you started: unprepared and alone.

Let me say that again:

More than HALF of active shooter attacks are stopped by armed civilians when they're legally allowed to carry.

But you'll never hear that stat on the news.

You'll never see it in a headline.

Because it destroys the narrative.

But here's what they really don't want you to know:

• The average police response time in America is 11 minutes.
• In some areas? 20 minutes or more.
• An active shooter incident is over in 5 minutes or less.

Do the math.

By the time law enforcement arrives, you're either alive because you defended yourself...

Or you're not.

The FBI knows it. Law enforcement knows it. The media knows it.

But they'd rather you believe that calling 911 and waiting is a viable strategy.

It's not.

Which is why being prepared isn't paranoia.

It's survival.

Meet Amara Barnes: The Woman Who Refused to Do This Alone

My name is Amara Barnes.

I'm the founder of the Women Gun Owners Association of America (WGOAA).

But before I built this organization, I was just like Maria.

I was a 911 dispatcher who saw the worst of humanity every single day.

I listened to women call for help while their attackers were already inside their homes.

I heard their voices crack as they begged someone—anyone—to save them.

And I knew the truth: Help wasn't coming fast enough.

So I got my carry permit. I trained. I practiced.

But I also felt the same isolation every armed woman feels:

• The men at the range who assumed I didn't know what I was doing.
• The holster companies who designed everything for male bodies.
• The instructors who taught tactics that worked great... if you're 6'2" and 210 pounds.

I realized something:

The gun industry wasn't built for women.

And if I wanted to stay prepared—if I wanted to help other women stay prepared—I needed to build something different.

So in 2023, I founded WGOAA.

Not another gun club where men tell you what to do.

Not another training course that treats you like a smaller version of a man.

But a sisterhood of armed women who refuse to be victims.

Women who made the decision.

Women who got the training.

Women who won't quit.

Introducing: The Armed Queens

Today, WGOAA is the only nationwide, female-only community for armed American women.

We're 314 members strong (and growing every week).

We call ourselves The Armed Queens.

Not because we're royalty.

But because we refuse to bow to fear.

And when you join us, you're not just getting access to training.

You're becoming part of the movement.

Here's Exactly What You Get as a WGOAA Member

But Here's What You're Really Getting...

Let me be completely honest.

Yes, the training library is valuable.

Yes, the live Tactical Talks are worth the price alone.

Yes, having expert instructors on-call is incredible.

But that's not why women join WGOAA.

They join because they refuse to be alone.

They join because they want to be part of something bigger.

They join because they tried the "guy way" and it didn't work.

They join because they want to be surrounded by women who made the same decision they did.

They join because they're tired of:

• Feeling judged at the range
• Getting talked down to at gun stores
• Being the only woman in every training course
• Pretending they have it all figured out when they don't
• Doing this completely alone

They join because they want to be part of the sisterhood.

What Members Are Saying

The Choice Is Yours

You can keep doing what you've been doing:

• Buying courses one at a time (and never finishing them)
• Searching YouTube for answers (and getting conflicting advice)
• Asking questions at the range (and getting mansplained to)
• Carrying for a few weeks (and then quietly quitting)

Or you can join 314 Armed Queens who made a different choice.

Women who refuse to be victims.

Women who refuse to quit.

Women who won't do this alone.

So here's my question:

Are you ready to be dangerous?