To show your friends who think they are safe carrying a gun.

[Honeycombe8]

21. Yeah...particularly testosteron-y men. My gun is for defense, protection.

Not to behave like the Wild West and leave my house to go lookin' for trouble.

It's important particularly for women to stop a criminal before he gets within arm's reach of her (HIS arms, not hers...men have longer arms). Even a small man is stronger than a younger, fitter woman (unless she's a body builder). Once he gets within arm's reach, she has a serious problem.

Having a gun levels the playing field and is one of the few ways to stop someone when they're across the room or coming in the door.

It doesn't solve everything. Criminals have the element of surprise. If you're asleep and awakened by someone in the room, you're pretty much out of luck. But if they're in another room and you're awakened and have your gun nearby, you have a chance.

I've had a couple of attempted break-ins in my life, so although rare, it is something that does happen, and women should be prepared. Women who live alone are sometimes targeted by criminals. Especially older women. They go after the house w/o outside lights, the vulnerable living alone, the easy target. If they target me, though...SURPRISE! This woman has a .38 and knows how to use it. And two dogs that serve as an excellent warning system.

Guns are dangerous, for sure. But consider the stats on what happens to unprotected women who live alone and a criminal breaks in. She will most likely be raped and/or beaten up and/or murdered. Almost all women who are taken off somewhere by criminals are murdered. When faced with those stats, the risk of injury from having a gun is warranted, for me.

Guns seem alien and evil, I think, in urban areas or areas where they are not the norm. Raised in the deep south, guns are just part of life. They are nothing to be afraid of, and they are not evil. They do command respect, though, being dangerous things.

I live now in an evacuation area. If I have to evacuate, my gun will be a primary thing to put in my evacuation pack. As well as cash. Both are necessary to be safe and secure in a disaster area. My brother takes a couple of guns with him when he evacuates, as well as cash. Criminals swoop in during a disaster. I always travel on the road with my gun (if it's legal in the state I'm traveling through). If my car were to break down, I'd be a sitting duck w/o a gun and a cell phone.