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Right, and need, to carry
Tri-City Women say that carrying a gun is necessary in today’s society
By MIRSADA BURIC-ADAM
The Daily Courier
PRESCOTT – “No freeman shall ever be debarred the use of arms,” Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1776.
So, the question to keep and bear arms is not the one that three local women ponder about because they said the Founding Fathers gave the answer in the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Judy Dutko, Jane Anne Hulen, and Christy Foote believe the Second Amendment guarantees people the right to defend themselves and, as a result, they exercise it in their daily life.
To be in line with the Arizona gun laws, these women have obtained concealed weapon permits to be able to carry their guns in a purse, for example.
Dutko, a retired U.S. History teacher, said when she moved from California to Prescott eight years ago, she did three things in this order: registered to vote, joined a local church and obtained a concealed weapon permit.
Now, she carries on her person a semi-automatic Baretta, which she called “cute,” and in her holster purse a Smith & Wesson revolver.
She said she favors revolvers because they do not have exposed hammers. “You point and you shoot,” she said.
Although Dutko believes that the Second Amendment should guarantee her permit to bear arms anywhere in the country, in California the gun laws said differently, she said.
“They don’t let people to defend themselves,” she said.
During the Rodney King riots, she carried a gun in her purse for protection, and if police had caught her, she would have been an outlaw, she said.
Dutko sees the need to own a gun because “we can’t depend on police to protect us.”
Foote, a 29-year-old real estate agent, who owns a Glock 9 mm pistol, said crimes against people often happen before police are able to act.
“They do not do anything until there is a problem,” she said. “If you have your own gun, you have a plan of your own.”
In addition, she believes that women are still at a disadvantage even if they take self-defense classes that do not involve firearms because men are naturally stronger than women are.
“You are pretty much helpless” if someone attacks you, she said.
But a weapon could be used also as a deterrent in potentially dangerous situations.
“You rarely have to fire a gun,” said Hulen, a 52-year-old marketing director at Gunsite in Paulden, who carries a holstered 1911 .45 caliber semi-auto pistol. “You just have to show it. That is all it takes.”
“And if you don’t have a gun, you need a knife,” Hulen said, as she pulled out a pocketknife.
Hulen recalled a situation in which it was enough for a potential perpetrator to see her holstered gun to leave the area in front of her former residence in Scottsdale.
She said she lived at the cul de sac end of the street and a man was sitting in a van for three nights in a row right in front of her house. On the third night, after other distractions failed, she decided to confront the man with the help from a neighbor and see what he was doing.
Hulen said what the man was doing is not for a publication, but after this encounter, he never returned.
“I took care of it,” said Hulen, who gave to her two daughters guns when they turned 21.
Although all three women come from different backgrounds, they are in support of right-to-carry states because they said those states have lower crime rates.
A few Web sites suggest this claim to be true. However, others suggest some caution when interpreting data.
Despite what the data says today, more than two centuries ago Jefferson believed that “Laws that forbid the carrying of arms ... disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes ... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.”
Hulen said gun owners should live by four firearms safety rules including that all guns are always loaded; never let the muzzle cover anything which you are not willing to destroy; keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target; and always be sure of your target.
Hulen, who never takes her gun out of its holster unless she has a reason for it, said, “there is no such a thing as an accidental discharge. They are all negligent.”
Foote, whose father taught her to fire a gun, said she didn’t know what she was doing.
“I was scared of guns,” she said, but once she took some training, she gained a greater appreciation for firearms and chose to go even a step further to obtain a concealed permit.
Hulen, Dutko and Foote, who are also members of the National Rifle Association, agree that classes and hands-on practice are necessary to not only become familiar and more skilled with firearms, but also more aware of one’s environment.
“You don’t just pick up a violin and play a sonata,” Hulen said. “It takes practice to do that” and the guns are no different.
http://prescottdailycourier.com/main.asp?SectionID=64&SubSectionID=104&ArticleID=37415&TM=45180.05
Tri-City Women say that carrying a gun is necessary in today’s society
By MIRSADA BURIC-ADAM
The Daily Courier
PRESCOTT – “No freeman shall ever be debarred the use of arms,” Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1776.
