My father owned a .22 rifle when I was a kid. He made sure that I, and my brother and sister, knew proper gun safety; how to safely handle weapons, load, unload, clean and everything connected with gun safety that he knew, he passed along to us. I will be forever grateful to him for his teachings, and he may have even saved my life.
I have great memories of growing up in Oklahoma City and going out to some remote location where our family would spend a day hiking, picnicking, finding a stream, floating cans and bottles and taking turns shooting at them or at targets. It was a very different time in America (yeah, I know, but nobody was concerned about the environment in those days), and we did not live in fear, as do many people today.
From a very young age thanks to my Dad, I became comfortable and confident in handling any weapon and did not grow up in fear of guns because of it. I did grow up respecting firearms and always handle a firearm assuming it’s loaded. Years later, my later father-in-law and I went out so he could show me how to handle a gun. I didn’t have the heart to tell him I already knew, since he took great pride in instructing me.
After I put six rounds pretty much in the bullseye, he beamed that he had done such a good job teaching me how to shoot. Years later, we shared great laughs about it when he learned about my background with firearms from my Dad when they had an opportunity to meet.
When I lived in Fairbanks, Alaska during the pipeline project in the 1970’s, when there were an over abundance of men compared to woman, I spent many nights alone. I always felt secure knowing I had a loaded handgun on my nightstand. While I always hoped I’d never have to use it, I was happy to have it when one night someone attempted to break into my home in the middle of the night.
During that period, many men stayed in the bush for months at a time. When they came into Fairbanks, many of them had two things on their mind, getting drunk and finding a woman, willing or otherwise. It was a scary time for many women, and I carried a handgun in my purse since I had to walk home a few blocks from the bus stop where I rode to and from the University of Alaska where I worked. I always had my purse open and my hand on my gun while I was walking home in the dark (it was always dark when I walked home in the winter) ready to defend myself if necessary. I was not terribly fearful as I knew I had the edge should someone approach me motivated to do me harm since most men were unarmed except perhaps for a liquor bottle.
Back to the middle of the night story….as I had been taught, when I heard my front door handle rattling, I positioned myself in a somewhat protected space crouched on the floor in the dark with my handgun pointed at the front door ready to shoot if someone broke in. Thankfully, it was not necessary after I told the person at the door that I had a loaded .357 magnum pointed at the door and that I was an expert shooter and I would not hesitate to shoot to kill should the potential intruder succeed in getting the door opened.
Whoever was at the door obviously believed me, probably because I spoke confidently because I was confident, and fled faster than a jackrabbit. I thought about calling the police and decided it wasn’t necessary as I did not feel threatened or vulnerable and suspected that I would not be bothered again, at least by that person.
I had another occasion to defend myself while living in Columbus, OH and a similar scenario played out. Again, I was thankful that I did not have to shoot someone.
Since that time, I have fired a variety of weapons (including an AK-47) over the years for target practice and even hunted with a bow and rifle for several years although I never killed anything. I realized I wasn’t the hunting type although I still have fond memories of sitting in various tree stands and walking through the woods looking for game. My husband is an avid successful hunter, and we share many memorable times in the woods together.
When our children were young, we taught them proper gun safety from an early age, and my husband took all of them hunting at one time or another to expose them to the sport. Hunting did not appeal to any of them, but they all have fond memories of hunting with Dad. Now, he takes the grandchildren, and he’s hoping one of them may learn to love the sport as much as him.
Here’s my point: Those of you who are afraid of guns do not need to be if you will educate yourselves.
While the GOP fundraiser may perhaps be in poor taste according to some opinions, I would encourage, especially women, to attend and get some instruction and take the opportunity to shoot in a controlled, safe environment.
Guns are not evil. For me, they may have prevented me from being raped or worse because I had proper instruction and experience with them.
Have I ever shot anyone or anything? No, and I sincerely hope I never have to. However, these are scary times and violent crime is, unfortunately, a part of today’s society.
So, instead of boycotting the GOP event and complaining about it, show up and get educated about gun safety in a controlled environment with some expert instructors and then you can talk about your right to bear arms and perhaps defend yourself properly if the occasion ever arises.
Most people who complain about firearms do not know much about them. I’m thankful that my Dad taught me proper firearm safety, and my husband and I taught our children. Fear is a terrible thing and education helps dispel fear. So do something about it and perhaps you may learn that you can exchange feeling vulnerable for a feeling of confidence and security. I’m glad I took advantage of my opportunities to become educated about firearms.
Yeah, don’t bother showing up at my house because, yes, I still will shoot to kill rather than let you take advantage of me or attempt to steal my property, pal. I personally disagree with the shoot to disable tactic especially when someone else has an equivalent equalizer! At a petite 5’3”, sorry, but I’m not willing to wait to perhaps be physically overpowered by a 6’, 200 lb. guy. I’ll take my chances in court, ladies.
As Joyce Meyer is fond of saying: "Do it afraid!" I say, if you do, you likely won’t be afraid anymore.