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.

Children and Guns Part 3

 

This is part of a four-part blog series addressing Children and Guns.  Part I – want to ensure your kid never commits a crime?  Give him a gun.  Part II addresses myths of gun safety – what you must know in order to truly protect your children.  Part III  addresses when it is safe to educate your child on firearms.  Part IV explores what’s really responsible for the death of our nation’s children.  If you enjoy what you read, please comment and share on your blog or Twitter.  Thank you. 

When Is It Safe to Educate Your Children On Guns? 

 

                                      

A friend of mine relayed an enduring story.  As a gun owner he has diligently practiced safe handling procedures with his children, even down to the youngest. One day he had occasion to take his youngest child, a 4-year-old son, to the emergency room to accompany an ill family member. The 4-year-old insisted that he get to wear his cowboy garb complete with the hat, and boots, as well as his belt, holsters, and pistols.  As the two of them were walking in the entrance, a police officer was walking out.  The 4-year-old cowboy was irresistible to the jovial police officer, so he couldn’t help bending down in front of the boy and making a comment, “Hey there cowboy, you gonna shoot me with those guns you’re slinging?”  The boy instinctively put his hands on his guns just like a gunslinger from the Wild West days and then paused.  He put his hands down and said, “I don’t point my guns at anybody.” Fortunately there are simple gun safety programs such as the NRA’s Eddie Eagle program which teach simple, memorable rules to ensure gun safety.  The Eddie Eagle program has been taught on a volunteer basis to over 26,000 school systems nationwide.  Civic programs have also used this program nationwide to reach over 21 million youth since 1988. This program is even formulated to begin teaching children as young as kindergarten. 

So, when should you talk to your kids about guns?  Consider the following:

According to federal statistics, there are guns in approximately half of all U.S. households.*  So even if you do not have a firearm in your home, it’s very likely that there will be one in another home your child visits.  Thus regardless of your own personal feelings about gun usage, you will be unable to ignore the reality of their presence elsewhere in your child’s life. As such, gun safety education should occur as soon as your child is likely to encounter a gun, real or fake. Another ideal barometer for education your child on gun safety is as soon as your child begins asking questions about guns.  This is also indicative of an ideal time to educate.  Even if such questions are relevant to toy pistols or rifles, it’s imperative that parents do not ignore or deny a child’s interest.  Delaying education will only heighten any sense of mystery your child may have.  Education is much more effective in gun safety than a passionate instruction for them to simply leave them alone. Be sure that any rules you establish with your children also apply to any visiting friends. This will prevent your child from being pressured into showing a gun to a friend.  Be sure to discuss gun use that may be viewed on television or in movies or in video games that your child may see as well.  It’s especially important in these categories because your child is likely to think that the use of a gun merely requires a “reset” button or the switch of a channel, rather than respecting the permanent nature of its use.  Your education of guns should not only ensure that a gun is never used without supervision, but also that a real gun is never mistaken for a toy.   

The essential rules of the Eddie Eagle program are as follows:

STOP!

Don’t Touch.

Leave the Area.

Tell an Adult.

To reinforce this program, there are always posters, activity books, certificates, 7 minute animated DVD program, and reward stickers which accompany the Eddie Eagle training. In many instances, an Eddie Eagle mascot is even available. Note that the Eddie Eagle program does not teach whether or not guns are right and does not promote NRA membership.  No firearms are used in the program.   It focuses strictly on accident prevention.  (If you would like the author to present an Eddie Eagle program for your school or civic group, call us at 801-788-4133.)

 

Should you desire to teach your child about actual gun use, the guidelines for doing so will be determined by their physical and emotional maturity.  However, research has found that the sooner a child understands the true impact of a gun, which is best achieved with supervised gun-use education, the more respectful of guns your child will be.* I recommend that parents who do want to instruct a child to shoot begin with an air soft gun for technique, then graduate to a BB gun, then to a .22 caliber. This process will assist them in physical coordination and technical learning.

 

 *Statistics provided by the National Rifle Association’s web site

 

 

 

 

 

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved.

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

Children and Guns—Part 2

This is part of a four-part blog series addressing Children and Guns.  Part I – want to ensure your kid never commits a crime?  Give him a gun.  Part II addresses myths of gun safety – what you must know in order to truly protect your children.  Part III  addresses when it is safe to educate your child on firearms.  Part IV explores what’s really responsible for the death of our nation’s children.  If you enjoy what you read, please comment and share on your blog or Twitter.  Thank you. 

The Myth of Gun Safety

By Kellene Bishop

Wow! Our first installment in this series reaped the most feedback, e-mails, and responses than all of our other posts from Women of Caliber.  I hope that you will find this installment at least as equally beneficial.

In this piece I’m specifically addressing real gun safety. I’m referring to the avoidance of accidents, and putting the safety of guns around children in its proper perspective.  I’ve read far too many statistics which inflate the danger of guns around children.  My objection to this is not only that it’s false information, but that such information is the foundation for many women who would otherwise elect to possess a firearm and the accompanying self-defense skills.  So let’s provide the real facts so that we can make an educated decision, shall we?

Myth #1: “Children are constantly killed by accidental gun usage.”

The fact of the matter is that the reason why the media highlights the deaths of children via gun accidents is because they happen so rarely.  Obviously, it’s much more headline worthy when an innocent child is killed via a gun than a headline reading that a child is 6 times more likely to die in a car wreck than by a gun.  In fact, the likelihood of children dying via a car wreck is 14.5 times more likely than from a gun. 

There are approximately 300,000,000 guns owned legally by 94 million people in the U.S.  There are approximately 40 million children in America.  In 1999, the last year for which a detailed breakdown was available, 31 children younger than age 10 died from accidental shootings.  The Center for Disease Control only noted 4 children under the age of 10 dying from accidental gun deaths.  With 300 million guns and 40 million children, you would think that there would be a lot more deaths if the firearms in our homes were as dangerous as the media makes them out to be. 

Based on statistics in the same year, roughly 550 children ages 0-14 were run over by cars, 800 drowned, 660 were burned to death in fires, and 1,850 died inside cars.  Most of the 800 drowned were as a result of unattended children in a swimming pool, 93 drowned in bathtubs, and 36 died in 5-gallon buckets, yet we have no “mothers against bathtubs, buckets and swimming pools” organizations to speak of. 

Eight times as many children die from non-gun violence acts than from gun crimes.  (Kids and Guns, 2000, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquincy Prevention)

 

82% of homicides against children age 13 and under were committed without a gun. (1997, FBI Uniform Crime Statistics)

 

While less than 0.1% of all deaths for children between the ages 0-14 are from firearms, 0.6% are from motor vehicles, 5.3% are from being struck in beatings or bludgeoning, 6% from poisoning, and 42.6% from suffocation. (1997 National Center for Health Statistics National Vital Statistics Report)

Why aren’t more children dying at the villainous hands of 94 million gun owners throughout all of America?  Because, with few exceptions, law-abiding gun owners are conscientious of educating children on gun safety and likewise practice it themselves.  And yet so many parents, and particularly women, relinquish their freedoms to defend themselves based on the warped reality spoon-fed to them by the media.

While one would think that enough has been said about the exaggerated accidents involving children and guns, I still feel it’s necessary to address this next myth.

Myth #2: “If I don’t have a gun, my children are safer and better protected.”

This concern is falsely founded for so many reasons.  For starters, if you are not familiar with the workings of a firearm, how are you able to appropriately stop an accident from happening?  Suppose you walk in on your child who’s holding a firearm in his hands.  What do you do?  Do you grab it from him?  Do you instruct him to put it down?  HOW do you grab it?  HOW would you instruct him to put it down?  Do you know when a firearm’s safety is actually engaged on every possible gun your child could get their hands on?  Do you know the proper manner to TAKE a firearm from an unauthorized child?  Why should you NOT holler at the child, even to “freeze” and put the gun down?  If you don’t know the answers to these questions then you could actually CAUSE a firearm accident by simply trying to prevent one.  (I’ll answer these questions specifically in a further post as the instructions for such an instance are an entirely separate piece.)  Additionally, is a child’s exposure to a gun solely relegated to your own home?  Not teaching your child (and yourself) about firearms doesn’t protect them, it exposes them.

If they don’t know what a gun really is, then how are they supposed to respect its deadly power or to even be an influence among their less educated friends who may possess a firearm in their presence?  Parents who choose to ignore the reality of a firearm in the midst of their children only promote a greater percentage of danger to them.  

If you are not in favor of possessing a firearm yourself and teaching the accompanying rules with such a responsibility, then at least teach your child these 4 simple rules when they come in contact with a gun.

STOP!
Don’t Touch.
Leave the Area.
Tell an Adult.

(Eddie Eagle Education Program sponsored by the NRA)

When the only exposure to guns that children have is on video games—where they “kill” people who get right back up to play some more—you are increasing the chance of them or their friends being injured in a gun accident whether you possess one or not.

Now, let’s address the last myth. I warn you in advance, this is going to get a bit dicey as it will address a topic that most parents do not want to even think about.

Myth # 3: “Waiting until my children are grown so that they can make their own decision on using a firearm is the best policy.”

First of all, let me ask you this question, when has your child EVER waited according to your time-frame to do anything?  They grow up too fast, date far too soon, get married when you swear they are still only 8-years-old, and make you a grandparent while you’re still feeling in your prime.  So let’s debunk the myth that they will actually wait until YOU are ready before deciding for themselves about firearm usage.  The best thing you can do is to give them proper knowledge and education early on so that when they do make that unprecedented decision for themselves, they do it fully informed. 

We communicate regularly with a lot of single moms on the topic of gun ownership so I’m going to create this scenario specifically for you, Super Moms.

Suppose a criminal enters your home just as you’re about to put your 3 children down for bed.  He’s got a knife and he’s holding it at you and making vile threats against you if you don’t give him money.  He’s also made it clear that he intends to fiercely violate your virtue in the presence of your children.  Sounds a bit melodramatic, you may think, but unfortunately this is exactly the situation that numerous children have faced throughout the nation (See examples below).  Of course as a mother you don’t want to ever have to think about your child needing to defend your life with a gun.  That’s a natural instinct.  But if this same scenario is thought out rationally, think about the alternative.  Would you rather that your children have to witness a heinous attack on their mother, then her death, and perhaps even be subjected to more violence to themselves afterwards?  That’s obviously an even more disturbing thought.

So what do you do?  You train your child not to be a victim and to handle a firearm properly.  Why a firearm?  Because out of all of the championship karate matches I’ve ever been to, I have yet to see a “power pint” who is truly capable of kicking the butt of a drug-enraged criminal intent on causing death and mayhem. 

If you do not prepare them mentally for such a situation now, they won’t be ready if such a horrific event does occur and you’ll risk more than one life being lost.  By preparing them for such an instance you are NOT emotionally scarring them.  You are preparing them to win with the best possible situation.  You’re not treating them to bully others.  You’re treating them to heroically defend the lives of those around them.  Such a mental fostering has a much more powerful effect on their lives than fearfully and helplessly reacting to a crisis.  If they don’t decide when they are young, they may not be able to make a decision when someone’s life depends on it.

See:

• Boy shoots home invader  http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/308864
• Son uses shotgun to defend mother against armed home invader http://www.cbs12.com/news/intruder_4709600___article.html/home_alleged.html
• 17-year-old disarms armed robber and shoots him saving his mother http://wwwtmrcom.blogspot.com/2007/06/17-year-old-disarms-shoots-robber.html
• Bank robbery and hostage situation thwarted by a teenager in 1915
  http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=070702_1_A4_Kingo54280&breadcrumb=state
• 17-year-old thwarts home robbery with shotgun http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou061228_ac_crosbyshooting.547846d3.html

In closing, I want to reiterate that the maximum way to ensure your children are safe is to be an involved parent.  We can’t control what they are exposed to, but we can have a great influence in what happens when they are exposed.  While I’m fully aware that parts of this article are quite uncomfortable to consider, I believe that even putting yourself mentally “there” goes a long way to assist you in your progress to be fully capable to defend yourself and your loved ones.  I simply don’t want you to NOT make that decision out of misguided information fed to you by the media.  As I’ve said before, I respect individuals who elect not to possess a firearm, so long as that decision is based on sound knowledge.  I hope this piece has assisted you in making wise decisions regarding your own self-defense as well as that of your children. 

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved.

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