A Girl and Her Gun

Oh-Oh! This one is going to be controversial. Relax..this is not a political post. (I don’t do political posts.) This is a personal post and it’s my own story.

My first experience with a gun was when I was about six years old. My dad took me to a turkey shoot and entered me in the contest. I didn’t get to spend a whole lot of time with my dad, so I was really looking forward to impressing him with my shooting skills. As we walked up to the registration, I looked at the targets and envision myself hitting a bullseye and looking at my dad, while he gleamed with pride. We’d walk out with that big bird and enjoy our Thanksgiving Dinner, while telling the story of how I beat out all of those grown men for the prize.

It was my turn to shoot and I walked up and held the shotgun just like my dad showed me. He adjusted it a little bit, I took a deep breath and pulled the trigger. I don’t know if the bullet hit the target because the gun shot back and hit me in the face and threw be flying in the air backwards about four feet, where I lied on my back crying.

So that didn’t turn out the way I planned.

My next encounter with a gun was when I was driving with my dad one night. I was standing up in the front seat of the car, because that’s what we did in the 70’s. The seats were like a bench, so they were easy to stand on, and the seatbelts were always stuck down inside the seat, not that we would’ve used them anyway.

My dad had a brown leather pouch under the front seat of the car. He wasn’t paying attention, so I unzipped it and opened it up to find a pistol. I had no idea what kind it was, but I didn’t like the looks of it. My dad grabbed it from me and I think he may have yelled at me, I but I don’t know for sure. The next thing I remember is that we pulled up to a convenience store and he told me stay in the car. He grabbed a pair of pantyhose, which I thought was super weird that my dad had pantyhose, and took the contents of that pouch and the pantyhose into the convenient store and came back just a minute later.

I didn’t realize it until a few years ago, but I’m pretty sure my dad robbed that convenient store.

Anyway! Fast forward about 40 years. I’m marrying a Green Beret, so as you can probably imagine, we have a gun in just about every room of our house. On one of our very first dates, (and several thereafter), we went to a gun range, where he taught me how to shoot. I jumped about a foot every single time the gun went off. My niece had already attempted to teach me to shoot, but I wasn’t a very good student. She’s a complete bad ass and she’s so good that someone even asked her if she’s ex-military. I, on the other hand, just don’t really like the loud noises or the smell of the gunpowder.

I don’t really like guns period. But, I faced the fact that guns are going to be a big part of my life from now on. My fiancé is one of the toughest men on the planet. If the shit ever hits fan in this world, I’m the safest girl on earth. I’ve never in my life felt so safe. However, since he can’t be with me 24 hours a day, and since I go to meet strangers that I’ve never met in empty houses that I’ve been to for my job, a gun of my own was going to be one of my next purchases.

Every time I leave the house, even if I’m going for a jog, he asks me, “You got your gun?” Of course I have my gun! I don’t like carrying it around and part of me is afraid I would pull a Plaxico Burress and shoot myself in the leg. But what I REALLY don’t like is the thought of something happening to me and becoming a victim of violence. (That word victim gives me hives.). Nope - I will not be a victim. Ever.

I don’t ever want to have to use it and I hope I don’t. But knowing that I can protect myself if someone tries to hurt me far outweighs my dislike for carrying it.

Guns are not bad. Guns don’t kill people. Car accidents kill more people every year than guns do. Are we going to stop driving? Of course not!

If more good people had guns, the bad people would be less likely to use them for evil. Think it about it for a minute - if the bad guy knew that there’s a really good chance that several people in the mall or movie theatre (or wherever) have guns, they’d be less likely to go in there and fire theirs.

I’m one of the good guys, and I’m more empowered than I’ve been in all my life because I have the knowledge and capability to carry a gun and protect myself if needed. I don’t live in fear. I am trained and I am prepared. I am no longer afraid of guns. The fear was something that I created in my head because of my lack of experience and knowledge.

I don’t ever want to see another headline about a Realtor getting assaulted at an open house., but it will likely happen. More than once. But, it doesn’t have to. Thankfully, the citizens of this great country have the right to bear arms, so we don’t have to become a headline.

Even if you’re not a Realtor and meeting strangers for a living, you are still in situations in which you can be at risk. I don’t know the exact number of women that have been killed in violent attacks, but I know that every single one is one too many.

I fully understand your fear or dislike of guns - I’ve been there. I would like to encourage you….no urge you..to put your fears aside so that you can get educated and trained so that you can turn your fears into empowerment so you never have to live in fear of being a victim.