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MPS Y2K Gun Safety Rally in the Missouri Capitol Rotunda - March 15 2000FEATURED SPEAKER
Martina Jackson RagainCoach - South Side Shooting Stars Junior Rifle Club - St. Louis
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Hello responsible firearm owners of Missouri, and thank you for supporting this gun safety rally! I'm here to say a few words about junior safety issues, junior smallbore rifle competition and welcoming more women into the sport of smallbore rifle. My name is Martina Jackson Ragain. As a junior smallbore rifle competitor I experienced the joy of competition all over America with my father, Lowell Jackson and my older brother, Jim. Every single experience I have had in the sportshooting world has been a positive one. Let me repeat that ... EVERY SINGLE EXPERIENCE I HAVE HAD IN THE SPORTSHOOTING WORLD HAS BEEN A POSITIVE ONE! These experiences led me to a college shooting scholarship and my brother into high-power and running target competition. Jim went on to train with the U. S. Olympic Team and my father became an Olympic Scoring Judge and worked at the '84 Olympics. Just as I received responsible firearm instruction from my dad, today I am able to share my love of sportshooting with others. I am happily married and the mother of three fine young men. I serve on the Board of the Missouri Arms Collector's Association. And recently, with the help of a wonderful mentor, Henry Ragogna and my husband Scott, Jim and I re-organized the South Side Shooting Stars Junior Rifle Club, which my father originally founded in 1974. Our junior rifle club is blessed with the involvement of fourteen extraordinary juniors, four of whom are young ladies. We receive a lot of parental support. Also, in an effort to further enrich the lives of our juniors, we participate in community projects and help raise funds for the Missouri Special Olympics. The paramount responsibility of our fledgling organization has always been to not only introduce juniors to the lifelong fun of sportshooting but to outline a classroom program which instills one simple fact: sportshooting can only be fun when it is done safely! To that end, I require our juniors to take twelve hours of classroom safety / sportshooting instruction given by NRA Certified Instructors. In addition both the juniors and their parents must participate in the NRA Home Firearm Safety Course. All of this was done before a single shot was fired at the range. Because the juniors had no prior firearm experience, they had no bad habits to overcome. It was our intent to instill firearm safety and range etiquette as a natural aspect of sportshooting. Because, if we aren't safe, we can't have fun. As NRA Training Counselor Father John Patrick Day related to me, the NRA is the preeminent authority regarding firearm safety. The NRA is a resource we as parents and instructors must utilize to the fullest extent. Parental responsibility and pro-active educational activities such as the Eddie Eagle program teach juniors properly and responsibly about firearm safety! I would like to encourage parents to allow their juniors the opportunity to look into the benefits the sport of smallbore rifle shooting has to offer. Juniors enjoy learning the responsibilities associated with the sport in a highly partipatory, yet structured environment utilizing training and visual aids. Just as participating in music and art enhances learning capabilities in other areas, there are intangible benefits associated with competitive smallbore as well: such as increased mental stamina and concentration techniques, physical endurance and flexibility as well as the possibility of smallbore college scholarships. The greatest benefits are the relationships juniors build with others in the sport, young or old. I have found many that will generously volunteer their time and expertise to educate juniors. It has also been my experience that I am never too old to learn. Now I would like to appeal to you women out there. Young or old, if you haven't tried the sport of smallbore rifle, please give it a try. I would really love to see more women involved in sportshooting and I would love to see the women of Missouri become more participatory in the NRA. It has been my experience that women and men are pretty much on a level playing field in the shooting sports. I believe the future of both the NRA and the shooting sports is largely dependent upon the involvement of women and youth. With the foundation of the WNBA and the recent popularity of the U. S. women's soccer team, women are in the sports forefront more than ever. With regard to the shooting sports and the NRA, statistically women are an untapped resource. At all the competitions I attended as a junior, I was always in the minority and because of that I was treated differently; not poorly, but often I was either catered to or treated as if I needed more guidance than the male participants ... that was until the scores were posted. Again, thank you for the opportunity to share my love of the sport with you. And, on a personal note on behalf of the South Side Shooting Stars Junior Rifle Club I wish to extend my heartfelt gratitude to those of you (and you know who you are) who have given our junior rifle club so much support. I am overwhelmed by your dedication to the junior shooting sports. Martina Jackson Ragain March 15 2000 Jefferson City Missouri
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