The Washington Times is taking on the gun issue in DC...

And it's being written from a woman's perspective.

For a small bit of background: Senior Editor Emily Miller is a DC resident and wants a gun. Says she doesn't feel safe in DC anymore. Has decided to go through the entire process of purchasing a firearm, and is posting about it daily.

To follow her story on the Washington Times site, go here; go here if you want to follow her on Twitter.

Hopefully this will be helpful to others in DC who want to buy, but don't have a clue where to start...and good luck to Emily!

Who says women are weak?

This lady would like to have a talk with you.

You wanna know who's awesome?

She is. So is she.

Charter Arms - my thoughts.

So the big reason we went to the NRA Annual Meeting was to scope out all the pretty shiny things the various manufacturers brought for the general populace to manhandle...and manhandle, we did.  I had a couple of brands I specifically wanted to find while we were there, though, and made a point to go looking for them.

Charter Firearms was one of the companies I was looking forward to finding at the Meeting.  Jay had mentioned they were eager to talk with him at last year's Meeting, and I wanted to check out their other revolvers, so on day 2 we hoofed it to the first floor to find them.

We found them off in a little booth near the end of the hall, and immediately approached them.  Chris wanted to mention how much he likes his Bulldog (he also wanted to show them his holster), and I wanted to check out their .357 and .38 offerings.  I'd already perused the site a bit and familiarized myself with what they had for sale, so nothing was a huge surprise, but it was still nice to see the firearms in person.  I like to see firearms and handle them before I order my own - I'm weird like that.

So, they had everything laid out all nice and pretty, and here I come with my camera and mess everything up.  I was amused, y'see...they had a Chic Lady on the table, and I really wanted to see the pink on polished stainless. (Photos are here.)  I know there are plenty of folks who are against the pink gun, but living in a state where I can't carry, I can't justify avoiding something pretty due to practicality.  Confession time: I love this pistol.  It's cute and girly, and I WANT ONE.  They also had the Pink Lady and Lavender Lady on hand for viewing which were equally cute, but neither come with the crocodile-pattern case that comes with the Chic Lady.  If anything, they're the only revolver company making items directed at women...that aren't going to cost an arm and a leg.  My only complaint was the lack of "feminine" colors in higher calibers, but this is apparently due to cost: the higher-caliber firearms are stainless, and therefore can't be anodized like the aircraft aluminum .38s.  Though disappointing, this makes sense (and also explains why the Tiger Stripe Bulldog was given the Cerakote treatment instead of some other finish). 

I also got an opportunity to talk to Lissa McCarthy, who was easily the most enthusiastic woman at the show.  Companies really need to have representatives who actually know and care about their product at shows and conventions if they're going to thoroughly engage a potential customer.  I met just one woman out of all the other big name booths who knew what she was talking about, and she wasn't half as enthusiastic as Ms. McCarthy.  Ms. McCarthy was enthusiastic and excited about the products at Charter, and she and I gabbed like friends about pistols, holsters, holster purses, and boys (heh).  Even if I was on the fence about buying a revolver from them, she'd have pushed me over to the Charter side.

Edited to add: I recently rediscovered this post.  I've gotta say, I'm glad Charter opted for "Pink Lady" instead of "Pink Bitch."  It's a bit more appealing with the more palatable name. :)

Tea and Targets - Maryland women taking aim.

A member of a local forum shot and edited the video for this piece for the news down around Bowie, MD.  Go, watch, and be as happy as I am that more women are getting interested in shooting - and shooting safely.

My favorite line?  The elderly lady saying "Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition!"  Amen to that!  Now I want one of the clubs up around me to have a shoot like this.

Okay, NOW I'm disgusted.

Way to go, douchebags.

I'd like to mention that I am a patient of Planned Parenthood.  The local clinic serves as my GYN.  I support everything they stand for.  To see this funding possibly ripped from them disgusts me.  My only hope is this bill doesn't get past the Senate.


I stand with Planned Parenthood.

QOTD - self defense for women IS NOT something to be ignored!

Women must not depend upon the protection of man, but must be taught to protect herself. - Susan B. Anthony, July 1871

This is something that I found awhile back, and it struck a chord in me.

For some reason, women just aren't taught the basics of self-defense anymore.  We simply expect the police to protect us, and SURELY nothing bad will ever happen to us.  When I was a kid, I was told to carry a whistle and scream fire (because no one responds to "HELP" anymore), and the nice policemen would come to my rescue every time.  I honestly believed this until I was attacked in my own backyard.  No one came to my rescue...and it was a huge slap in the face to everything I believed until that point.  It planted the seed that eventually grew into my ownership of first knives, then a firearm.

