Well, actually I do. I saw this little gem pop up on MSN today: Man Stabs 28 Children.
Really? I know that the mental health system is shaky at best in China and that they're blaming this recent rash of attacks on the mentally ill. But really? Attacking four year-olds?
The school officials have admitted that security could be improved. You think? A man walked into a kindergarten, slashed his way through a security guard and two teachers before carving up the kids.
Now, I know some of you are expecting me to jump on here and spout off that the teachers or security guards should have been armed. After all, I am GunDiva. But guess what? I'm not going to. I'm not sure that this could have/would have been prevented by an armed employee. The attacker was subdued by a delivery man with a fire extinguisher. Remember, that our best defense is our brain. The delivery man used his brain and a handy weapon to subdue the attacker.
Anything - and I mean anything - can be used as a weapon. We just need to open our eyes and our minds. Just because the bad guys have a gun (or a knife) and we don't doesn't mean the battle is over, it just means we need to use our brains and be a little more inventive in our choice of defensive weapons.
I'm not trying to scare anyone by saying that anything can be used as a weapon; that's not my point at all. We shouldn't be afraid because anything can be used as a weapon, we should be empowered!
And, wow, this post went in a totally different direction than I thought it would, but I'm not changing a thing about it. I will, however, get to where I thought I was going. One of the best gifts we can give our children is the gift of knowing that they can defend themselves no matter how small they are. The confidence that they can do something about "bad guys" is the best gift we can give them. The thing that broke my heart about this attack (besides the fact that some deranged madman attacked four year-olds) is that, by culture, Chinese children are obedient and subordinate. Sometimes, it's good for children to be disobedient and insubordinate.
Of course, news like this is bound to make any parent anxious. Heck, any news at all is bound to make parents anxious. I am an unabashed fan of Gavin de Becker's work. When Crazy B was stalking me (yes, I know we haven't gotten to that point yet), I found a lot of comfort in Mr. de Becker's work. As my children became more independent and wanted to do things "all by themselves", I found comfort in Mr. de Becker's work. Because of that, I'm going to give away a copy of THE GIFT OF FEAR and a copy of PROTECTING THE GIFT to two of our commenters. Be sure to comment before midnight (MST) on Sunday, May 2nd to be eligible for the drawing.
Those of you who have read de Becker will think it's rather funny that I'm touting his books because he comes across as very anti-gun. He's a man who carries a gun for a living and hires people who carry guns for living. My interpretation (I've never had the opportunity to meet the man face-to-face) is that he's anti-gun in the respect that people buy guns to "protect themselves", but are not fully trained or mentally capable of taking another's life. In that, I support him. There is a definite mindset about carrying for protection, but we'll explore that at another time.
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Thursday, April 29, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
You Never Know Who May Shoot, Too....
Just a quick note, of something humorous that happened today. For those of you not familiar with the events in my life of the past two months, my husband has been pretty sick. We were recently able to discover the root cause of his problem, and through much trial, error, stress, and a heavy dose of persistence by moi, we hooked him up with a local surgeon.
Now, my Dear Husband is also a Range Master and does some Firearms Instruction for his full time job. He has a variety of people that come to him for help with their pistols, and about three-ish weeks back he came home and told me about tweaking a trigger on a 1911. Time passed, and neither of us thought anything else of it.
Today it came back to him though. Today he met his surgeon for the first time. The Doctor walked into the exam room, took one look at Dear Husband and said, "I know you!" It took Dear Husband a moment to place him, but when the Doctor said, "You did a trigger job for me a bit ago on a 1911!" Dear Husband placed him and knew exactly who he was.
The moral of the story?
You never, ever know who you might meet who carries. Conducting yourself with a level of professionalism and politeness, (and in this case, S-K-I-L-L,) leaves a lasting impression not just in customers, but in everyone you happen to meet. For instance, not only did the surgeon remember Dear Husband, and compliment on the quality of the job done, but the last ER doctor he saw also knew who he was. Turns out his wife was our nurse at one point, and they have plans on coming in to shoot.
Never know who may carry. Never know what type of an impression you might make. Someone with a fear of guns, from a lack of education about them, might just be willing to learn when you conduct yourself with a calm, confident, and even professional manner. The more people that wish to expand their education- even if they never ever touch a gun- the better society will be for firearm owners.
