[natedog]

A friend of mine is greatly concerned with "personal safety". She has keychain pepper spray, a tazer, baseball bat, alarm system, personal alarm, and all kinds of other gimmicks, yet she refuses to buy or carry a gun...she says that if she carried a gun, then she would be less safe, because an attacker could "Just take it from, and use against, me".

[nico]

ask her what he's gonna do with the pepper spray, baseball bat, and taser:scrutiny:

my girlfriend and mother have used that argument to try to refute my theoretical CCW ramblings (theoretical because I'm in MD). I tell them that if someone were already close enough that drawing a gun might lead to them getting it from me, I wouldn't draw it (nobody says they're a cure-all). But, if they're not that close, I'd shoot them before they got that close. I've been meaning to get some pepper spray for a couple weeks, but IMO, it's no replacement for a gun.

[TheeBadOne]

I've been meaning to get some pepper spray for a couple weeks, but IMO, it's no replacement for a gun.
True, but if all you have is a hammer...

2 cents

[nico]

That's exactly how I feel TBO.

[Treylis]

I carry pepper spray and a gun.

I think it's a rather good idea to carry both, it's not like pepper spray has the bulk of a full-size autopistol that you have to strap on to yourself, anyhow. ;-)

[BluesBear]

She has keychain pepper spray, a tazer, baseball bat...
yet she refuses to buy or carry a gun...
because an attacker could "Just take it from, and use against, me".

She CARRIES a baseball bat?


She's better off without the gun. This way after she's been seasoned, fried and tenderized she'll still be able to feel the rape.

[El Tejon]

nate, sounds like an excellent opportunity to introduce her to training.:)

If she is worried about "having it taken away from me", then that is applicable to a baseball bat, pepper spray, etc. Sign her up, get her trained up. As she gains confidence, she will become less resistant to carrying a pistol.

The older one becomes (even as old as me), the more you realize that is all about the software, not the hardware.:)

[twoblink]

I agree with El T..

Talk about hardware is a bit intimidating when you don't have the training to go along with it.

Tell her "You can train, and if you decide not to carry, then it becomes your CHOICE. It's better to have the choice and not need it then need it and not have it."

[Standing Wolf]

A friend of mine is greatly concerned with "personal safety".

Yeah, but only to a degree. If she were actually concerned with her personal safety, she'd be packing iron.

[MikeJ]

Whenever I hear the argument that the gun will be taken away and used against the victim I counter with, it is because the victim doesn't understand how quickly an attacker can be on them and that they need to maintain a fairly long distance between them and the aggressor. We often see in movies and TV where the opponents are almost face to face, well that is done for the sole purpose of creating drama and tension. If a person keeps telling an assailant to stay back and the assailant keeps moving forward without the good guy doing anything, e.i. shoot, they will have the gun taken away and used against them. It is all a matter of training and knowledge. As far as I am concerned I want a weapon that allows me to maintain a distance, I don't have enough faith that I will come out ok if I am limited to a contact weapon.

[Lupine]

That was how I'd describe myself a year ago.

By the way, BluesBear, ha ha ha ha. Not funny, but...funny!

My biggest obstacle was becoming confindent with handguns, getting over my fear that they were going to go off by themselves, etc.

I'd suggest she take a comprehensive, un-armed self-defence class for women, some fun trips to the range, and patience. If she still holds out, then maybe get her a certificate for a class that trains in combat knives and/or her tasers/pepper spray, so at least she'll best know how to use them. The skills she'd learn in these courses could also help her should she decide to carry a handgun.

Good luck.

[BluesBear]

;) Lupine,

It was even less/more funny before I substituted "feel" for my original wording of "totally experience".

Some people can envision the big picture and for others you have to paint it for them.

[Mulliga]

I'd never trust stuff like tasers or pepper spray to stop an attacker. And God forbid she tries to use the spray on a windy day...:P

If I were her, I'd carry a knife and a gun. Simple and effective.

[artherd]

getting over my fear that they were going to go off by themselves, etc.

You'd be surprised just how little those of us who didn't grow up about guns know about them.

I have one friend who is scared to death the gun will go off if they set it down on a counter, etc. They know nothing much about mechanics, and even explaining things like Glock's drop safety and firing pin safety, just don't get through.

I can say I myself was (and am still, with some designs :) as recently as a year or two ago a little bit scared (read; ignorant) of pistols and rifles, that they could 'go off' when I didn't want them to. In the case of a Glock, I studied it's safety systems, and decided that's as close to an impossability as you are ever going to get in this life. However, many rifles have a free floating firing pin, so even on safe if they are *chambered*, they are unsuitable for something like truck storage or transportation or bouncing off cement and the like.


It is amazing how something can scare you when you lack an education in it's inner-workings. This is true for all things, but especially true for guns.




She obviously dosen't think of guns as tools just yet, almost certinly due to a lack of exposure and education. Take her to the range. (offer to buy her differ afterwords too :D) Get her confident in a weapons retention class. Get her mentality to the point where she not only thinks "I can handle a gun and shoot targets" but to the "I will SHOOT the ??????? rapist before he gets close enough to touch me, and spit on his grave."