Warning to Home Invasion Criminals

By Kellene Bishop

Photo c/o guns-n-stuff.blogspot.com

I’m sure I won’t win any popularity points with the liberal media and its adoring admirers with this comment, but here’s a warning to home invasion criminals: if you come into my home uninvited, you better plan on having a current will drawn up and have repented of everything else in your life. (Sorry, you can’t repent of the breaking and entering just before you do it. It just doesn’t work that way.) I say this because chances are very high that you’re going to meet your Maker relatively soon after you pass through my homestead threshold.

Many would argue that punishing someone who breaks into your home with possible death is un-Christian, archaic, and even “murder.” To be perfectly blunt, such thinking is wrong. It’s not only wrong, but it’s dangerous to the safety and peace of all Americans as it perpetuates an invalid amount of doubt and hesitation which could cost someone their life. Here are some questions I would ask of those who would break into my home. A little something for the “other side” to consider.

1) What part of the U.S. Constitution do you not understand? Did you read the 2^nd or the 4^th Amendment? If not, I assure you that ignorance does not absolve you of a crime.

2) Did you expect me to give you a full interview first to determine whether or not your initial illegal action was intended to lead to other illegal acts?

3) If I did interview you, am I supposed to frisk you as well, or simply take your word for it?

4) A burglary isn’t just about “losing your stuff.” Sure, a lot of stuff can be replaced. But I’m 100% certain that peace of mind, virtue, and life cannot be replaced if it’s taken from me or my family. 

Bottom line, if you walk through my door uninvited, I am not under any obligation to read you your Miranda Rights. I am not under any obligation to read your mind or evaluate your motives. I have every legal right to defend my home and the persons and property therein. So home invasion criminals, consider yourselves warned.

Sign c/o guns-n-stuff.blogspot.com

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved.  You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

Firearm Security for Women

By Kellene Bishop

Many women ask me “is it really necessary for me to carry a gun?”  My answer is always an emphatic “YES!” backed by some important statistics.

Photo c/o Hans Neleman/Stone/Getty Images

1)     Surely the prevention of over 2.5 million crimes a year (which equals 6,849 crimes everyday) is compelling enough to believe that you would benefit as well.  (Targeting Guns, Dr. Gary Kleck, Criminologist, Florida State University, 1997)  There is not a city in this nation that is impervious to crime with the exception of Kennesaw, GA which passed a required gun ownership law.  As a result, residential burglaries dropped 89% the following year!  Even then, petty theft and other minor crimes are still prevalent.  So please do not make the mistake of believing that you live “in a safe neighborhood.”  While your neighbors may be perfectly wonderful, you must admit that we live in a technologically advanced world where most people, even criminals, possess transportation and thus the means to infiltrate your world of serenity.  :)  My point being is that no community is so safe that one can believe that they will never have the need to defend themselves against a violent crime.  

2)     Even criminals take the presence of a firearm seriously.  More specifically, everyday 550 rapes, 1,100 murders, and 5,200 other violent crimes are prevented simply by the presence of a firearm.  In less that 0.9% of these instances is the gun ever fired. (National Crime Victimization Survey, 2000, Bureau of Justice Statistics, BATF estimates on handgun supply)

3)     You have the right not only to protect your life and the lives of your loved ones, but also your PROPERTY.  The increasing number of individuals having legal access to a firearm, either in their home or on their person has been slowing down the property crime rate.  It has decreased in direct proportion to the increase in the number of legal handgun ownership.  (Ibid) 

