For some Asian-Americans, feeling safe means owning a gun amid more mass shootings
- For a growing number of Asian-Americans, owning a gun seems like the only way to feel safe following back-to-back shootings in California
- Advocacy groups say buying a gun is not the right way for the community to deal with fears, but a firearm trainer says ‘there’s a concern that things are getting out of control’
Guns have always made Lynn Kim nervous. She had never considered firing – let alone buying – one herself.
But that changed last week after two mass shootings in California, two days apart, carried out by older Asian-American men who targeted fellow Asian-Americans.
After hearing the news, Kim, who is Korean-American, told her husband: “It’s time. Honey, let’s research getting a gun.”
Kim, who is in her 40s, lives in West Los Angeles with her husband, their middle school-aged daughter and her mother. Her greatest fear is a “terrible stranger” breaking into their home while her mom is alone.
“I’m a little afraid of weapons. I’m much more afraid if we’re attacked. I can’t let anything hurt my family,” said Kim, a human resources employee who is studying up on guns and plans to watch YouTube videos on the basics of handling a firearm.