Guns Empower Women
Guns
Empower Women
The Considered Opinion
By Ava Jones
avajones1@yahoo.com
KeepAndBearArms.com/.org Editorialist
Reprinted from the KeepAndBearArms.org Email Report
Sometime in
the first half of 1997, I learned what a “considered” opinion was. It was a
life-changing event for me. Up until that time, I had many opinions, but I couldn’t
tell you anything substantive to back them up. In fact, I had picked up many of my
opinions from a 1-minute spot on the evening news or from a 500-word article in the paper.
My opinions were someone else’s opinions; I never stopped to think about the other
side of the argument. Guns are by the far my best example of this.
I started
dating Jim in January 1997. He was a wonderful man and we really connected right from the
start. Soon thereafter Jim told me he carries a gun, all - the - time,
and owns several other handguns and rifles. My initial reaction was that this guy was
either a psycho or paranoid.
But the psycho/paranoid profile did
not fit him. He was a software developer, loved people, and was very confident in his
abilities… I was confused. Guns were not part of my background. I truly knew nothing
about them, but right away I told Jim that in my opinion what he was doing was “bad
and wrong”. I later found out that I did not have a considered opinion about guns.
Eventually
Jim persuaded me to shoot a gun. He set up a very safe and gentle environment to learn. We
went out alone into the woods, he held my back while I shot and the minute I wanted to
stop, we did. He also continued to ask me how I was feeling and what I thought of it
(women love that). We would take breaks and he would give me some background on the
mechanics of guns and their history and finally about the movement in the country to take
guns away from its citizens.
Looking
back, this environment was essential for me to develop my “considered
opinion”… without it I may not have continued to try shooting again, and again.
I have since seen many women at the range or out in the woods with their man acting like a
drill Sergeant. I understand that being safe is important, but if we are going to make a
difference in the world, women have to be enrolled into owning guns--and women do learn
differently than men.
Eventually
I learned about the 2nd Amendment. At this point I agreed to go through the CCW
class for the education--to increase my awareness, but I had no intention of ever carrying
a gun. After the class and talking with many people, there was no question in my mind that
I wanted to carry a gun and be able to protect myself. I was not going to be a victim, and
I wanted to exercise my 2nd amendment right--The Freedom Right. >What I got
was much more than that.
The first
day I went out in public with a gun on, I cried from when I got in Jim’s car until we
arrived at our destination 25 minutes later. I was overwhelmed by the power of having the
ability to kill someone. I thought I would not be able to carry a gun again, but then my
feeling changed from the power to kill to the power to protect. I took a GunSite training
course that continued my education and training. Most importantly, the GunSite course gave
me the confidence I needed to know that I was not dangerous in public or at home, but
rather very safe. As a woman, I had now leveled the field.
I now
firmly believe that many people, especially women, become victims because they avoid
(unconsciously) taking responsibility for their protection, which comes in many forms, not
just guns. I have a sister who has 9 police reports for crimes committed against her and
yet she continues to dye her brown hair blonde and act like the stereotypical blonde. She
has become an easy target. When I have my gun on, I carry myself differently, I am more
alert and more confident… predators can smell this and stay away from me. Carrying a
gun is an extra layer of protection I have added to the many other tools I employ.
After 3
years of being around guns and 2˝ years of having a CCW permit, my considered opinion is
this:
The media, in conjunction with the politicians, brainwashed me
at a young age into thinking that citizens with guns are dangerous and that anyone who
owns a gun--especially more than one--is crazy. I now believe that if every American was
given an opportunity, such as I had, to shoot a gun, learn gun safety, carry a gun, and
read the 2nd Amendment, that a large percentage of Americans would change their
minds about their current anti-gun stance. They would have a “considered”
opinion, based on their own experience, not another’s.
Proper training and education was
essential for me. I have taken gun courses, and I train on a regular basis. Since I now
have guns in my home, I have made sure that everyone else who lives there is trained and
educated in gun safety and use.
To all the
men who understand, who have a considered opinion, encourage your wives, girlfriends and
daughters to get educated. Send them to a class that will take special care of women. The
gift I have received from Jim went well beyond gun education; I have become a woman who is
more aware of all aspects of my life and my being. I now pause to consider all my
opinions, which has increased both my personal power and wealth. Wealth? Yes, because a
confident person is a person others trust, promote, respect and pursue to be part of a
winning team.
Thank you,
Jim, and all the boyfriends, husbands, brothers and dad’s who share the freedom you
know with the women you love.
Ava Jones
KeepAndBearArms.org Editorialist
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