Photo c/o dailymail.co.uk

4)     Keep in mind that overall, criminals are parasites, not predators.  Parasites look for lazy, free rides.  They are not inclined to go out of their way to get what they want.  There are too many risk-free ways for them to pillage without risking getting shot.  So if you look confident, secure, and serious that you’re going to take care of yourself, you will usually be able to deflect an assault or otherwise criminal incident.  I have yet to encounter a woman who carries a firearm and knows how to use it who appears timid, shy, and as an easy target.  Firearm self-defense is simply “magical” that way.  *wink*  Just a couple of other tips, lock your doors (in your cars and in your homes) and stop leaving your garage doors open, even for a moment.  Such mindless exposure marks you as an easy target to a criminal.  I recently observed a woman who went into a hair salon to chat for just a moment.  The problem was she did so while letting her Jaguar run with several shopping bags sitting in plain site in the back seat.  (This is a perfect example of what I call “Dumb Squared.”)   Ridiculous!  (To be harsh, I know, I caught myself thinking women like that need a good scare to bring themselves back out of their fantasy land.  Yes, I admit that I was SO tempted to get in and move her car to another location in the parking lot.  I refrained even though I rationalized to myself that my moving the car would be a lot safer for her than some criminal hiding in the back of it waiting for his prey.)

5)     Women wield a substantially more significant result of safety when carrying a firearm than men do.  Here’s why.  The majority of rape, robbery, mugging, and other types of assault crimes are committed upon women.  Women are perceived as being an easy target.  The number one reason is simply because a man is typically stronger than a woman and she can easily be overpowered by his strength combined with the element of surprise and fear.  BUT… a woman who is armed with a firearm and possesses the knowledge of how to use it in a moment of self-defense is 3-4 times more likely to prevent a murder or a woman, as opposed to a man possessing a handgun.  (More Guns, Less Crime, John Lott, Sr. Research Analyst) Logic dictates that since women are the more likely targets of crime, then if women were to prevent crimes against themselves, a drop in the crime rate would inevitably follow.  When a woman was armed with a gun or a knife during an attempted rape, only 3% of the rapes actually were completed.  (U.S. Department of Justice, Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, Rape Victimization in 26 American Cities, 1979)

6)     Possessing a firearm statistically provides you with an immediate upper-hand in face of a criminal confrontation.  It’s actually a myth that the majority of violent crimes are committed with a gun.  In fact, 90% of all crimes do not involve a firearm of any kind.  (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, 1998)  Even when the person committing a crime did have possession of a firearm, 83% of them did not use the gun in commission of the crime.  (FBI Uniform Crime Statistics, 1994)  These two facts show you that you indeed have the high ground when possessed with the knowledge and the tools to defend yourself.

7)     Firearms used in self-defense most certainly save lives.  Of the 2,500,000 crimes that are prevented annually, 15.6% of the people who used them defensively stated that they “certainly saved lives” by doing so.  (National Crime Victimization Survey, 1979-1985)

Photo c/o habby0123

8)     You need not believe that owning or having access to a firearm makes you a lesser person.  While it’s not readily discussed by women, the facts are that 41.7% of women either own or have rapid access to a gun.  28.5% of women have a gun in the house.  (Smith. T; 2001 National Gun Policy Survey of the Nation Opinion Research Center; Research Findings. University of Chicago, Dec. 2001) Now all we need is for women to become more proficient with these valuable tools and increase that number to at least 90%. 

So, to answer your question, “Is a gun really necessary?”  I say the facts support such a necessity to carry a firearm.  Just be sure you do so also armed with the knowledge and mental preparation of how to use it as well.  For training availability specifically for women, taught by women, go to www.womenofcaliber.com.

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved.
You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

What It Really Means to be “Anti-Gun”

By Kellene Bishop

Photo c/o katrinabrownelondon.com

A few days ago I sent an e-mail to a list of my family and friends who subscribe to my emergency preparedness blog, Preparedness Pro.  The most recent blog posted was on the necessity of firearms and ammo (along with necessary skill and practice) for a properly prepared state.  Unfortunately, my message was not well received by one of my friends.  He sent me back a message that simply stated “I’m anti-gun.  Please take me off of your list.”  While I can perfectly understand why a person is not comfortable with the subject of firearms for self-defense, I was certain that my friend was not fully aware of the ramifications that invoking such a vow as being “anti-gun” truly entailed.  In my work I find that the majority of individuals who are “anti-gun” are women.  And thus I felt that addressing this topic was appropriate for our Women of Caliber audience today.

