You Get What You Pay For?

I’ve been playing devil’s advocate with the gun control media frenzy. It’s fun to watch them scramble on the latest breaking news then find out there’s nothing new the government can do other than cost tax payers more money for research.

The POTUS proposed a $500 million dollar plan to ban assaultweapons and make private sales of firearms illegal, and a $10 million dollar plan for research by the CDC into possible linkages between violent video games, media images and real-life violence. An ESTIMATED $510 million dollars for something that will not stop the bad guys from getting guns and killing people when they set their mind to it, yet we are not even one month into 2013 and the majority of Americans are already losing $200+ per household a paycheck from the tax mayhem. The gun laws already on the books need to be enforced before they start binding them with new ones.

Listen up! If you are convicted of a felony you are no longer allowed to possess a firearm (right to bear arms). That sounds fair for the basic version of bad guys. Keep reading. When a person in Baker Acted it is considered a medical condition that falls under HIPPA. This is a privacy act that protects people’s medical business from being public information. Under the new laws proposed people who are Baker Acted will no longer be allowed to possess firearms. This means your medical information in this regard will become public information in order to be tracked.  A person Baker Acted will be no different than a convicted felon if they are caught in possession of a firearm. If this goes through then they will also be subject to search just like a convicted felon in order to ensure the law is properly executed.  This means anyone they reside with will also be subject to this law in order to keep them from having access to firearms.  Still sound fair?

Don't go off on the "protect our children" soap box. I firmly believe in protecting our children, MY CHILDREN, and everyone else who needs protection. I wholeheartedly agree that we need to make it impossible for the bad guys to access any weapon.   Banning them will keep everyone from having them so that solves everything!   Banning them is stupid.  It keeps the honest people honest, and the bad guys get creative. 

I’m a cop. I’m also a mom of two active boys and a wife to a Jarhead who will eat a steak as long as he doesn’t know how it died. We own firearms. Our boys know how to shoot, and our oldest knows how to access them in case of an emergency. Teaching them these things are important to us for two reasons: One is for safety, the other is for protection.

I also have a diverse group of friends. Some are for gun ownership, others are against it and a few are on the fence. I respect their opinions and reasons for each. Though most people’s apprehension over firearms is their lack of exposure and training with them, some folks just aren’t gun people. My ancestors called them ‘gatherers’.
 

With my profession I see gun ownership as a double-edged sword. You have them for sport/hunting/protection, or you have them for killing. We’re usually the target which is why we carry guns. Safety is our first priority, and if I can’t get there fast enough to save you then guess who wins?  

Here’s my perspective in a nutshell:  Average speed of a bullet fired from a 9mm is 955 mph. Average speeds of a police car running lights and sirens in a busy city is 85 mph at best. It only takes one bullet. Bad guys with guns trump the good guys without them. Bad guys with a plan win when the good guys don’t have one.

Stop blaming the laws, gun manufacturers, video games, and crazy people.   A person that makes the decision to kill another human being does so out of CHOICE.  The rest of us have the same access and exposure as the bad guys yet we choose to abide by the law.  If anything else, arm yourself with knowledge instead of spreading fear. 

And for the sake of We the People, STOP WASTING OUR MONEY!

 

Flashbang!

You're walking to your car after shopping, hands are full, you're digging through your purse for the car keys, and it's dark out.  All of a sudden two males with hoodies drawn around their faces jump out of a car and run toward you with a gun yelling for you to give them your purse.  You give them your purse and they decide they don't want a witness so they shoot.

It's a late evening, cool breeze, and perfect for a run.  You take off on your normal path, be it your neighborhood or park, and as you're halfway through your goal distance a guy jumps out of nowhere and tackles you.  He's got one hand with a knife against your throat as he tells you to be quiet or he's going to kill you.  It's now dark, you're a mile or more from home, and no one is around to hear you scream. 

You stop at the corner gas station to buy your lotto or grab a drink when someone walks in and points a gun at you.  Tells you to get down then points it at the clerk and orders him to open the register.  Say you have your kid(s) with you and they start crying, frustrating the gun-wielding robber who then points the gun at one of them. 

These are scenarios for some of you to think about, reality for some of you who have been through it.  Whatever your experience, what would you do?  Some of you would get robbed or raped, or worse...killed.  Then there's some of you who would think like I do and whip out whatever concealed weapon you have to drop the SOB.  Call it paranoid, I call it prepared. 

I grew up in a country town where daddies taught their daughters to shoot, and mommas taught them where to aim.  It was never about protection then, more about knowledge and self-sufficiency.  I moved out of that small town and joined the biggest gun club in the world, the military.  Becoming a Marine was the growth and change I needed to realize my personal strength.  It wasn't until my career in law enforcement that I discovered knowledge and personal strength wasn't enough protection off-duty.  Yeah, even cops are victims. 

Close your eyes and think about one (or all) of the above situations.  Put yourself as the victim, feeling the fear and anger build.  Think about what you would want to happen.  You want to win.  You want the bad guy to pay.  Most important, you want to be able to protect your loved ones.

One of the most useful sayings (pretty much a mantra for LEOs) is "You're body won't go where your mind has never been."  This means if you don't think about the worst that can happen then you won't know how you can respond.  In a moment of crisis you act or you freeze.  If you freeze you lose, and sometimes that loss may be someones life.  Whether you carry a pocket knife or a handgun, make sure you know how to use it in moments that you least expect to. 

I'm all about my Kershaw (pocket knife) and lately I have been carrying my .380 S&W for easy concealment.  I was recently introduced to what some of my dear friends call "The Boob Holster".  It's aptly named the Flashbang and for the past week I have carried it to test it's efficiency and concealment.  Friends have inquired about how you retrieve your gun from it.  Do you take off your shirt?  Do you have to unsnap the bra? Can you see it in tighter shirts? What about wearing it while you workout or run? 

Here's my answers to those questions:

No, you do not have to take your shirt off to retrieve your gun, although this could be a very effective distraction as you "flash" the bad guy to get your gun. 

No, you do not have to unsnap your bra or the holster to retrieve your gun.  It is surprisingly quick to reach up your shirt front, grab the handle of your gun, and before you blink you've pulled it out of the holster and already have a shot fired at the bad guy's head. 

Yes and No as far as seeing it in tighter shirts.  I wear clingy shirts sometimes and even wore it under my workout clothes one day.  I asked a few people if they could see where my gun was concealed and they kept looking for it around my waist and legs.  When I told them it was in my bra (guys will unintentionally...and intentionally, stare when you tell them) they said they would've never known.

I wore it once to workout and that just isn't conducive to lifting weights or doing the Insanity workout.  Running with it was fine, I did have to wear an underwire bra though.  It's the best support for the holster.

The website I ordered mine from has videos that show the quick draw methods and also how you can position the holster.  I wear mine high for better concealment in some clothes and low for comfort in others.  It's a good tool for women who want to carry concealed without having to wear baggy clothes

For my fellow gal pals that carry concealed, if you have a personal favorite please share.  The more knowledge we can spread about self-defense and female friendly tools for protection, the better.  

"I’m a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf.”