Crowder is perhaps not the typical patron of a gun club.

But she is one of seven women learning to safely handle firearms at a shooting range in a suburb of Chicago, a city wracked by gun violence and a soaring murder rate. 

"My husband influenced me and we thought about it a long time. Maybe you need a gun these days, in your house at least," said Crowder, who lives in a gated community with her retired banker husband. 

A fellow retiree, Javondlynn Dunagan, came up with the idea of gun training classes geared toward women, and for the "Ladies of Steel" gun club -- after successful training, the women gather twice a month to practice their skills.