By State Rep. Stefani Carter
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas Republican delegates at the Tampa Bay National Convention last week approved a
strong pro-gun platform that includes among other things supporting national legislation to expand Concealed Carry Rights. As a Republican state lawmaker and National Rifle Association member as is GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney I applaud the position. But there are many other supporters of gun rights who are not here in attendance
and their identity might surprise you says Carter (R-Dallas.)
What is the fastest-growing demographic group in my state of Texas seeking concealed handgun licenses? Black women.
As a former prosecutor I understand why they are choosing to arm themselves.
In 2009 U.S. black women were murdered at a rate nearly two and a half times higher than white women. More than 90 of black women killed by males in single-victim incidents knew their killers.
But the upward trend of seeking weapons is not isolated to black women. More women are packing heat. The percentage of women who report personal gun ownership is now at 23.
Nationally GOP women 30 to 44 years old and who live in rural areas are the fastest-growing group of gun owners.
This can be attributed to guns becoming more affordable and more states expanding concealed carry rights.
Take Texas. During the last session a measure allowing citizens to store concealed handguns in their vehicles while at work which I co-authored became law. Many states including Texas have also passed stand your ground laws allowing citizens to protect themselves on their own property against intruders
and thieves.
Although the George Zimmerman shooting case has put this issue in a negative light this is an important right.
One reason: black-on-black crime.
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics 93 of the more than 8000 black homicide victims in 2005 were murdered by someone of their own race. Of those 8000 victims 15 were women.
Also blacks account for only 13.1 of the U.S. population but are nearly half of the homicide victims in the country.
With numbers like these it is imperative that we learn how to use guns to defend ourselves.
Our 2nd Amendment right is an important freedom that extends to all Americans not just male but also female; not just white but also black including African-American women.
Stefani Carter is seeking her 2nd term in the Texas House representing District 102 which includes parts of the cities of Dallas Richardson & Garland. A former Collin County 
prosecutor and Harvard Law School graduate Carter serves on the Committees on Criminal Jurisprudence and Energy Resources. A National Rifle Association member the James A. Baker Institute at Rice University ranked Carter the 32nd most conservative Member of the 2011 Texas House of Representatives.
