This from someone in my office that has been afraid of guns for most of her life.

We need to schedule a time for you to show me how to shoot THE GUN.

THE GUN belongs to her husband, and I do not yet know what it is.   But he keeps it loaded on the nightstand for home defense.  She has come to the very reasonable conclusion that she needs to actually learn to use it rather than just know that it is there.

SCORE!

She was home alone recently and heard noises that frightened her.  She told herself that it was okay because she had her bat that she has been keeping close by and THE GUN was on the nightstand.  But wait.  She doesn’t know anything about THE GUN.  “Do I need to take it out of the holster?”  “Does it have a safety?”  “How do I pull the trigger?”  etc.

Yes, we are talking very elementary gun handling skills here.  So she asked me to show her how.

Understand that this is a woman that has been absolutely terrified of guns all of her life.  She has good reasons to be afraid too.  There was some childhood trauma that I won’t elaborate on.  This is enough fear that I’ve seen her become noticeably uncomfortable just looking at one of the holsters that Michael makes.

So to say that we are going to start slowly is an understatement.  You know what I’m not going to do?  Hand her my snub nosed revolver and 5 rounds of .38 special telling her that’s the perfect gun for a woman.  There has been a lot of talk about that lately, in case you haven’t noticed.  I happen to really like my snub and will even shoot .357 Magnum out of it from time to time.  (I like the fireball.)  But it is NOT A BEGINNERS GUN!

Not for women, men, cephalopods anyone.  Well, it might be okay for cephalopods, but I’m not exactly anxious to teach a squid to shoot.  Octopus maybe, but not a squid.

In fact, we aren’t even going to start with a gun at all.  I’m serious, this one must be done SLOWLY.  We started today with a book.

This is so she can feel familiar with terms and concepts without dealing with the anxiety I have already witnessed from her.  For this particular person, I want to break it up into more easily digestible pieces.  It would be a sensory overload to head her straight to the range and shout over hearing protection.  The last thing she needs to have fear and anxiety associated with the learning process.

Next, we’ll look at a dummy gun.  We’ll go over the 4 rules.  We’ll talk about stance and grip and sight alignment.  Once she feels comfortable with that, we’ll look at THE GUN.  I’ll show her the same basics on that as well as discussing any specific things about that particular firearm.

And then we will head down to the local range.  I will bring along a selection of things to try out and the range has an excellent selection of things to rent.  Yes, the DAO snubby will be in the bag, but it will not be thrust at her like it is what she must shoot.  I do not currently own a handgun in .22LR, but I will either rent or borrow one. Also in the bag will be my 627PC.  That revolver was my first gun.  It has a nice long sight radius and smooth trigger pull even when shot double action.  The big N frame soaks up recoil nicely.  She’ll also have the opportunity to try out my M&P9c that I carry every day.  I will have a variety so she won’t feel intimidated by anything that she may encounter in the future.

First thing I ever shot was a Model 629 loaded with .44 magnum.  Not what I recommend doing with any new shooter.  I’m a stubborn one though and decided that day that I would conquer that beast.  I shot it all of twice that day, but I have lost count at this point of how many rounds I’ve shot through hubby’s model 29.  Don’t underestimate what that petite woman will be able to handle.  But really, don’t start a new shooter on any kind of magnum.

We will work our way up to and around THE GUN.  My hope is that by the end of all of this, she will see it as another useful tool and not something she needs to refer to in all caps.  Maybe she’ll even want a firearm of her own.

I’ve found with new shooters and particularly women, that doubling up on the hearing protection in the indoor range makes the whole experience more pleasant and helps to reduce the dreaded flinch.  Heck, I double up my hearing protection most of the time.

This particular woman is a special case.  I would not normally drag the new shooter experience out to several days in such small chunks, but you have to cater the experience to the shooter.  Some will need the basic safety briefing then you show them how to load it tell them to point it that-a-way, others will need more sensitive instruction before that first shot.  The point where that hammer falls on that first round should be exhilarating, not frightening.

She has decided that I am the one she trusts to teach her, and I will not betray that trust by scaring her.  We should all remember that when someone asks us to teach them.  They are trusting us to be their guide into a new world.  We should commit to guiding them in gently and with all the knowledge we can impart.  I would love for her to decide that it is fun and something she wants to do regularly.  If it’s fun, she’ll practice.  Teaching someone to shoot is more than just showing them how to make a gun go bang.  Don’t teach them how to use a gun; teach them to be shooters.

I had this really sexy 9-millimeter Beretta, and I trained a lot with an M4 machine gun. Before, I felt very scared of guns. But you learn about them and then you feel capable, and it becomes an empowering experience.

-Jessica Biel

This from an interview in Glamour magazine.  Full article here.

Notice she didn’t suddenly start shooting children in classrooms or people at the mall.  It did not make her paranoid.  No, it made her feel capable and empowered.

Learning about firearms does not turn a person into a crazed lunatic with an itchy trigger finger in spite of what the Brady folks would have you believe.  Shooting is a skill developed with clear-headed discipline.  And a very useful skill at that.  Unlike Jessica Biel, most of us can’t afford armed guards to accompany us while shopping, nor can we hire someone else to procure the basics needed in life.  But we can obtain the tools and the training that will allow us to be capable and empowered to handle it ourselves.

Congratulations Jessica on learning a new skill and gaining an appreciation of the sport!

Since Boobquake turned out to be a Earth-shaking success, I figured a new shirt was needed.

Boobs! by JuniperLimb
Get tshirts on Zazzle

People ask on a regular basis why I choose to carry a firearm.  The crime rate in this state is low.  I live in a safe neighborhood.  I don’t work in any kind of law enforcement or security type field.

In fact, my statistical chance of being a victim of a violent crime are quite low.

I carry because the chance isn’t zero.

I carry because this guy exists.  A guy that can be turned down at a bar and so he follows the girl into the bathroom.  When she again resists his advances, he hit her twice in the face and shoved her into the stall.  He broke her nose and eye socket and caused a laceration requiring 50 stitches.  A friend found her unconscious in the bathroom with her pants partially removed.

Yeah, the police caught him.  But really, how much difference does that make to the girl in a hospital room that needs her face rebuilt?  Even if the can reconstruct her to some semblance of what she looked like before, it will take years of therapy for her not to live in constant fear.  The police weren’t there to protect her.  They can’t be there.  The only way the police could really protect you is if each and every person had a personal officer escorting them every moment of their lives.  No one wants that.

I carry because that guy really believes he has a right to take what he wants from women without consequences.  And I want him to know I carry.  I want him to start thinking lots and lots of women are carrying.  I want him to think that maybe one time, on the other side of that bathroom door, there will be something far harder to overcome than manicured nails and high heels.  I want him to start to question if the drive in his pants is worth his life.

The fact that the police caught this guy is no deterrent.  If we’re lucky, we’ll get to feed him and house him for a couple of years before he’s released because he’s ‘paid his debt to society.’  In two years that girl might be finished with all the reconstructive surgery and recovery.  She’ll still be in therapy.  She’ll still have a sinking fear in the pit of her stomach every time she turns away some guy.  She’ll always have scars.

And he’ll have a record.  You know, they don’t tattoo that on a guy’s forehead so you can see them coming.  I suppose I should take comfort in the fact that he won’t be able to legally own a firearm.  Of course, you can’t legally beat girls unconscious either.  I think I’d rather take my security into my own hands.  It is a personal matter after all.

The only person that is always available to protect me is me.  I hope that I never have to employ deadly force in my own defense, but I am prepared to do so if I must.  I’d rather spend time in therapy dealing with that than in the hospital having my face rebuilt.  And then there will be one less of those guys.  I really hope just knowing that more and more women are purchasing firearms and learning to use them is making guys like that one start to think twice.

Can I have a retry on today?

Please?

‘Cause um, it has not been the kind of day that makes a girl feel good about herself.  Just saying.

I stepped on the scale this morning and it read…substantially different than the last time I bothered to look.

Blew it off as a fluke.  Either today’s reading was bad or the former was wrong.  Either way, my jeans fit the same so it’s not a big deal.  Right?

Um.  I had to buy new jeans on my lunch break today.  The new pair is cute but unplanned.  I sat down in the car to head out to lunch and it was suddenly…breezy.

Yes, all of you that come here looking for ‘Jennifer’s Ass’ will be pleased to know that it tried to escape today.  (Seriously people, I’m going to adopt a donkey just so I can give you regular updates about my ass.)

So I had a spontaneous shopping trip on my lunch break today.  I know, all the cool kids are wearing their jeans that way on purpose, but I can’t just let my ass escape like that.  I have readers to think about.  So the jeans were replaced with a pair in the same size, different brand, stretch denim. Unfortunately this means I must retire my made in the US pair in favor of a pair made in China.

At least I can remind myself that I’m smarter than this woman.  And this one.  Even though I do like cheese.  Hence the escaping ass problem.

So if you’ll excuse me, there’s a treadmill mocking me from upstairs.

I’ve said before, you don’t mess with Mama Bear.  And really, it doesn’t matter whether or not she is armed.

She said she drew a line in her head and when the man crossed over that line, she attacked him to protect her three children.

She drew a line in her head.  I would wager that she drew that line a long time ago.  She just didn’t know it until she was challenged.  She did not back down.  She did not comply hoping that he would leave them alone.  She followed her instincts and because of that, she and her family are safe.

“I kind of figured he didn’t, for the simple fact that he didn’t have a flashlight,” she said. “He couldn’t see what he was doing, so that was my first instinct. I was like, you’re not prepared.”

He certainly wasn’t prepared for her.  But you can also bet that a man the breaks into a home does not have good intentions.  If your lucky, he’s just after stuff, but he broke in while she was home.  She would not have had time to wait for authorities; she had to act.  She attacked with enough resolve that she didn’t even know she’d been stabbed until after the encounter.

Where is your line?  At what point does your switch flip to attack to protect yourself and those you love?  Would your children have the confidence to remain calm because you are ferocious enough to protect them?

If you can answer the last one with ‘yes,’ then you know the answers to the first two questions.

Everyone should know there are monsters among us.  Monsters that would hurt us if given the chance.  We must be willing to bare our fangs in resistance.  But we should be able to back it up with the resolve to attack.

