I bought a new Ruger LC9 last week and finally got a chance to fire it this weekend. (Don’t judge me on my stance — that little thing had a kick!) Today, I came across this USA Today article showing I’m not alone:
There are pink guns. Pink ear protection. Pink shell pouches. For your car, don’t miss the pink “Pistol Packing Princess” sticker. And if you want to pack heat while lunching at your favorite tea room, a purse with a special pistol holster is de rigueur.
All of this is aimed at women who want to own a gun — for protection, for hunting or for sport shooting — a rapidly growing demographic. But don’t let all that girly pink fool you. Women in the United States, and Iowa, for example, take their firearms seriously.
Apparently, a new law in Iowa has made it easier to get a permit for anyone who meets criteria and passes a background check. This means that the number of people — of both genders — getting permits has gone through the roof:
In Polk County, where Des Moines is located, the number of women granted permits has outpaced those granted to men by more than two to one, skyrocketing more than 311% between 2010 and 2011.
Read the rest here.
So, pistol-packing princesses, how do you discreetly carry your weapon? And how are you inculcating gun awareness in your kids?
My 13.5-yr.-old daughter is a great shot. She was frightened when we first started to train her to shoot--she was probably 9 years old, and she had one memorable nightmare about not being able to control a handgun. We characterized the activity as learning to do something she might never need to do, but that we wanted her to know how to do just in case.
She is very competent now, and has no more nightmares about it. (She knows how to clean guns, too.) The key is going shooting multiple times, across a period of years, with her parents and church friends. I'm an OK shot, but not as good as she is.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseMy husband and his whole family are longtime hunters/shooters and I've recently asked him to teach me to shoot and help me pick out a gun. I hate to sound like a tinfoil hatter, but the riots in London last summer sealed it for me. I want to be prepared to protect my home and family if the powers that be either can't, or won't. And lucky for me, I live in Texas, where my right to do so will never be questioned.
My kiddos love to shoot with their dad, and my 8 year old is an awesome shot. She can't wait to get her first whitetail : )
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseMy gun is technically my husband's, but I am feel safer knowing it's there and I can use it. I can't carry it to work in any case (gun-free zone), so I haven't bothered to get a permit at this time. I think it's a great thing for women to know how to use guns -- both our daughters were trained to do so along with their brothers, from fairly young ages, and I think both own guns now.
As far as the color pink, however, I wouldn't own anything pink relating to guns. Pink is for little girls' toys and hairbows, not for items which can kill.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe #1 reference for women interested in shooting and concealed carry is Kathy Jackson's Cornered Cat website -- www.corneredcat.com
You'll find safety info, basic gun information, a thorough look at the self-defense mindset, a near-exhaustive set of answers to common questions, information on working concealed carry into your fashion style, and even a bit of humor.
A counter-intuitive fact that women, especially small women, need to know is that physically smaller guns usually have more significant recoil than the physically larger ones in the same caliber. For example, my MPA Protector .380 is actually painful to fire to the point that I have to ice my hand after a range visit. Its small, light, and of a straight blowback design so their is a lot of kick. But my Taurus PT709 Slim 9mm is considerably more comfortable to fire and easier to control. A full-size, Colt 1911 .45 that I once borrowed had no more percieved recoil than my husband's Smith and Wesson M&P 9mm.
My personal carry method is to use a belly band around my ribcage and to place the gun as if it were a vertical shoulder holster but under my strong-side arm since I have DD obstacles in the way of drawing from the weak side. I chose this method after some experimentation because I'm considerably overweight so anything on my hips or the undefined area where my waist ought to be rides up, wear clothing with elastic waists and no belt, and do not wear jeans except for rough/dirty work.
I carry the MPA Protector at work because of their silly "no weapons" policy (which didn't prevent a guy who has just been fired from putting a supervisor in the hospital) so I need deep concealment. I carry the Taurus Slim everywhere else.
If I could have afforded it I would have chosen a Sig P238 for my deep concealment gun. Its much nicer to fire than the Protector.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI think this is a very good trend. Having more women packing heat will only make the criminal class think twice before trying something stupid. I am noticing more of my women colleagues (I am a real estate agent) talking about getting concealed carry permits. A very good idea for both sexes in my market (Northwest Indiana, includes Gary and Chicago!!). I am thinking of getting mine (I am a guy). I think the thing holding me back, is the fact we are directly next to Chicago (and Illinois for that matter) with its draconian and backwards gun laws. I tend to be on the forgetful side and don't want to risk driving into Illinois by mistake with a gun. A mistake that would become a felony if you get caught.
To be honest though, working in Gary is far safer then working the south side of Chicago. The crooks in Gary at least know you could be packing and leave you alone for the most part, the crooks on the south side know you don't for sure. Gary is at least pretty safe during the day, you can't say the same thing about the south side (and west sides) of the city of Chicago. I have never heard of a daytime incident in Gary, but there are plenty of daytime incidents of people I even know personally. So yes, gun control laws make neighborhoods more unsafe then they already are. How people like Mayor Rahmbo can't see that, I can't figure that one out (Daley had the same disease).
I think if I ever have my own office, I would probably pay for my agents to have concealed carry permits and encourage everybody to have them. I think that getting more people to be comfortable with guns is the right way to go at it. Since it isn't the guns that are the problem, they are actually part of the solution.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse