A Chat With NRA Women’s Ann Smith
The National Rifle Association Publications have many areas of coverage. Ann Smith, the editor-in-chief of NRA Women, told Bearing Arms about her role and what’s going on in that arena. While attending the 2026 National Rifle Association Annual Meeting, Smith stopped by to discuss NRA Women. This interview was made possible by Beretta Holding, the sponsor of the Voices of the Second Amendment at the NRAAM. “I did not come from a gun-owning family,” Smith told Bearing Arms. “I didn't come from an anti gun family (either).” It wasn’t until she had a boyfriend that wanted to take her shooting that she got exposed to firearms. She said that she "obliged" to his request. Over the 25 years Smith has been at the NRA, she’s worn several different hats. In the 2000s, Smith was the executive editor for a women’s magazine the Association used to publish. She was also the first woman editor on…