You never need a gun - until you need a gun

Armed Females of America ^ | MARK S

[SJackson]

FOREWARD: I received this letter from a concerned husband. I thought it was written so sincerely and knowledgeably that I got permission to share it with you. My hope is that the female readers get as much out of it as I did. CARMA LEWIS, AFA NATIONAL DIRECTOR

I have some facts I would like you to share with your membership, as they relate to the safety of your members. I am currently a Counselor in the State Prison System and have been for four years, and for several years prior to that, I was a Probation Officer.

I have had the misfortune of interacting with multitudes of criminals-especially sexual offenders. What never ceases to amaze me is how lightly criminals are punished. I have NEVER had an experience with a sexual offender who had been involved with the criminal justice system for his first sex offense. What this means, is that these criminals always have previous sex-related crimes behind them, and will most likely be rapists all their pathetic lives. Our weak judges and court system will set them free, time after time, to commit more mayhem on unarmed women.

Then there are the abusive husbands and boyfriends who turn into MURDERING husbands and boyfriends, not just murdering their "lovers," but often times the woman's children, her mom and dad, sisters and brothers who try to help, and of course, their girlfriends who try to help. You know, "he walked right through that restraining order and put her in intensive care. . . " (Dixie Chicks)

Don't get me wrong here, I am 5'11" and weigh 245 lbs. I could squash my wife if I wanted to, and no woman I know here in Yuma, AZ can bench press more than I do. (almost 400 lbs.)

I think I can safely say that MOST men have a serious strength advantage over women, but NO amount of muscle or strength can prevail over a well-placed gunshot!

Do you think a rapist would try to rape a woman who he EVEN SUSPECTED had a gun?? No way in hell!! They are going to go for the weak-minded, "just don't hurt me " type, like the woman who claims she was raped and shot 5 times.

Have you ever heard of AIDS or Hepatitis, or any of the other diseases you can get?? Always remember, most rapists have been to prison at some time in their lives, I will let your imagination take care of the rest. Rapists usually become "victims" themselves in prison.

People need to wake up. Todays court system and Judges do not protect us, that is a fact!

You should see some of the plea agreements I have seen. Thay would turn your stomach. And the police cannot get there fast enough..........

I am so glad I live in Arizona-a state which has not yet violated the 2nd Amendment (well, not as much as some other states, anyway).

Our prison system releases predators to the streets EVERYDAY! They are out there, and they walk among us.

If your state is kind enough to allow you the means to protect yourself, you are a fool if you do not. I have had to pull a gun only once in public, and I could have shot the two people if I had wanted to. I would have been COMPLETELY justified in doing so. I didn't have to because they backed down when I brandished the gun. What if I didnt carry a gun? Not a good situation. But, I REFUSE TO BE A VICTIM!

I wish people, especially women, would wake up and realize how dangerous this world we live in really is. Always remember, people who do not follow the laws regarding murder, rape and robbery will NOT follow the laws regarding guns either. So level the playing field and carry a gun.

If anybody should pack a gun in today's society, it is women. I WORK IN A PRISON! I am not some academic expert who spouts knowledge from a classroom, I am surrounded by these scumbags all day long and I read these case files on a daily basis! WOMEN GET RAPED! THEY GET BEAT UP! THEY GET ROBBED AND CARJACKED! You have to choose to let yourself get raped, robbed or killed. What do you have to lose? Would you rather let somebody rape you, and then get AIDS? Or carry and use a gun?

My wife carries a Glock, model 30, she does just fine with it, and she only weighs 105 lbs. I am not saying she can compete or anything like that, but she is good enough with it that I would not want to be on the other end of the barrel from her.

Try to put yourself in the mind of a crack-starved scumbag and you find yourself in need of a car you will be able to rip off and sell for $50. Who are you going to jack? A small woman in a Toyota Camry? Good choice, but too bad,............. she has a gun.

My firearms instructor, at the police academy, had a saying "You never need a gun - until you need a gun, and then you need it MORE THAN ANYHTING ELSE IN THE WORLD!

[SJackson]

bang_list

[.45MAN]

ping

[WALLACE212]

Better to have a gun and not need it, than to need a gun and not have one...

[glc1173@aol.com]

"Don't get me wrong here, I am 5'11" and weigh 245 lbs. I could squash my wife if I wanted to, and no woman I know here in Yuma, AZ can bench press more than I do. (almost 400 lbs.)" (Armed Females of America)

Remember, virtually all violent felons have done time - and virtually all convicts with long sentences spend much of their time doing nothing but "bulking out" in the exercise room. If you think your whatever belt in whatever martial art will allow you to take on some guy who's six and a half inches taller than you (difference between average American man and average American woman) and weighs 250 lbs., all muscle, think again, lady.

This is particularly true if you have the ill fortune to be attacked on the way to or from work - while wearing pumps and a skirt.

Guns are like fire extinguishers and smoke detectors;
you almost never need them - but when you do...

GUN REVIEWS free from ad-money bias - emphasizing woman-friendliness of tested guns!

[knarf]

Right on!

[archy]

This is particularly true if you have the ill fortune to be attacked on the way to or from work - while wearing pumps and a skirt.

I don't know that skirts would necessarily confer a disadvantage, as the Scots managed some pretty fierce close encounters in kilts, though I can easily imagine that some styles would be far less suitable. And pumps can offer a weapon in and of themselves, though like any weapon, it requires practice in the maneuvers to be used for them to be effective as such, and I've seen precious little of that in practice.

There are advantages a woman can use to her advantage, however. Though some folks suggest dainty little handguns such as Smith and Wesson's former *Ladysmith* line for women users, not at all a bad choice if worn on the person, those who carry in a handbag or purse can utilize full-size, full-power service handguns if that suits them, as do two of my previous lady friends and one cop-wife neighbor.

The cop wife carries a duplicate of her hubby's .40 Glock service automatic, and her dinner-dress bag additionally has two accessory pouches on it just right for two spare magazines apiece. My lady friend who's an Air Force veteran is as happy with her 9mm Beretta M9 handgun on which she was reasonably well trained at USAF expense and which she carried on her tour through Desert Shield/Storm as I am with the .45 automatic and 9mm Browning Hi-Powers that recall my own time in the Army. And the third simply notes that her own purse is often an uncoordinated jumble, and a large handgun is easier for her to find through the clutter than a smaller one might be. For their own reasons, the approach works for them; others would prefer to carry on-body, lest a successful pursesnatcher get something other than what they might deserve.

-archy-/-

[marktwain]

Bump. An informative article. Most women make excellent shooting students, as they are willing to listen, and don't have too many preconcieved notions about how to shoot.

[sasquatch]

"The beauty of the second amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it." --Thomas Jefferson

[hopespringseternal]

If you think your whatever belt in whatever martial art will allow you to take on some guy who's six and a half inches taller than you (difference between average American man and average American woman) and weighs 250 lbs., all muscle, think again, lady.

One time, I was in a martial arts class where the instructor had the six biggest guys in class try to hold a girl that must have weighed all of 100 pounds soaking wet. She scattered us all over the room.

BUT

We weren't "attacking" her, we were just trying to hold her, and at that we were being careful not to do anything that would be very painful.

That is the problem with most martial arts training: It can not be done in realistic conditions. Vicious attacks that happen in real life are dangerous and fast, nothing like martial arts training.

To actually use any martial art successfully on the street, you have to have be able to transition from gentle training to high level of ruthlessness. Very few people can do that.

[dansangel]

Another excellent article that mirrors most of what I tell my female friends and acquaintances who just "don't understand" why I feel the need to carry concealed.

I'm glad I woke up by having a crime committed against my property, not my person, because then it would have been too late. Now, in situations where I am not allowed to carry my firearm per GA statute 16-11-127 (and am praying that this is overturned) I feel extremely vulnerable, as though I have "UNARMED FEMALE" written across my forehead.

God Bless my husband for his encouragement and all of the other men that encourage the females they love and care for to arm themselves and to learn how to use their weapon for self-preservation.

[riverrunner]

Yes most martial artist well tell it is very dangerous to attack some one that is armed no matter how well trained you are.

[hopespringseternal]

Yes most martial artist well tell it is very dangerous to attack some one that is armed no matter how well trained you are.

Well, I was speaking to unarmed confrontations specifically.

Against an armed assailant, the choice may not be yours. If he gives you an opportunity, it is probably best to take it and possibly die trying. You are a lot more likely to survive a shooting than an execution.

[dansangel]

BTTT for armed females!

[kevlinsky]

Woman, or actually, anyone planning on having a gun for self defense, should you use full size handguns. In fact you should use the biggest gun that you can handle. The reason for this is simple:

Criminals are generally stupid. If you point something like a saturday night special at one of them, they won't be as scared as if you were to take out a huge revolver. Both guns, if fired, will allow the victim to get out of a dangerous situation, but a flashing bigger gun carries a bigger message, and you will have to use it less and in turn, spend less time defending yourself in court.

[kevlinsky]

I have heard two strategies that should be used against armed assailants. The first was to comply with their demands. While this seems like a bad idea, statistically, it has the higher chance of survival for the victim. The second thing, and this was only to be used if the victim knows what he or she is doing, was to create a distraction, secure the weapon, and blind the assaulter with something like mace. If you have a gun, you can just secure their weapon, and point it at your assaulter (or hit them across the eyes - that could blind them permanently though). Either case, if you have multiple assaulters, and at least two of them have guns, you are probably screwed, gun or not (if they find a gun on you, it'll probably make things worse).

[Zon]

The National Crime Victimization Report, U.S. Department of Justice shows that women who respond passively are 2.5 times more likely to be seriously injured than women who use a gun to defend themselves.

[dansangel]

Exactly! Again, these are the types of statistics I try to convey to females who question arming themselves, along with, "Wouldn't you do absolutely whatever is necessary to protect your children if someone breaks into your home?"

I've also recommended John Lott's book, "More Guns Less Crime" and Paxton Quigley's "Armed and Female" which is a little outdated, but makes some great points.

Unfortunately, the gun-grabbers tend to "yell the loudest" along with skewing their arguments with bogus "facts" and statistics. They get invited on "Rosie" (gag) and "Oprah" and passionately spew their lies while their sympathetic hostesses nod and go "Uh-Huh."

It's frustrating. But, I feel that if I've convinced just one woman of the RIGHT and the REASON of arming and protecting herself, I've done my job.

[Zon]

Thanks, I like this too...

"When citizens fear their government, you have tyranny; when the government fears its citizens, you have freedom." - Thomas Jefferson -

[archy]

Woman, or actually, anyone planning on having a gun for self defense, should you use full size handguns. In fact you should use the biggest gun that you can handle. The reason for this is simple:

Criminals are generally stupid. If you point something like a saturday night special at one of them, they won't be as scared as if you were to take out a huge revolver. Both guns, if fired, will allow the victim to get out of a dangerous situation, but a flashing bigger gun carries a bigger message, and you will have to use it less and in turn, spend less time defending yourself in court. Those can certainly be practical factors worth consideration, but it's true too that it's generally better to carry on-body if at all possible [or at least as well] and that women's styles often make that difficult or near impossible.

There are many large caliber if not full-sized handguns thatcan fit that bill, but the fact remains that the choice has to be the ultimate user's own final decision.

My present ladyfriend is pretty well-served by her model 3914 pre-Quisling S&W, as well as the American Firearms .45 ACP double-barrelled derringer that accompanies the spare magazine for her S&W on her ankle holster. For her, that primary and backup combination works, at least until she can get to her AR15, her Mossberg 500 *bear gun* or her #5 .303 Enfield.

And she's a pretty good cook, too....

Here in Tennessee, our concealed handgun permits don't cover the carry of a loaded rifle or shotgun in one's vehicle, so that consideration requires either defiance [common] grudging but risky compliance, or creativity. I picked the latter, and for my *car gun* have a C96 7,62mm *broomhandle* Mauser service pistol with extended 20-round magazine, with add-on holster-stock as a particularly useful and handy accessory, giving me a pretty good *imitation carbine.* That may be a bit more than the average *full size handgun* you suggest, and is even a bit much for most purses [goes greatr in a nylon laptop case, though!] but it fills a particular need for me so long as the laws of this jurisdiction remain as is or I remain here, and it works for me.

And I can cook too...

-archy-/-