In the meantime, rack those slides and hit center mass ;)
Now, my Dear Husband is also a Range Master and does some Firearms Instruction for his full time job. He has a variety of people that come to him for help with their pistols, and about three-ish weeks back he came home and told me about tweaking a trigger on a 1911. Time passed, and neither of us thought anything else of it.
Today it came back to him though. Today he met his surgeon for the first time. The Doctor walked into the exam room, took one look at Dear Husband and said, "I know you!" It took Dear Husband a moment to place him, but when the Doctor said, "You did a trigger job for me a bit ago on a 1911!" Dear Husband placed him and knew exactly who he was.
The moral of the story?
You never, ever know who you might meet who carries. Conducting yourself with a level of professionalism and politeness, (and in this case, S-K-I-L-L,) leaves a lasting impression not just in customers, but in everyone you happen to meet. For instance, not only did the surgeon remember Dear Husband, and compliment on the quality of the job done, but the last ER doctor he saw also knew who he was. Turns out his wife was our nurse at one point, and they have plans on coming in to shoot.
Never know who may carry. Never know what type of an impression you might make. Someone with a fear of guns, from a lack of education about them, might just be willing to learn when you conduct yourself with a calm, confident, and even professional manner. The more people that wish to expand their education- even if they never ever touch a gun- the better society will be for firearm owners.
In the meantime, rack those slides and hit center mass ;)
Friday, April 23, 2010
Who Is GunDiva? Part II
So, Crazy B and I spent some time at the range and I got more and more proficient with his guns. It was about this time that he decided that he wanted to "get back" into Personal Protection (bodyguarding). In the past, he'd been a cop and done some protection work on the side. Being the supportive girlfriend I was, I encouraged him to go back to school and get his certificate from Executive Security International, an Executive Protection school.
He enrolled and then handed his books over to me; being the good, supportive girlfriend I was, I did all of his work for him. I'm so not condoning what I did, in doing his homework for him, but I learned so much from doing all of his course work. One of my papers (in his name, of course) actually was used as an example paper by one of the instructors. Am I pissed that I did the work and he got the certificate? Hell, yes, but what I learned came in handy when Crazy B's true colors came out.
To his credit, he did at least read some of the course materials and at least read the papers before he turned them in. Otherwise, he would have fallen flat on his face when he went to do his resident training. It was while he was in school that he developed an interest in tactical weapons; semi-automatic handguns rather than the wheel guns.
He bought a Glock 21 and we took it to the range. He ran a magazine through it and was always low and right. He was frustrated and convinced that the sights were off on the gun. I didn't realize it at the time - because I was so new to shooting - shooting down and to the right is classic yanking (slapping) the trigger. Finally, he handed me the Glock and told me to shoot it to see if I was having the same problem.
I lined up my sight picture, pressed the trigger and blew away the X ring.
Just to make sure it wasn't a fluke, I did it again. Half a magazine later, I handed the Glock back to Crazy B and said, "shoots straight for me."
I was bit. I'd been luke-warm about shooting the wheel guns, but, man oh man, I fell in love with the "combat tupperware."
He enrolled and then handed his books over to me; being the good, supportive girlfriend I was, I did all of his work for him. I'm so not condoning what I did, in doing his homework for him, but I learned so much from doing all of his course work. One of my papers (in his name, of course) actually was used as an example paper by one of the instructors. Am I pissed that I did the work and he got the certificate? Hell, yes, but what I learned came in handy when Crazy B's true colors came out.
To his credit, he did at least read some of the course materials and at least read the papers before he turned them in. Otherwise, he would have fallen flat on his face when he went to do his resident training. It was while he was in school that he developed an interest in tactical weapons; semi-automatic handguns rather than the wheel guns.
He bought a Glock 21 and we took it to the range. He ran a magazine through it and was always low and right. He was frustrated and convinced that the sights were off on the gun. I didn't realize it at the time - because I was so new to shooting - shooting down and to the right is classic yanking (slapping) the trigger. Finally, he handed me the Glock and told me to shoot it to see if I was having the same problem.
I lined up my sight picture, pressed the trigger and blew away the X ring.
Just to make sure it wasn't a fluke, I did it again. Half a magazine later, I handed the Glock back to Crazy B and said, "shoots straight for me."
I was bit. I'd been luke-warm about shooting the wheel guns, but, man oh man, I fell in love with the "combat tupperware."
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Girls With Guns- Who Are We?
We are wives, mothers, girlfriends, sisters, best friends.
We are loyal, strong, determined, tough as nails.
We are beauty from the inside out.
