What do you tell a new woman shooter?

A friend of mine is going shooting for the first time tomorrow, and said she thought I’d be proud of her for doing it.  I am incredibly proud and hope she comes to respect and enjoy shooting as much as I do.

A close friend is going shooting for the first time tomorrow. I immediately sprang into tip-giving mode - imagine that.

Her text was immediately followed by a string of concerns from me:

• Make sure whoever takes you teaches you thoroughly goes over gun safety before you even touch a firearm.
• When you do get to pick up the firearm, keep your finger away from the trigger until you are ready to fire. (It took a while for my brother to break me of that habit!)
• Make sure you always keep it pointed down range, and watch not to wave it around as you’re talking. (She can get animated with her hand gestures sometimes.)
• Don’t wear a v- or scoop-neck shirt.  Ladies, you know why that is.
• Take this seriously.  Yes, it’s a heck of a lot of fun, but you need to have a healthy respect for guns and not take the safety stuff lightly.

The response? “Thanks, Mom.”

 

When a headline tells most of the story

“Church Members Disarm Gunman During Service“

This Fox Charlotte story doesn’t offer much more information than what it says in the headline, posted above.  The story is meant to be a brief and not a full-out article, but as one of the most-read articles on the site, I wish it would have given readers more information.

What was the emotion like at the church when members saw Gates walking up?  How many people held him down and how did they manage to do so without him firing?  I would have liked to see an eyewitness account, which does take extra digging to obtain.  But hey, we’re journalists.

What are your thoughts?  Did the story satisfy you as?  Did you find it lacking in any way?  Let me know in the comments.

 

Why “heels, handbags and handguns” mix

Photo by Kevin Goode

I’m pretty comfortable in heels. But would I shoot an AR-15 in them at the gun range?  Probably not.

However, if a woman’s home was being invaded, I don’t think she’d pause to switch into some sneakers and then grab a gun.

Candy Sugarman sure wouldn’t.  Instead of spoiling her story with my summary, I’ll let you read all about her and what she’s doing to empower women in this article.

Full disclosure: The article was written by a friend of mine from college, and yes, I am shamelessly promoting his work, but figured you wouldn’t mind as it’s relevant to this blog.

Guys, what do you think of her club? Have you taught the women in your life how to shoot and if so, how successful was the experience?

For more on women and guns in this blog, check out this post.

 

ASU Organizations Tackle Guns on Campus Bill

ASU grad students received the following email.  It seems that while Arizonans may love their guns, students love their campuses being gun-free.

Guns on Campus

Sen. Gould’s (SB1474) is estimated to cost the universities $13.3 mil­lion in one-time capital costs, $3.1 million annually in operations and universities are not being given any additional funds to pay for this. (http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2012/02/29/20120229arizona-universities-estimate-costs-campus-guns-bill.html)

 

Gun Crime and SB 1474 – The debate rages on

As the debate heats up in Arizona over SB 1474, gun crime continues to make headlines in Phoenix.

Yesterday, two incidents in Phoenix drew attention.  A woman was shot several times, including at least once in the neck, in an alleged carjacking.  In a strip mall parking lot, a man was allegedly ordered out of his car and then shot.  Two suspects have been arrested in that case.

In the past few months I’ve been in Phoenix, gun crimes and shootings are splashed across the news often.  In fact, I remember one January newscast: