Prepare yourself for a good chuckle, but, really, it’s not “ha-ha” funny… There are a lot of misconceptions many have about CCW, and seemily especially so for women who chose it. Keep reading!
SOURCE: NRAFamily, by Wendy LaFever
If you’re a woman who chooses to carry concealed, chances are quite good that sooner or later someone will question you about your decision. Most of the time, anyone with whom you’re close enough to have shared that information will be respectful towards you, but let’s face it: There’s a lot of misinformation out there about guns, gun owners, the laws about armed self-defense and carrying concealed. We responsible gun owners are usually facing an uphill battle trying to gently and respectfully correct those misperceptions.
For some reason, the conversation tends to be even more difficult when the subject is a woman who carries a firearm for self-defense. The reasons why are both beyond the scope of this article and this writer’s qualifications — although a tentative guess might be cultural expectations of women as nurturers — but it’s a fact that the questions directed at women who carry concealed tend to be a bit more pointed, shall we say, than those directed at men. It can be frustrating. That said, it remains important that we serve as good ambassadors for our beliefs, and that we do our best to be respectful towards people who (however clumsily) are at least trying to understand. One key to success is to keep your initial reaction on the inside…and have some polite replies ready to go. Here’s what that might look like…
Weird Question #1: “Aren’t you scared the gun will go off?”
Snarky reaction that you keep inside your head: “No.”
Actual reply: “Firearms don’t really work that way. The only way to get my gun to discharge is to grip it securely in both hands, releasing the grip safety, then to deliberately squeeze the trigger. It’s not something that can happen on its own, or if the gun gets jostled or dropped.”
(Of course, different kinds of guns have different safety mechanisms, from passive to active, or both, so you’ll want to tailor your response. Just keep it simple and try to avoid using specific firearms terms that people unfamiliar with guns may not know.)
Weird Question #2: “Aren’t you worried the ‘bad guy’ will just take the gun away from you and use it against you?”
Snarky reaction that you keep inside your head: “No.”
Actual reply: “The only reason I would ever even let the ‘bad guy’ know I had a gun is if my life were already in immediate danger. It’s an absolute last resort. What’s more, I’ve undergone extensive training to learn how to draw the gun from concealment and fire it quickly and accurately to stop the threat.”
(Of course, you have had the training, right?)
Weird Question #3: “Can’t you just carry pepper spray / get a whistle / learn martial arts?”
Snarky reaction that you keep inside your head: “No.”
Actual reply: “Some people do choose ‘less lethal’ methods of self-defense, and that’s entirely up to them. The problem is that they’re generally not as effective at stopping a person who is determined to harm or kill. Even martial-arts experts can be overpowered physically by someone who takes them by surprise or is much bigger and stronger. Whistles won’t help unless there’s someone around to hear it…and they’re willing to intervene. Finally, although pepper spray can be quite incapacitating, it doesn’t work the same way on everyone. Some aggressors who are intoxicated or just very determined are able to power through it. It’s not a risk I choose to take.”
(Of course, “less lethal” self-defense tools can certainly be a part of your overall strategy, depending on your circumstances!)
Weird Question #4: “So…can I see it?”
Snarky reaction that you keep inside your head: “No.”
Actual reply: “No. It’s irresponsible and, in some areas, illegal for me to display my concealed-carry firearm in public unless I am actively using it to lawfully defend myself. But if you’d like to go to the range with me and let me teach you the rules of gun safety, not only will I let you see it, I’ll let you shoot it.”
What weird gun questions have you been asked? How did you handle it? Tell us in the comments!
Snarky answer to the question of why do you carry a firearm, which I’ve been asked as a man when I ever might have let someone know… Because I’m a tired, old, broken down, handicapped guy who was never any good at hand to hand fighting anyway and I don’t want to get assaulted.
Actual answer to such a question… NONE!
because the only person who knows is ME!
I agree. Anyone foolish enough to ask these questions is not intelligent enough to bother explaining it to. The not at all snarky answer that can be given is indeed “NO.”
Right, Chris. Nobody needs to know although most if not all jurisdictions require you get permission from the occupant before you enter their home with a gun.
So if you carry concealed who in the world is going to know you carry into their home unless you tell them?
That’s right…the key word here is concealment. Per the letter of law in Nebraska, I am NOT to ‘print’ when carrying. So again, unless I tell…..
I have been asked by persons interested in concealed carry: ” Aren’t you afraid you’ll shoot yourself?” Actually the first reaction answer is: Yes!” In order to get use d to a chambered pistol with a preloaded trigger or revolver, I carried with an empty chamber for a while, then chambered a round. After several years of carrying locked and loaded, I have not shot myself in the ass or anywhere else.
I have been asked by persons interested in concealed carry: ” Aren’t you afraid you’ll shoot yourself?” Actually the first reaction answer is: Yes!” In order to get use d to a chambered pistol with a preloaded trigger or revolver, I carried with an empty chamber for a while, then chambered a round. After several years of carrying locked and loaded, I have not shot myself in the ass or anywhere else.
I’ve found a good counter question to “Aren’t you afraid it will go off?”, has been “As afraid as you are of the feature of your car that will self start it and drive it over you!” Of course modern car technology is gonna make that statement Useless, anyone else have a good one that will still work as things like cars work on their own?
I, as a man, have been asked”Why do you carry?”. My answer is that as a former law enforcement and Army Officer, I am trained in the use of firearms in a threat scenario and would never be able to live with myself if I was envolved in or witnessed a life threatening situation and I was not able to stop it because I was not armed. Once I was trained it became my lifelong duty to myself and my fellow man to protect myself, my family and others from any and all threat as within my powers.
Good answers, esp #4!!!