We are intelligent.
We won't be pushed around, or anyone's patsy.
We are girls. Girls With Guns.
I'm Mrs Mom. Wife, mother, sister, best friend, loyal to the end, stubborn as a Mule, strong as an Ox, and with a set of Momma Bear Instincts that make Bad Guys piss themselves and run.
Like GunDiva, I didn't grow up with guns. In time, I learned to shoot some long guns, and a pistol or two. But I never had the "Gun Bug". It wasn't until Dear Husband came along that I started to really learn about firearms. I like the mechanics and engineering of them. I like knowing that I can break them down and put them back together again. And I *love* making them go BANG! and Blowing Shit Up.
I was content with that knowledge and ability for quite a while. Since Dear Husband was always with me, and we went everywhere together, I never worried about anything. Dear Husband you see, is a pretty big and menacing looking fellow. Not many people mess with us. Add in his being armed with a Springfield Armory 1911, the fact that he has some serious Bad Ass skills with things that go BANG!, and we have a pretty safe setting.
Recently though, things have changed. I've been going on client calls with our two sons in tow. I'm out and about more on my own. I hate it, but we've gotta do what we've gotta do, right?
On the way to a barn call, (I'm an equine hoof care provider,) I encountered a bad situation. My pistol, known as "Plan B", was not with me. Would it have made a difference to the outcome of that situation? Probably not- not unless things took a decided turn for the worse. Instead, I relied on my brain (known as Plan A) first, and my truck as a deterrent.
In this blog, we'll explore a lot. We'll look at SITUATIONAL AWARENESS, and how it can save your hide. Back up plans. How to think outside the box. When to fall back on your own Plan B (or C, D, or even E.) We'll post links to state laws and regulations. We'll discuss carry methods. We'll look at home defense, and options other than firearms. And of course, handguns. Lots of handguns.
In the meantime, aim for center mass and get to know each other!
~MM
We are loyal, strong, determined, tough as nails.
We are beauty from the inside out.
We are intelligent.
We won't be pushed around, or anyone's patsy.
We are girls. Girls With Guns.
I'm Mrs Mom. Wife, mother, sister, best friend, loyal to the end, stubborn as a Mule, strong as an Ox, and with a set of Momma Bear Instincts that make Bad Guys piss themselves and run.
Like GunDiva, I didn't grow up with guns. In time, I learned to shoot some long guns, and a pistol or two. But I never had the "Gun Bug". It wasn't until Dear Husband came along that I started to really learn about firearms. I like the mechanics and engineering of them. I like knowing that I can break them down and put them back together again. And I *love* making them go BANG! and Blowing Shit Up.
I was content with that knowledge and ability for quite a while. Since Dear Husband was always with me, and we went everywhere together, I never worried about anything. Dear Husband you see, is a pretty big and menacing looking fellow. Not many people mess with us. Add in his being armed with a Springfield Armory 1911, the fact that he has some serious Bad Ass skills with things that go BANG!, and we have a pretty safe setting.
Recently though, things have changed. I've been going on client calls with our two sons in tow. I'm out and about more on my own. I hate it, but we've gotta do what we've gotta do, right?
On the way to a barn call, (I'm an equine hoof care provider,) I encountered a bad situation. My pistol, known as "Plan B", was not with me. Would it have made a difference to the outcome of that situation? Probably not- not unless things took a decided turn for the worse. Instead, I relied on my brain (known as Plan A) first, and my truck as a deterrent.
In this blog, we'll explore a lot. We'll look at SITUATIONAL AWARENESS, and how it can save your hide. Back up plans. How to think outside the box. When to fall back on your own Plan B (or C, D, or even E.) We'll post links to state laws and regulations. We'll discuss carry methods. We'll look at home defense, and options other than firearms. And of course, handguns. Lots of handguns.
In the meantime, aim for center mass and get to know each other!
~MM
Who Is GunDiva? Part I
I am a closer-to-forty-than-I-want-to-be wife and mother. For twelve years, I was a single mother of three children. Two years ago, I fell in love; last year, I got married and am currently living my Happily Ever After.
The twelve years before that were anything but H-E-A, they were more like H-E-L-L. Not always, but more often than not.
I can't say that I grew up with guns, I mean, we had a pump BB gun that ocassionally we'd take out back and plink, but they weren't a part of our lifestyle. I took Hunter's Safety as part of my Outdoor Ed class in junior high and enjoyed shooting the .22s, but I wasn't really that into shooting. I knew I could handle a gun safely, I could shoot and hit what I was shooting at, but the gun bug hadn't really hit me. I wasn't afraid of them by any means, but I wasn't hot and bothered by them either.