It makes me wonder, though, why women are (with occasional exceptions) generally reluctant to protect themselves.  Is it because we're so reliant on the men in our lives?  Every time the discussion of self defense is brought up outside the gun-friendly circles, women usually say "I just want to take a women's self-defense class, and maybe carry pepper spray."  Pepper spray is useless unless one knows how to use it...and even then, there's a good chance pepper spray will only enrage an attacker further, rather than disarm them.  I can say with absolute certainty that basic self-defense classes geared toward women is NOT the best idea.  They show very limited methods of defending oneself - it’s usually a one-day class, and they teach things men have learned to avoid/defend against since childhood.  These classes give no opportunity to practice skills learned, so they’re generally forgotten quickly.  Effective defense techniques develop over time, not in one day.  

Jennifer posted an article this week that reinforces where we've gone wrong.  In Oklahoma City, a woman was attacked IN A PUBLIC HOTEL BATHROOM.  That it happened is horrible, but we discover that she opted not to carry any form of protection on her person.  She relied on someone else hearing her screams to come and save her.  As this proves, relying on other people just plain doesn't work.  He raped her and got away (only to be caught later, though he has not yet been charged…).  If she had at least had proper training on how to get out of that situation, she may have saved herself the trauma and anguish of being raped.

Now, I know the majority of my readers are gun-friendly.  Many of you have the right to carry in your home state and choose to take advantage of that right.  I applaud you for this.  Carrying a knife is another valid option in many areas (but not all...check local laws).  If you can carry some sort of weapon, please do so.  Get proper training, get comfortable with your weapon of choice, and carry it at all times.  It might mean the difference between life and death, and I’d like to see you living, thanks.  

That said, I also recognize there are people reading this blog who are either not friendly toward weapons or live in areas where it's not legal to carry any sort of gun or blade.  I know some of you assume you live in a safe area or that your husband/boyfriend/friends will be there to help you out of a bad situation, but this isn't the right way to look at it.  Personal responsibility is key here - you have to be able to take care of yourself.  When I was attacked, I lived in a great neighborhood.  As I found out firsthand, there can be a criminal element anywhere people choose to live.  You need to be able to rely on yourself to survive if a situation threatens your safety and no one else is around.  Throwing a punch without any real strength behind it, scratching someone in the face, or screaming at the top of your lungs just plain isn’t going to cut it.  Your attacker WILL overpower you, and people WILL ignore your screams.  It’s become commonplace to avoid conflict, even if someone is obviously getting hurt.

Chris started to teach me to Box, and it showed me that most people don't know how to fight.  In just one session I learned the difference between "self protection" and actually knocking an attacker off guard.  It was enlightening, but I only learned a basic punch.  I will need many more lessons to be effective.  It reinforced the ineffectiveness of those “self defense” classes - it’s been a few weeks, and I haven’t really practiced.  I think I remember what Chris showed me.  I need more time in the gloves to really commit what he showed me to memory...and a lot more time for it to become instinctual.  I realized there’s so much more to defending oneself; how to evade a hit, learning balance points and basic body mechanics, and learning how to use one’s body as a tool are all important to the success of defending oneself in an altercation.  Poking someone in the eyes MAY work, but only if the potential victim has the use of her hands AND if the attacker is inept and off his guard.  Throwing a punch PROPERLY - involving the techniques I just listed - gives the victim a far better chance of getting away.

Please, ladies…do this for you.  Protect yourself from harm.  As that article shows, danger doesn’t just stick to the bad parts of town – it will show up where you least expect it, and usually when no one else can or will help you.

Holidays!

I realize I'm a week or three late, but: Happy Hanukkah, Happy Solstice, Merry Christmas, and Happy Holy-Crap-I'm-Glad-It's-Over to my 4 readers.

I hope you were treated well in your preferred gifty holiday...I certainly was. C purchased a shotgun with the intention of the two of us using it for skeet/trap shooting. It's a Mossberg 500 Bantam Field and Deer package - two barrels, optics, wood furniture, and it's in 20ga since his 12ga hurts me something fierce. I'm still floored he picked it up, and ABSOLUTELY CANNOT WAIT to hit the range with it.

In other news, I'll be picking up my first 1911 after tax time.

In still OTHER news, I'm planning on going to the NRA meeting in 2011...since it's being held in a city that's a day trip away from here, I really should go. Are you going?


Other other news: I have a few people who want to hit the range with me as first time shooters. Most of them are WOMEN. I love being in the position to introduce them!

I am SO INCREDIBLY EXCITED...

because this is on its way to me (as of some point today).

So far, the purse is gorrrrgeous. I'll post pictures of it (plus a writeup) once it arrives, of course.