So, the question to keep and bear arms is not the one that three local women ponder about because they said the Founding Fathers gave the answer in the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Judy Dutko, Jane Anne Hulen, and Christy Foote believe the Second Amendment guarantees people the right to defend themselves and, as a result, they exercise it in their daily life.
To be in line with the Arizona gun laws, these women have obtained concealed weapon permits to be able to carry their guns in a purse, for example.
Dutko, a retired U.S. History teacher, said when she moved from California to Prescott eight years ago, she did three things in this order: registered to vote, joined a local church and obtained a concealed weapon permit.
Now, she carries on her person a semi-automatic Baretta, which she called “cute,” and in her holster purse a Smith & Wesson revolver.
She said she favors revolvers because they do not have exposed hammers. “You point and you shoot,” she said.
Although Dutko believes that the Second Amendment should guarantee her permit to bear arms anywhere in the country, in California the gun laws said differently, she said.
“They don’t let people to defend themselves,” she said.
During the Rodney King riots, she carried a gun in her purse for protection, and if police had caught her, she would have been an outlaw, she said.
Dutko sees the need to own a gun because “we can’t depend on police to protect us.”
Foote, a 29-year-old real estate agent, who owns a Glock 9 mm pistol, said crimes against people often happen before police are able to act.
“They do not do anything until there is a problem,” she said. “If you have your own gun, you have a plan of your own.”
In addition, she believes that women are still at a disadvantage even if they take self-defense classes that do not involve firearms because men are naturally stronger than women are.
“You are pretty much helpless” if someone attacks you, she said.
But a weapon could be used also as a deterrent in potentially dangerous situations.
“You rarely have to fire a gun,” said Hulen, a 52-year-old marketing director at Gunsite in Paulden, who carries a holstered 1911 .45 caliber semi-auto pistol. “You just have to show it. That is all it takes.”
“And if you don’t have a gun, you need a knife,” Hulen said, as she pulled out a pocketknife.
Hulen recalled a situation in which it was enough for a potential perpetrator to see her holstered gun to leave the area in front of her former residence in Scottsdale.
She said she lived at the cul de sac end of the street and a man was sitting in a van for three nights in a row right in front of her house. On the third night, after other distractions failed, she decided to confront the man with the help from a neighbor and see what he was doing.
Hulen said what the man was doing is not for a publication, but after this encounter, he never returned.
“I took care of it,” said Hulen, who gave to her two daughters guns when they turned 21.
Although all three women come from different backgrounds, they are in support of right-to-carry states because they said those states have lower crime rates.
A few Web sites suggest this claim to be true. However, others suggest some caution when interpreting data.
Despite what the data says today, more than two centuries ago Jefferson believed that “Laws that forbid the carrying of arms ... disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes ... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.”
Hulen said gun owners should live by four firearms safety rules including that all guns are always loaded; never let the muzzle cover anything which you are not willing to destroy; keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target; and always be sure of your target.
Hulen, who never takes her gun out of its holster unless she has a reason for it, said, “there is no such a thing as an accidental discharge. They are all negligent.”
Foote, whose father taught her to fire a gun, said she didn’t know what she was doing.
“I was scared of guns,” she said, but once she took some training, she gained a greater appreciation for firearms and chose to go even a step further to obtain a concealed permit.
Hulen, Dutko and Foote, who are also members of the National Rifle Association, agree that classes and hands-on practice are necessary to not only become familiar and more skilled with firearms, but also more aware of one’s environment.
“You don’t just pick up a violin and play a sonata,” Hulen said. “It takes practice to do that” and the guns are no different.
http://prescottdailycourier.com/main.asp?SectionID=64&SubSectionID=104&ArticleID=37415&TM=45180.05