Where do I start?
You get what you pay for.
I am heartened by the fact that I see more and more young people — especially young ladies — realizing that their safety is not the responsibility of the State1, and accepting that if they want to be safe it’s all on their shoulders.
Mother Nature does not care about “fairness”, nor does she care about “feelings”. Is it fair that you’re smaller, weaker, slower, kinder, and more trusting than predators? Nope, it isn’t. It sucks, but it is a fact, and ignoring it won’t change the situation. Pretending that it isn’t so will only make it worse.
Individual people are capable of greatness; of kindness, of sainthood. Individual people are also capable of evil to make the devil blush. Individual people have racked up a hundred thousand ways that man can be inhumane to man … and are happily expanding that list.
People as a whole — in groups — well, they generally suck in one way or another; in ways greater or lesser. In the United States and Western Europe, groups of people tend to be a lesser pain in the arse, but — as I repeatedly stress: The US and Western Europe are a tiny fraction of the world.
And here I speak to the distaff side of the species: Ladies, the majority of the world is not the United States, and does not hold the same values regarding your fair selves as America does. The fact that you are an American born and raised has not one whit of an influence on the … less than enlightened view that other cultures regard your person. Which is all very well when those cultures are simmering in their juices Somewhere Else, but the sad realty is that we seem to be bending over backwards to bring Third World types (and their 9th Century mentalities2) to our cities.
So. You have decided to take advantage of your inherent rights recognized by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, and go armed. Bless you.
You are also wise enough — one hopes — to realize that you need training to make the bearing of a firearm easier, and to make the use of same more effective.
First off: Get legal insurance3. There are plenty of services that charge you a monthly fee in exchange for an attorney to represent you in legal self-defence matters at no extra cost. Trust me, this is rather more valuable than you think4.
Now that you have legal insurance, you need a firearm. That is the subject of another, entirely separate, blog post5, so we’ll pass on that part for now.
Here’s the meat of the post: You desperately need training. More, you need training from an experienced instructor6 who not only knows — specifically — how to teach firearms7, but is not emotionally-invested in you and your progress8.
In my humble opinion, the training needs of 9,999 out of 10,000 armed American citizens would be more than adequately covered by attending the Gunsite 250 course, followed up some months later by Massad Ayoob Group’s MAG 40 class.
Gunsite will teach you how to use a gun to fight off a predator. Mas will teach you how to survive what the State is liable to do to you afterwards because you dared to protect yourself.
Yes, they’re expensive9, however10 — you get what you pay for. Are these the only schools I recommend? Of course not, but whatever school or course you go to, please make sure that it is well-established, with well-regarded instructors11. This is, after all your life, your safety, and your future.
Ian
If haven’t read the SCOTUS decisions in Warren v. District of Columbia, DeShaney v. Winnebago City, and Castle Rock v. Gonzales, you probably should.
9th Century is — quite honestly — pretty advanced for some 3rd World hell-holes.
No, do it now.
It cost me $20,000 and two years of my life to fight a wrongful prosecution for a misdemeanor. Get the insurance.
More rant than blog post, if I’m being truthful.
Just because he was (allegedly) military or law enforcement does NOT mean he actually knows jack divided by squat about guns.
Teaching is a whole ‘nother skillset, not usually taught to the line guys.
Your boyfriend is right out.
I may do a list of gun schools in a later post.
On #8, I tell people there are 2 things boyfriends and husbands should never do: Try to teach their partner to shoot, or how to drive a stick shift. No good will come from either, and they are better off hiring it done. I taught the Tennessee handgun Carry Permit class for 20 years. I had more than a few ladies come to the class who had never shot before. I would take them to the range before the class and work with them. One lady burst into tears after she fired her first shot. Come qualification time , she put them all in a group you could cover with your hand.
And I can't tell you how many showed up with 5 shot J frames they couldn't see the sights on because husband/boyfriend/guy at the gun counter told them that was what they needed. I kept a 2 1/2" S&W 357 and a S&W M&P 9mm for people who struggled with the guns they brought to class. I got to where I could tell in the first 5 rounds whether a change was necessary. And then there were the folks that show up with the $100 junk guns (Remember the Byrco Jennings?) that broke within 10 rounds (Is that really all your life is worth? I'd ask).
My great sadness as a long since naturalized citizen, is the number of young Americans that travel overseas, both male and female,. Total lack of situational awareness otherwise called "street smarts". Every year many perish at the hands of miscreants or end up in situations horrible to contemplate for the living. Not just Americans, many Europeans are equally clueless. I try to educate all within my sphere on smart travels, it should be taught in HS along with basic concepts of money, checkbook use, economics and avoidance of bad situations. The best self defense is to not find oneself where such is needed.