Why Women Need The Second Amendment

My precious reasons for owning a gun

There is allot of debate on whether America needs to take away the second amendment.  The logic is that if there are no guns there will be no gun violence.  Of course, this is a completely illogical line of thinking because if you look at cities that ban guns they have some of the highest rates of gun violence i.e. Chicago.  The problem is the only people you are disarming are law-abiding citizens that don't commit gun violence anyways.  Criminals don't care if they get their guns illegally because they're going out to commit crimes.  So the only people who suffer are those of us that use guns legally.

As a woman, I am very glad I have several guns in my home.  My father had four children, three of them girls.  He taught all of us how to shoot effectively and safely.  The reason was that women are in most cases unable to fight off an attacker.  He called guns the great equalizer.  Meaning a guy may be stronger and faster than me but he is NOT faster than my gun!

As our economy gets worse and drugs become more prevalent we will, and are, seeing more crime.  I have personally been on the receiving end of this trend three different times now.  All three involve men on drugs coming on to our property.  The most recent is as follows

Just recently we were woken up at 3:00 am by our 17-year-old daughter running up the stairs in a panic because a man was at our back door trying to kick it in.  Our dogs were going nuts and my husband and I sprang into action.  Police will tell you to never confront or allow someone to get ahold of you.  If they are on drugs they often are impervious to pain, abnormally strong, and especially with the new street drugs, extremely violent and dangerous.

My three younger children ages 6, 10, and 11 woke up and were terrified asking if the person was going to hurt them.

My husband and I worked quickly as a team.  I got on the phone and called 911 while I hustled my four children into a defendable and secure room.  I stood in the doorway waiting with a view of the stairs.  My husband got our shot gun loaded and headed down stairs.  While on the phone I also armed myself with a hand gun in case whoever was down there got through my husband.

You see we didn't know if this man was armed or not, or was coming in to kill us.  I could hear my husband yelling that he was armed and if the man came through our door he would defend himself and his family.  This did not deter the man in the least as he kept running and kicking our door.

I prayed and prayed that the door would hold.  We could feel it upstairs every time he kicked the door and our windows were shaking.

Meanwhile, I was on the phone with the 911 dispatcher explaining the situation and that my husband was armed.

The police showed up (thankfully) within 2 minutes and were able to get the man.  He was completely strung out on several drugs we found out.  He was making no sense and fought the police when they tried to get him in the patrol vehicle and later fought the jailers.

The only thing that stood between my children and that man was a regular back door with a dead bolt.  If I had been unarmed and without my husband my only option would have been to pray.  That is NOT an option for me.  Instead of being helpless in the face of attack I am empowered to protect myself and my children.  And you can bet NO ONE is going to hurt them without first having to come through me.

So when people protest about needing to ban guns I think of the countless women and children in countries where gun ownership is not allowed that are raped and murdered.  How many of those crimes would be averted if those women were armed and taught how to use them?  There are thousands of cases every year in America of women defending themselves with firearms against men that never make it to the mainstream media because it doesn't fit with their agenda.

We know that disarming a population does not decrease violence, it just shifts or even increases because criminals know they have defenseless victims.

Guns are not the problem, it is criminals that are the problem.  As my father told us, guns are just a tool.  A dangerous tool just like a skill saw, but still a tool.  You must respect them and use them safely.

My husband and I have been teaching our children gun safety and marksmanship as they reach ages that are appropriate.  My eldest daughter is nervous of guns but an excellent shot and knows how to load and fire.  After the above incident, she told me how glad she was now that we have firearms.

And as I say to my children now.  The only time you need a gun is when you REALLY need a gun.

So how can you prepare for home invasion or violent crime?

1. Be Prepared

Think out different possible scenarios and your reactions in your head.  If you have a spouse talk about them and work out what both of you will do to deal with the situation.  The more you do this the less likely you will be to panic.  Knowing what your going to do is a huge confidence booster.

2. Get A Gun and Learn How To Use It

This is what stands between you and a criminal.  Learn to use this tool and use it safely. Learn how to clean it, load it, and reload it.   This also means educating your children about it and keeping it somewhere secure but accessible to you in an emergency.  You wouldn't leave knives down in a toddlers reach so don't do the same with your guns.

3.  Make your home less attractive to criminals

Have motion lights, lock your doors and gates, and teach your children not to open the door to strangers. Also hardening your home is a good idea.  Have a gravel path all around your house so that if someone is walking around looking in windows it is noisy alerting you or your dog.  Plant thorny hedges in front of windows.  Make sure all doors are well lit.

4.  If you don't have a dog consider getting one

Dogs hear and smell better than us.  Our dogs let us know whenever someone is around.  You don't need a big dog to do this, in fact our terrier chihuahua mix is the best alert dog as terriers were bred to have excellent hearing to hunt rats.

5. Learn self-defense

Most crimes against women start with a man surprising her and grabbing her before she knows what's going on.  That is the last situation you want to be in as a woman because a man is generally much stronger than a woman, but learning personal defense moves can save your life and get you away.

6.  Be Aware of Your Surroundings

Looking purposeful and aware deters criminals.  They want soft easy targets.  When you are walking to your car look around, pay attention, note people around you.

At some time or another most people will experience a violent crime.  It's really not a question of if but when.  So don't be a victim be a victor!