Another, but much more detailed article on the changing groups supporting gun ownership, and yes, mostly for the reasons we were worried about - protection from hate crime, distrust in cops, etc.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/18/business/gun-control-debate-women-minorities/index.html
Actually worth reading, and it points out as to why they are against some gun control legislation, in that in many examples, it is disproportionately applied to POC
Those common-ground issues include opposing county pistol permit laws in states like North Carolina, where a recent University of North Carolina Law School study found Black Wake County residents in and around the city of Raleigh were nearly three times less likely to have a handgun license applications approved as their White counterparts.
The point that seems clear is one that has applied to the few people who have mentioned friends/family buying firearms during these few years (well, other than us hobbyists)
“The party lines just fall away when it becomes an issue of family or personal safety,” said Kelly Ann Pidgeon, a licensed firearms safety instructor and DC Project member who trains women at her Armed and Feminine gun range in Western Pennsylvania.
So yes, it seems to focus on fear, not a hopeful thought. I’m still holding out hope that if we as a nation can get our act together and once again consider working together rather than endlessly bickering, we might end up with everyone be willing to look at firearm safety from a POV where we’re not indulging in traditional power fantasies or as a tool to protect themselves from those who use such tools to oppress them. I guess that makes me an optimist, but it doesn’t make me feel like cheering.