CORTLANDT, N.Y. – With the smell of fresh pine and gunpowder in the air, Jay Werner reloaded his Ruger LC9s semiautomatic pistol. A Star of David hung around his neck. He squinted one eye, took aim at the steel target down range, and the sound of full metal jacket rounds firing cut through the silence. “We […]
Menej ako 1 min. min.
CORTLANDT, N.Y. – With the smell of fresh pine and gunpowder in the air, Jay Werner reloaded his Ruger LC9s semiautomatic pistol. A Star of David hung around his neck. He squinted one eye, took aim at the steel target down range, and the sound of full metal jacket rounds firing cut through the silence.
“We have some of the highest rates of antisemitism in the country,” Werner told Straight Arrow News after his shooting practice at a suburban New York City gun club for Jewish people called Lox & Loaded.
“Being Jewish, I have to fear for my life every day, wherever I go,” Werner, a native New Yorker, said. “I don’t expect the police to protect me 24/7. …The only person I can depend on to protect me is me.”
Werner is one of a growing number of Jewish people investing in firearms for self-defense — even in New York, a state known for some of the nation’s strictest gun laws. Just last month, the 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a law that bans firearms in sensitive locations, such as in New York City’s subway and Times Square — a ruling that could be appealed to the Supreme Court.
New Yorkers are only half as likely to own guns as all American adults, in part because of the state’s strict laws. It was the first state to require a license for handguns and the first to allow survivors of gun violence to hold the gun industry liable in court. In 2013, after a mass shooting at an elementary school in nearby Newtown, Connecticut, the state tightened the definition of assault weapons, required more stringent background checks and limited magazine sizes and the registration of certain firearms.
But a rise in antisemitism, along with the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks in Israel, has spurred the growth of organizations like Lox & Loaded, which describes itself as a “Jewish Owned and Operated Shooting Club.” It has opened three chapters in New York and plans another later this year, responding to a growing demand in the Jewish community for using guns for self-defense. One poll found that 56% of Jewish people said they have altered their behavior out of fear of antisemitism and hate crimes.
Werner, one of the Westchester chapter’s first members, recalled an antisemitic experience that shaped him as a 12-year-old boy waiting for a school bus in Queens, New York.
“I got jumped from behind by two guys who beat the snot out of me, called me a ‘dirty Jew,’” Werner said. “Do I recognize there is absolutely a threat out there of antisemitism and it’s growing exponentially on a daily basis? Yes, I do. Do I think that Jews should learn how to defend themselves? Absolutely. Is learning how to use a firearm part of that? Absolutely, as well.”
Download the SAN app today to stay up-to-date with Unbiased. Straight Facts™.
Point phone camera here
Antisemitism prompts Jewish gun practice
Last year marked the second-highest year for hate crimes since the FBI started keeping records in 1991. Though Jewish people make up just 2% of the U.S. population, the FBI said that 70% of hate crimes last year involved antisemitic attacks.
Lox & Loaded operates 21 clubs nationally and plans to open five more this year. Its rapid expansion reflects a growing demand in the Jewish community to practice self defense and carry firearms.
“After October 7… [we] felt the need to do something, to physically and mentally help the community, help other people,” Lox & Loaded instructor and spokesperson Gayle Pearlstein told SAN. “Instead of donating money or volunteering … being a firearms instructor, why not train? Why not make it easier for people in the community and allies to get proper, safe training?”
About half of members already owned guns or had used a gun before. Some, like Werner, had been shooting since childhood.
Werner said he loves practicing with members who are new to firearms.
“They come here and expect guns to have unlimited amounts of bullets in them,” he said. “On TV, guns have a million bullets in them, but in real life, you have to reload. … It’s encouraging to see people outside of their regular everyday life. … Getting to know people is a great aspect of this.”
Werner said he’s also noticed more of his Jewish friends, who’ve never owned firearms, want to buy Glocks and military-style rifles.
“They suddenly realize that in New York, it’s not as easy as it is on TV to get a gun,” Werner said. “You need a permit. Before you get your permit, there’s a class. … One of the craziest things in New York state that I know of is in Westchester County, if you’re getting a handgun permit, you have to actually buy the handgun before you can get the permit to legally own the handgun that you just paid for. So every gun store owner essentially is renting you space on their shelf for you to wait however many months or years it takes your paperwork and everything to clear.”
Rise in Jewish gun owners
Historically, Jewish Americans have been more averse to gun ownership than other religious denominations. Studies have shown that white evangelicals and conservative Protestants are more likely to own guns.
A 2018 poll from the American Jewish Committee found that 70% of Jewish people interviewed said the need for gun control outweighed protecting the right to own firearms.
Anecdotal evidence — including the growth of the Lox & Loaded clubs — suggests this could be changing.
‘They never thought they’d have a gun’
In the United States, 40% of men own guns, while 25% of women own guns. At Lox & Loaded, more than one-third of members are female.
“Most of them are first-time gun owners,” Pearlstein said. “They’ve never touched a gun in their life, they’ve never touched a firearm, never touched a rifle or pistol. Never had an interest until this year.
“There is a quiet shift,” she continued. “A lot of people from all ages, mostly the older generations, are saying now is the time. People are scared. People are scared to go to synagogues. People are scared to be in Jewish communities. … A lot of people right now need to think of themselves and their families, and they’re looking for a safe way to protect themselves.”
When they’re armed, she said, “they feel safe and they feel empowered.”
Many members feel learning to shoot is necessary, said Ian Friedman, another Lox & Loaded spokesperson.
“They never thought they’d have a gun,” he told SAN. “What we hear is, ‘We really needed this, thank you.’ That’s why we know we’re on the right track.”
It’s not for everybody
New Yorkers strongly support gun control laws, and Lox & Loaded has experienced pushback as it expands.
“There are people who post anonymous comments from time to time who are critical of the organization for reasons that vary from opposition to firearms, all the way to the other side, which is blatant antisemitism,” Freidman said. “We expected that. We knew it wouldn’t be for everyone. But it’s open to anyone in the Jewish community and its allies who want self empowerment, empowerment of the community as a whole, by way of learning about self defense.”
contributed to this report.
