Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
One Million United wants women to embrace self-defense. It's certainly no secret that the vast majority of the gun industry is made up of males, but one northern Nevada-based non-profit group is targeting women in an effort to educate them not only about the fundamental right to bear arms, but the overall importance of personal protection.
While in its early stages, One Million United is still blossoming. It's the mind child of three women - Vicki Kawelmacher, Alisha Ketter and Amanda Collins — who all have a story and now a mission.
During her fourth year at the University of Nevada Reno, Amanda Collins was raped at gunpoint in the parking garage of her school, less than 50 feet from the campus police station, which had closed four hours prior to her attack. With a gun to her temple, she knew that her life was hanging by the thread of a trigger pull. And her concealed carry permit and her handgun did nothing to protect her that night because the law prevented her from legally carrying her gun on campus - a law that her attacker simply ignored and later went on to rape another woman before raping and killing a third.
Alisha Ketter, the national coordinator for OMU, had become the victim of a robbery and assault on more than one occasion in her native state of California. But when she decided it was time to arm herself for her own protection, she learned how closely gun control hit home.
"This was the beginning of my struggle with gun control laws," Ketter recalled. "California has some of the strictest laws in the nation and even after you manage to purchase a firearm, chances are you won't have it available if you need it for self-defense. Concealed Carry Permits are rarely issued and One Million United wants women to embrace self-defense. Concealed Carry Permits are rarely issued and gun storage laws in California effectively disarm the populace."