What does it really mean to be “Anti-Gun?” I’m convinced that a person who makes such claims does so based on the following misinformed or incomplete reasons.

1-     Fear of the power behind the tool.  Yes, a firearm is deadly.  Thank goodness.  Because I do not know of any other tool I can reasonably employ to defend myself against a alcohol and drug-crazed, 6’4”, 280 pound man who’s intent on harming me.  I can’t run fast enough.  The police can’t respond fast enough.  I can’t talk my way out of an encounter.  And I can’t rely on my physical strength and skill to properly combat them.   Self-defense is an equal opportunity freedom.  We all should be entitled to defending ourselves regardless of our medical history, weight, physical fitness, etc.  That’s why I often refer to my firearm as the ultimate equalizer.  What I do know is that I can have easy access to my firearm, pull, point, and shoot to effectively stop a would-be attacker. 

Photo c/o bebo.com

There are plenty of other valuable tools in our world that are dangerous if used incorrectly.  Medicine, exercise, transportation, food and farming equipment to name a few.  All are very powerful for good.  Yet all of these can be misused to even cause death to ourselves and others.  Fortunately for us though, the media, Hollywood, and our government don’t typically have agendas to vilify these types of tools.  And yet there are many others who occasionally promote misinformation on these tools as well.  Nothing is without some controversy or a difference of opinion.  But differences of opinion never alter the truth.  Only statisticians do that.  

2-    Belief that only criminals (thugs, drug dealers, bad guys, etc.) have guns.  Just because criminals have guns does not mean that those who have guns are criminals, anymore than the fact that a plane has crashed means that all planes will crash, or that 500 high school students killed per year playing football means that football should be banned.  For every thug out there who carries a firearm, there are hundreds of thousands of guns owned by law-abiding citizens.  Out of over 4.7 million crimes committed in the U.S. in 2005, less than 10% of them involved the use of a firearm.  Even among homicides, where one would assume a firearm was always used, less than 67% of them involve the use of a gun.  (http://www.ojp.gov/bjs/guns.htm)  Consider the opposite side of things.  Over 2.5 million crimes per year are STOPPED by the use of a firearm in the hands of citizen.  (John Lott, More Guns, Less Crime)  You’ve got less than 6% of 4.7 million crimes involved a gun, and yet you have over 50% more of those same kinds of crimes being prevented BY a gun.  Sounds like there’s a skewed perception there, folks.  Don’t you think?

Photo c/o zimbio.com

3-    Fear of the safety for our children.  This is a very strategic propaganda put out by the anti-gun supporters, knowing full well that no parent in their right mind would put their children in danger.  And then of course, on those rare circumstances when a child is tragically killed by a gun, the media runs the story over and over again as if it was an announcement of Armageddon.  It’s a highly emotional, and unfortunately successful angle used by our national manipulators.  But the real facts don’t lie.  Children are less likely to be killed by one of over 300,000,000 million guns held by 94 million gun owners than they are to be killed by an automobile, drowned (in a bathtub or a pool), burned in a fire, or suffocate on plastic!  In fact they are at least 6 times more likely to die from any of these causes, and in some cases as much as 40 times more likely.  (Kids and Guns, 2000, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention)  Now think about this.  Out of all of the crimes that were stopped as the result of a firearm, how many children’s lives were saved as a result, or better yet, allowed to remain normal with a loving parent still alive as the result of the use of a firearm.  If someone is “anti-gun” do they really realize that they may just as well be stating that they are against protecting their children, loved ones, friends or communities at all costs?  Do they realize that they might as well be saying that they are “Pro-Crime?”  While you may think this is an audacious leap of logic, the statistics are there to support such a claim.  Unfortunately, those who truly are “anti-gun and to heck with the consequences” really don’t care about the truth.