I would argue that the resolve to attack a criminal is more more important than the tool employed.  Certainly a firearm is an excellent tool, but if you do not have the resolve, have not drawn the line, then it is nothing more than so much plastic/steel/aluminum/etc.  Too many people treat their self defense tool like some sort of talisman against danger.

Personally, I’d rather this unarmed woman have my back than the person who owns a gun ‘just in case.’  She has what far too many are missing.  The resolve to act.  No one wants to fight for their lives.  But if you must, win.  There is no other option.  Fight dirty.  No one is keeping score, and penalties are only assessed against the loser.  Don’t lose.  Never do nothing.  Never be a helpless victim.  The cavalry is not coming to rescue you.  They will be there to record the story, and they are skilled historians.  Be your own eye witness.  Resolve to survive.

So, there I was, sitting in the middle stall.

You know with an opening sentence like that this is going to be interesting.  (Side note, why do I always want to type ’sentance’ and then want to kiss the guy that came up with spellcheck?  Also, why am I telling you that?  Over share, right.)

So, back to the stall.

I’m taking care of my business when I notice the woman in the stall next to me is texting like a mad woman.  (Also, spellcheck does not like the word ‘texting’ or ’spellcheck’ ironically.)

tick tick tick from the next stall.

And suddenly, I’m paranoid.  Is she tweeting?  Is she tweeting about what the woman in the next stall in the red shoes is doing?  Is the smell of digested last night’s dinner tweet worthy?

Surely she isn’t tweeting from the bathroom.  She’s just texting….Furiously.

tick tick tick

What if she notices how much paper I’m using?  How much can you share in 140 characters?  Did she hear me open the tampon?  (Over share-you were warned.)

Of course I’m mortified at the idea that someone may be sharing my bathroom experience On. The. Internet.  Seriously, what kind of people write about what someone else is doing in the bathroom On. The. Internet.

I was so mortified that I rushed to my computer to blog about what this woman was doing in the bathroom. On. The. Internet.  I know.  Hence the post title.

You’re being used as pawns to further the liberal agenda.  It’s not about women’s rights or equality.  The left is keeping you inside a victims class passing you just enough crumbs to keep you dependent.  They must keep you weak.  The left has no interest in strong, empowered women.  Become one and suffer the label of ‘bitch’ from the liberal elite.  Just ask Hillary Clinton.

Or worse, be a powerful conservative woman.  Be a champion of life.  And, like Sarah Palin, you’ll be constantly ridiculed and attacked.  Just look what Robin of Berkley has to say about the left’s treatment of Sarah Palin.

Then along came Sarah, and the attacks became particularly heinous.  And I realized something even more chilling about the Left.   Leftists not only sacrifice and disrespect women.

It’s far worse than that:  many are perpetuators.

The Left’s behavior towards Palin is not politics as usual. By their laser focus on her body and her sexuality, leftists are defiling her.

They are wilding her. And they do this with the full knowledge and complicity of the White House.

The Left has declared war on Palin because she threatens their existence.  Democrats need women dependent and scared so that women, like blacks, will vote for liberals.

As they say, RTWT.

Let’s look at abortion, the cornerstone of liberal feminism.  You think it’s about your body, rights, and freedoms right?  It’s not.  It’s about cheapening you so you can be a plaything without lasting consequences.  It there’s no baby, there are no responsibilities right?  You can just walk away.  You can even deny anything ever happened.  They want to turn your body into an amusement park.

They even want to do it to children.  They use the excuse that “Teens are responsible decision makers.” They see no problem with sexualizing a generation.  It’s okay, there are no consequences.

You no longer have power over your body.  It’s a plaything.  They are removing your reasons for saying no.  I promise you, the consequences are far greater than a potential pregnancy.  And once they believe you have no reason to say no, what will be the punishment for not saying yes?  There are other cultures in the world where women do not have autonomy over their own bodies.

It’s not about you.  It’s about the agenda.  It’s about power.  The left has manipulated you into being a willing pawn.  They will throw you a bone now and then, but it is in their best interest to keep you weak.  People on welfare overwhelmingly vote liberal.  It’s self preservation.  The easiest way to subjugate someone to welfare is to make them a single mother.  That’s a distinction held solely by women.  They’ve told us that casual sex is just fine.  They’ve told the deadbeat dads they have no responsibility to these children.  They were just a bunch of cells that could be removed by a simple medical procedure.  Besides, if you don’t take care of your kids, the state will.  They’ll line you up and give you your share of the government cheese.  Then they’ll herd you out the door not to think about you again until they send the bus that takes you to the polls.

If you wake up and make something of yourself, you could become dangerous.  If you learn that you have power, you will become a target.  They’ll attack you for rocking the boat.  For pointing out the abuse and injustice that was done to you.  It’s human nature to lash out when you’ve been caught.  Thus is the explanation for what the left is doing to Sarah Palin.  They attack her because she is speaking the truth.  They can’t handle the mirror.  Their attacks only reflect the guilt back to them.

Think she’ll back down? Not a chance.  She is speaking the truth.  And the truth will set you free.