I made the mistake, after my divorce, to fall into a rebound relationship with someone I thought was my friend and confidant. Yeah, watch out for those rebounds, they can be scary. Crazy B and I had worked together for a couple of years and he was a good chunk of years older than me; I don't honestly know if that had anything to do with the attraction. After all, I'd just gotten divorced from an alcoholic, who was really just another child for me to take care of. So Crazy B may or may not have offered stability - I'm sure there are some shrinks out there who will say I was looking for a father figure. Or not.
Crazy B loved to shoot and decided to take me out to teach me how to shoot. Guess what? I was good at it! That's when I started to get interested in shooting; I wasn't completely bitten yet, but I was beginning to feel the fever. He had a couple of wheel guns, Ruger Blackhawks, single action revolvers, that were fun to shoot, but a lot of work having to unload and re-load one round at a time. He also had a S&W 686, a double action/single action chambered in .357 mag, that I enjoyed shooting a lot more. I found that if I loaded it with +P ammo, I could throw a six inch flame out the end of the barrel (first you kill it, then you cook it).
We spent a lot of time at a make-shift range shooting milk jugs full of water and killing paper plates. It was a good time and I never turned it down, but I didn't live for it either. I was only beginning my gun journey.
The twelve years before that were anything but H-E-A, they were more like H-E-L-L. Not always, but more often than not.
I can't say that I grew up with guns, I mean, we had a pump BB gun that ocassionally we'd take out back and plink, but they weren't a part of our lifestyle. I took Hunter's Safety as part of my Outdoor Ed class in junior high and enjoyed shooting the .22s, but I wasn't really that into shooting. I knew I could handle a gun safely, I could shoot and hit what I was shooting at, but the gun bug hadn't really hit me. I wasn't afraid of them by any means, but I wasn't hot and bothered by them either.
I made the mistake, after my divorce, to fall into a rebound relationship with someone I thought was my friend and confidant. Yeah, watch out for those rebounds, they can be scary. Crazy B and I had worked together for a couple of years and he was a good chunk of years older than me; I don't honestly know if that had anything to do with the attraction. After all, I'd just gotten divorced from an alcoholic, who was really just another child for me to take care of. So Crazy B may or may not have offered stability - I'm sure there are some shrinks out there who will say I was looking for a father figure. Or not.
Crazy B loved to shoot and decided to take me out to teach me how to shoot. Guess what? I was good at it! That's when I started to get interested in shooting; I wasn't completely bitten yet, but I was beginning to feel the fever. He had a couple of wheel guns, Ruger Blackhawks, single action revolvers, that were fun to shoot, but a lot of work having to unload and re-load one round at a time. He also had a S&W 686, a double action/single action chambered in .357 mag, that I enjoyed shooting a lot more. I found that if I loaded it with +P ammo, I could throw a six inch flame out the end of the barrel (first you kill it, then you cook it).
We spent a lot of time at a make-shift range shooting milk jugs full of water and killing paper plates. It was a good time and I never turned it down, but I didn't live for it either. I was only beginning my gun journey.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Welcome!
Girls With Guns is collaborative effort between two blog sisters who would not have met without the blogosphere. Besides being horsewomen, we are both avid shooters. Over the course of multiple emails, we bonded over our Right to Keep and Bear Arms and our love of recreational shooting.
In fact, when Mrs Mom emailed me about this, this is what she had to say:
We're different critters, ladies.
And that's okay.
In fact, when Mrs Mom emailed me about this, this is what she had to say:
The way I see it, you and me are in this for fun, and to maybe help some other ladies out there who want to learn more about guns, self protection, situational awareness, home defense, and maybe other options other than just a hand gun/ any firearm.We'll share our experiences and, honestly, may deviate from being gun/safety based all the time, but we hope that you take something away from our efforts here. We want this to be a safe forum for women interested to be able to ask questions and get honest answers from women, because, let's face it, men don't have the same experiences we do in anything. I'm not man basher and don't condone it, but a man's perception of the world is different from a woman's. That's a fact; they don't have to worry about being abducted and raped, they don't have to fight with being seen as the "weaker" sex, they don't have the same "mother bear" instincts we do for keeping our children safe.
We're different critters, ladies.
And that's okay.