For more on children and guns, click here. 

4-    The absence of a passion and understanding of freedom.  During the monumental Revolutionary War, there were plenty of individuals who took up arms who were unskilled and uncomfortable in their use.  After the war, they recovered thousands of rifles in which multiple wads were found stuffed down the barrel, but never fired.  Why?  Because although these men believed in fighting for their freedom, they found it very difficult to actually aim and fire upon another human being.  They would go through the motions of loading the firearm, lifting it to point, but never pull the trigger. And then in their confused and panicked state they would go through the motions again and again until their lack of firing caused their death.  Harming another human being purposefully goes against our peaceful grain, of course.  And I thank God for that “sensitivity chip.”  It’s a mental fight that has been prevalent through the ages.  But going through the motions is also what gets people killed and no longer able to live their fulfilling life and provide for their family.  Even police officers struggle with firing on a human being.  They practice with silhouettes, not live targets, of course.  So the mental preparation to completely defend themselves is oft times missing.  (As a result, many police departments have begun using more realistic looking targets in order to help law enforcement with this vital mental preparation.) 

Photo c/o conservapedia.com

What does this have to do with freedom?  When I hear someone is “anti-gun” I cringe to think that they are the very persons who would have permitted the British, the Romans, the Japanese, the Germans, and any other enemy Freedom has experienced through the ages, to take everything—and I do mean everything—that they hold dear.  It nearly brings me to tears to hear that “anti-gunners” would hold the defenders of our freedom in the same light as criminals in our day.  Freedom is not fought just on a battle field.  It is fought every single day, even in the sanctity of our homes, restaurants, our parks, our streets.  The only reason why our Freedom has not been utterly destroyed is thanks to the 94 million gun owners who are still willing to lay claim to its merits.  Somehow it just doesn’t seem fair that those same 94 million gun owners are the very reason why anti-gunners have the freedom to attempt to lay neutral on this issue and still have some semblance of safety.  To put it plainly, “anti-gun” is clearly a member of the “anti-freedom” camp.  

5-    Naïveté.  I agree that life would be a whole lot better if I didn’t even have to consider the horrific “what-if’s” that exist out there.  I would much rather live in a community where I could leave my door unlocked, trust that my children and family members would never be violently harmed, and that the world was one solely of peace and happiness.  Unfortunately, the stark reality of the presence of sheer evil interrupts that fantasy.  It’s also naïve of me to believe that my husband will always be there to protect me.  Or that simply by owning a firearm, I will instinctively know what to do with it under threat of violence or death without any concerted practice.  It’s naïve of me to believe that in an earthquake all of the criminals will stay securely in their jail cells, or that the most well organized and violent gang in the U.S., MS-13, will never invade my peaceful neighborhood.  It’s naïve of me to believe that a 9-1-1 call will result in my immediate safety.  I could go on and on with the naïve thoughts I have entertained in my younger years.  Instead I choose to face reality.  And the reality isn’t so much the horrors that are out there as it is that I’m STRONG, CAPABLE, AND COMPETENT.  As such I can ensure my own safety and the safety of those who are important to me.  I need not be fearful.  I need not be paranoid.  I simply need to be armed with the proper tools and skills necessary.  I don’t walk around with a gun because I’m paranoid.  I walk around accompanied by real peace and practical awareness because I carry a firearm.  I’m friendly to those around me because I do not fear their violence.  I’m happy because I do not fear becoming a victim with no justice to balance.  I’m more confident because I know I am an active and beneficial participant in the safety of my community.   

Photo c/o http://www.opposingviews.com

To all you self-proclaimed anti-gunners, I implore you to forsake your fear, rekindle your patriotism, get knowledgeable in the facts, and eliminate naïveté from your life.  There are countless benefits in doing so that will last a lifetime.  In the meantime, you only make yourself more vulnerable to the harmful realities that inevitably await you as you leisurely bask in your ignorance.

