Seven Reasons Why I Own A Firearm

Does anyone else feel like they get crazy looks when someone finds you own a gun, let alone carry it with you? The funny thing is that most of the strange looks I get are from women. I don’t know if they are surprised to see that a woman like myself owns a gun, or that I am actually comfortable with it, or maybe they don’t believe in guns at all. I want to explain my reasoning for owning a firearm, these are my Seven Reasons Why I Own A Firearm.

1. It is my right as an American citizen

Out of all my reasons why I own a firearm, this is my favorite. The Bill of Rights compromises the first 10 amendments of the Constitution, it declares the legal and civil rights of citizens of the United States of America. Within these amendments, the second amendment states “A well regulated militia being necessary for the security of a free state; the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed”.

The second amendment was one of the ways our founding fathers ‘ secured our freedom. This amendment is not only for self-defense but to keep our government from overgrowth. It is meant to keep the government in at bay knowing we have the right to create a militia and personally defend our country and freedoms if need be.

2. To level the playing field

Let’s be honest, as much as society is trying to equalize men and women, there are just some things that men are designed for, that women are not (thank goodness, right?). The majority of the men I know are physically stronger than me. Which means the chances of me having an attacker that is physically stronger than myself are pretty high. Having a firearm for self defense and knowing how to use it, creates an equalizer between myself and my attacker, no matter their strength or size advantage.

3. True ‘Women Empowerment’

Years ago as a single mom I found myself searching for a sense of security. Watching the news at night scared me and left me feeling hopeless. Watching the news today still scares me, but for different reasons. I worried a lot about intruders coming into my daughter’s bedroom. I worried about attackers lurking in my kitchen when I got up in the middle of the night for a glass of water. At that time I began a pursuit to empower myself as a woman and as a mom, to protect myself and my daughter. Which led me to begin my journey in gun ownership and concealed carry.

What is women empowerment? I see those two words together a lot lately and I can’t help but wonder ‘what exactly do ‘they’ mean?’. In my search for the definition I found some… let’s just call them ‘interesting’ results. The definition from the Oxford Dictionary is the one that resonated with me. According to the Oxford Dictionary ’empowerment’ means “the process of becoming stronger and more confident, especially in controlling one’s life and claiming one’s rights”.

Gun ownership in 2020 reached a record high and continues to grow in 2021. Surprisingly a good percentage of new gunowners are women. No one can argue that 2020 was a year of stress and fear. Women are looking for news ways to feel safe and secure. Female gun-ownership does exactly that. With the right education and training, it strengthens confidence and creates self-reliance. According to The Constitution of our great country, the United States of America, gun-ownership is already a right you have, male or female, it is up to you to claim it.

4. I can’t afford a personal body guard

Fun Fact: I am a Dental Hygienist by day, and blogger by night, and I am proud to say husband works for our local Sheriff’s Department. Why am I telling you this? To show we live on a budget. Like most Americans, we can not afford our own private security.

Aside from private security Plan B would be to call the police, especially since my husband is a Sheriff’s Deputy, right? No, do you know that the average police response time is 5 to 10 minutes? I remember in my public speaking class in college how long 4 minutes felt, it felt like eternity. I do not want to be trying to physically fight off an attacker for what seems like eternity. One of my reasons why I own a firearm is to have access to quick self-defense that I have control over. Of course you can still call the police, but personally I won’t rely on a phone call as my only means of protection.

5. To defend my family and others

I have fifteen year old daughter, definitely one of my main reasons why I own a firearm. I will elaborate for those that aren’t girl moms. From the beginning my biggest fear has been my child getting kidnapped and thrown into sex trafficking. My second biggest fear is molestation. Ya’ll… there are some monsters out there. No, a firearm is not going to erase the chances of bad things happening. Although it can be your tool to defend yourself and family if need be. I think a lot about what I would do if someone tried to grab my daughter while we are walking to our car. My reaction is to use several choice words while drawing my firearm. In a scenario like that I wouldn’t have a problem pulling the trigger.

Unfortunately mass shootings in churches, schools, movie theatres, and even shopping malls are becoming more common. Being a gunowner and training with my firearm to defend myself and others allows me to be prepared for multiple different types of attacks. I never I want to be in scenarios where I feel helpless or hopeless.

6. It gives me peace of mind

My husband used to work night shift with our local Sheriff’s Department. I had many nights that I would lay and bed in overthink every sound. I did have a gun in the house at the time, but since then my knowledge and confidence as a gunowner has grown. Just having a firearm and knowing how to use it as a tool to defend myself and the people around me, helps me sleep peacefully at night.

Of course a gun isn’t just for sleeping better at night. I notice an increase in confidence while getting my gas, or walking to my car in a dark parking lot. I find myself playing out different scenarios in my head, figuring out how I will get to my gun if I need to. Knowing that I am equipped to take charge if an unfortunate event was to occur gives me peace of mind.

7. The BEST stress reliever

We all need to relieve a little stress from time to time. I do not know about you, but I find over the past twelve months my stress has increased a substantial amount. Prior to 2020 I found after a day at the range I felt refreshed, cleansed, and rejuvenated (it sounds like a spa). Shooting allowed me to throw away the extra baggage I was carrying around. Most of the time I would walk off the range with an extra pep in my step.

Although this year we have had less range visits due to the price of ammo. I have found the Mantis X10 dry fire system to help me supplement my range day rejuvenation. I do not get as much thrill as shooting actual ammo but it does give me a since of satisfaction to keep up with my training skills and fundamentals.

Wrapping it Up

To sum things up, I own a firearm first and foremost to protect my family and myself. It is also my right as an American citizen, and it makes me feel like the strong self reliant woman that I am. Gun ownership is not for everyone, but if you identify with any of my reasons listed in this post, owning a firearm could be for you.