Women Gun Rights Activists to Gather at Shooting Range for International Women’s Day

Billed as ‘National Women’s Range Day,’ the March 9 event will promote women’s exercise of their Second Amendment rights and self-defense.

Members of the public shoot a variety of rifles and other weapons at a shooting range during the Rod of Iron Freedom Festival in Greeley, Pa., on Oct. 9, 2022. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

In June 1917, Mrs. Ida Powell Priest of New York City was commander-in-chief of the American Women’s League for Self-Defense, a group of 500 women trained to take up arms to defend themselves and their country if the need arose.

According to an archival article in the General Federation of Women’s Clubs Magazine, Mrs. Powell’s focus was on defense.