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved.

You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

To Serve and Protect

The illusion that the police are there to serve and protect YOU is propelled by the media and Hollywood.  Be it known that believing that police are there to protect you in any way is indeed an illusion.  The fact of the matter is, the motto “to serve and protect” is not referencing everyday citizens.  Instead it’s about protecting the STATE, although it is everyday citizens which foot the bill for the execution of such a philosophical stance.

The only time you can be assured of true protection is with a private contract between you and a security guard—from someone else other than yourself, that is.  Such individuals would be required under contract to protect you. Should anything happen to you while they were under your employ you could hold them accountable.  However, the police are government employees.  This is exactly why there are so few law enforcement officers in relation to the crime in your area and the number of citizens to protect in your area.  It’s not about protecting the citizens.  It’s about protecting the state. 

The release of thousands of inmates from California (and other) prisons reinforces this flawed thought process.  The release has been ordered as a result of the best interest of the financial standing of the State of California, not the citizens of California.  And yet it is the citizens who literally pay (through their taxes) for the legal representation of these criminals, the jury of citizens who are asked to make a fair judgment, the judge to oversee the case, the city employees who push the papers around for each criminal case, their care and well-being while incarcerated.  Yes, this is like making the citizens pay dearly for a high-tech weapon, only to have it scrapped and released to wreak havoc on the same citizens who paid for it.  Talk about “bait and switch!”  Ultimately it will be the citizens who pay a heavy price for any recidivism of any of these convicted criminals.  For centuries we’ve been paying our taxes gladly for such “services.” And yet we’re truly paying (in more ways than one) to be oppressed and overcome by such power and authority, regardless of the fact that it was free, law abiding citizens who bestowed such power. 

Instead of relying on any government entity to protect you, why not invest in protecting yourself?  Get a permit.  Get a gun (or two, or three, or more). Get appropriate ammo—I don’t care how expensive it is.  And then get trained with REAL unquestionable skills to use that firearm safely both physically and emotionally.   For REAL self-defensive firearm skill, go to www.womenofcaliber.com for exclusive training for women, by women, or www.castledefense.com for those of you who don’t want to be outdone by the women in your life. ;)

 

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved.

You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

Why We Fear Guns

If guns are good for us, then why are they so controversial?  Why are we afraid of them?

Well, the answer is short and sweet—manipulation.

Even in the movies we love, guns are typically portrayed in a negative light.  They are used by “bad guys” to commit unspeakable horror, and they are used by “law enforcement officers” to fight the bad guys, they are used in times of intense war, or they are used by decent people who mistakenly take the law into their own hands.

Additionally, the media in general has cast an ugly skewed shadow on the consequences of having a gun in the home, the stereotype of those who carry guns, and the supposed harm that such items cause to an otherwise civil society.  In fact, even the word “assault weapon” was created by the anti-gun individuals and the media as an accomplice to impose a derogatory and frightening mental picture associated with any firearm resembling a rifle (The phrase “assault weapon” is clearly one of many mischaracterizations of a firearm. The word “assault” denotes an act of aggressive proactive behavior. If that were really the case, perhaps we should call all fishing rods an “assault rod”).

In other words, the first reason why we’ve come to fear guns so badly is because the only education we receive typically is at the hands the media or the movie industry.  Now that I think about it, with the exception of the movie The Patriot, I don’t recall seeing any movie that promoted the right to keep and bear arms and the necessity of such to ensure a free country in an appropriate light.  In a movie we see and hear the big blast of a firearm, see the ensuing (and predictably obligatory) blood splatters, and that’s the picture we have training our mind about guns.  We never get to see and thus to better feel the relief one would have in truly being able to defend themselves from a violent crime on the big screen.  And rarely, if ever, do we hear in the media of all of the crimes that are prevented by the use of a firearm in the hands of a responsible and competent citizen.  Nope.  The only way you can find out about that is to join some kind of 2^nd Amendment activist group or purchase books which look like they were produced with a small budget. 

Do you have any idea of how hard I had to search just to find the FBI statistic which states that the mere presence of a firearm in the hands of our citizens prevents over 5,500 crimes PER DAY?  Nope.  You’ll never see a mainstream newspaper put that in their headlines. 

In other words, all of our firearm education is through the stunning special effects and loud professional voices of manipulation by those who would have us believe that the use of a firearm for self-defense is a barbaric tactic.

Not to say that your parents were wrong in the choices they made in raising you, but they have a great deal of responsibility in your feelings towards gun as well.  In their defense, they were fed the same “state of reality” growing up through the movies, media, etc.  I’m curious how far back in history I’d have to go to find a time when we actually taught about all of the components of the Constitution in elementary or middle school.  Regardless, your parents didn’t have such education.  AND they weren’t raised in a time where thousands of gangs roam our nation committed to wreaking terror and death throughout, periodic invasions from foreign terrorists, a stark imbalance between law enforcement protection and the citizens, record numbers of overcrowding in our jails, rampant substance abuse, the highest level of violent crime in the history of our nation and a laissez faire attitude and naïveté that opens us to even more crimes.  I could point out many more societal changes which may dictate that we have more reasons to take personal responsibility for our own effective self-defense today rather than yesterday, but I don’t really want this to appear too doom and gloom.  I guess I could have summed this part up by simply saying that your folks were raised in a different time of violence and crime and thus the likelihood that you were raised unaware and uneducated in matters of firearm defense is very likely.  They were subjected to the same glitzy, high-budget media and movie education that everyone else is. 

Now I don’t know about you, but when I find that I’m being manipulated, I tend to resist—fiercely.  In fact, when I’m listening to a professional speaker on a stage who is so predictably trying to get the audience to bob their heads in agreement or to contrive a laugh from the audience, I personally rebel and refuse to submit.  So, when I see that I’m being manipulated by one side of the topic, I make it a point to get the whole story…full education.  As a result, I’ve come to believe strongly in the necessity of learning how to use a firearm in self-defense AND ensure that such a right as a citizen of this nation is never threatened. 

The myths are that guns are symbols of violence, whereas I now see them as a symbol of enduring peace in a violent world around me.

The myth is that guns are used by insecure, mentally deranged people.  I find that my ability to competently use a firearm eliminates fear in my life and thus I’m able to replace that fear with confidence and unmask other positive attributes which I possess.

The myth is that guns kill lots of people every year.  The fact is they do, but typically in the hands of criminals.  The biggest killer of our American citizens is medical errors, followed by heart disease, and then cancer.  Seriously, statistically, doctors who cause death by dereliction are 9,000 times more dangerous than guns held by legal gun owners! And yet no one has ever run a news story that paints doctors and hospital staff in the same barbaric light as gun owners.

Additional consideration is the number of violent crimes that are committed by illegal immigrants in our country.  Illegal immigrants kill over 8,000 legal American citizens in our country every year, and are also responsible for sexually assaulting over 2,000 of our children every year and yet we can’t seem to lobby against them. 

Lastly, there’s the myth is that a gun in the house will result in a fatal accident among children or others. The fact is if you don’t know how to use and be safe with a firearm, your chances of an accident happening are sky-high – not just in your home, but in the home of your neighbors whom your children visit.  If you don’t know about firearms and their workings, how do you know you’ll act appropriately if you walk in on a child who has one in their hands?  Education is the key.  Curiosity and ignorance is a deadly combination and is what causes accidents.  Not guns.  Attempting to say as much is like saying that pencils cause spelling errors. 

I’m completely accepting of the fact that someone chooses not to have a firearm so long as that person makes the decision with full knowledge of the facts rather than the myths.  So please, get informed and then make your decision.  If you do choose to get educated on the USE of a firearm, Women of Caliber will be here for you with the most expert training available for women—by women. 

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved.

You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.