High School Football—A Terrorist Threat

By Kellene Bishop, Women of Caliber

Between the fall of 1997 and the spring of 2002, FIFTY-THREE high school students were KILLED playing high school football. (National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research, Feb. 2001) The lives of the spectators and the fellow students of these players will never be the same. And I want something done to make sure that such needless deaths never happen again. Fifty-three deaths! Where is the outrage?! Where’s 20/20 or 60 Minutes when you really need them to shed light on a problem? Why can’t we have Football Free Zones?! Something must be done to STOP these needless football playing deaths. In fact, I think that the schools should all adopt a strict “no play zone” policy. Someone could poke an eye out with one of those footballs, or choke on it. A teacher could be emotionally and physically harmed for life if a student hit them with a football! If you see someone drawing a picture of a football, I don’t care if it’s a fifth grader in St. Petersburg, FL, that person should be arrested. If a drawing of a football is used at school, even if it’s two eight-year olds, they should be have criminal charges filed against them and be considered a terrorist threat. If a child is caught pretending to throw a football, they should be charged with felonious assault. Take down those pictures of football players and coaches! Stop glorifying them. These types of activities KILL KIDS! And if they get caught with a Nerf ball on school property—that’s just unacceptable. Such a criminal should be jailed in Fort Meyers, FL—I don’t care if they ARE a National Merit Scholar. There should be an aggressive and zero tolerance policy to this kind of extreme in order to ensure that no such football players are ever killed playing football again. In fact, this problem is so pervasive, I demand that the National Education Association offer a FREE $150,000 insurance policy to be paid in the event that a teacher ever dies from a football incident.

No. I haven’t lost my mind. “They” have lost theirs. And the previous paragraph will point out to you just how extremely off-base they are.

Between the fall of 1997 and the spring of 2002, 32 students were killed by an incident involving a gun at an elementary or secondary school. (National School Safety Center) This total includes gang-related activities, crimes committed on school properties (even after hours), shooting accidents, as well as the highly publicized school shooting incidences. During this same period of time there were over 128 million children enrolled in such schools. This equates to 1 death per 4 million students.

During this same research period, four teachers were shot and killed at these same types of schools. (National School Safety Center) That equivocates to 1 teacher shot and killed per 3.3 million teachers.

It’s interesting to note that in 2001, that yes, The National Education Association did indeed offer all of its members a FREE $150,000 death policy, payable only under such circumstances. (San Diego Union-Tribune, July 28, 2001) Hmmm… Of course it was free. The likelihood of it happening is 1 in 3.3 million! But you can bet that the press didn’t give you those statistics, did they?

Why have they done so much to attempt to curb the deaths of children from school shootings, but have done nothing to alert them to a situation which takes the lives of more children than “school shootings” do? We have gun free zones to avoid school shootings, why don’t we have “football free zones” as well? The sickening aspect is just how extreme the schools have gone to punish the very non-infractions that I used to illustrate my point in the first paragraph.
A fifth-grade in St. Petersburg, FL was indeed arrested for drawing a picture of “weapons.”
A National Merit Scholar student was jailed in Ft. Meyers, FL because a dull kitchen knife was found under her car seat—it was dropped while her family was moving from one apartment to another.
Two eight-year olds had criminal charges filed against them and were identified as “terrorist threats” in Irvington, New Jersey for playing cops and robbers with a paper gun.
A seven-year old was charged with three counts of felonious assault for pointing a toy gun at three other children during recess in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Ann Arbor News 2)
Elementary students throughout Texas and Louisiana have been suspended for pointing pencils and saying “pow” and have forbidden the children from drawing pictures of soldiers.
School libraries throughout the U.S. have even removed references to the military.
See: http://opinionjournal.com/extra/?id-95000486, and Chicago Sun-Times, June 20, 2001, and NBC Saturday Today, NBC News Transcripts, May 26, 2002

Instead of criminalizing children for being children, schools should participate in sound measures of gun safety education and the U.S. Constitutional Amendments. No wait. Sorry. I must have left the earth for a moment there to even make such a suggestion. I forgot that education in schools is reserved for gay marriages, abortion, and the use of contraceptives.

Any death of a child, young or teen, is tragic. For those who have lost a child to ANY death is unacceptable, of course. Emotionally speaking, I feel that homicide is an even more difficult death to accept in these cases. Any death or harm of a child that can logically be prevented, should indeed be prevented. I’m a huge advocate of seat belts, car seats, and adults not exposing their children to second-hand smoke. To me, these methods pass the “stupid test” in my book. Meaning, they are just plain stupid NOT to employ. And while seat belts and car seats may have been known to even cause the occasional death of a child, but they are logical. However, the media harping on school shootings as if they are the ultimate killer of the children in our world is mal-practice in its truest sense. It’s fear-mongering. It’s a dissemination of false information and it prevents responsible parents from focusing on the true dangers in our midst.

Conservatively speaking 2,000 of our nations children are sexually assaulted by illegal immigrants—EVERY year, and yet we can’t seem to instill an “illegal immigrant free zone” in our nation. (http://www.newswithviews.com/Kouri/jim94.htm)

On average, over 1,700 children die every year as the result of a drunk driver, and yet mandatory accountability for such actions is minimalistic and seriously flawed. (http://www.alcoholalert.com/drunk-driving-statistics.html)

Four percent of all pregnant women use illicit drugs and extreme amounts of alcohol, and yet there is absolutely no accountability for such actions. (http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/14332_1169.asp)

These are just a few examples of genuine threats to our children. Fight the real enemy, folks, not a fictitious enemy that the media and some government officials perpetuate in order to accomplish other horrible agendas.

May you be victorious in your REAL battles.

Kellene

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved.
You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

Children and Guns Part IV

What’s Really Responsible for the Deaths of Our Nation’s Children?

This is part of a four-part blog series addressing Children and Guns. Part I – want to ensure your kid never commits a crime? Give him a gun. Part II addresses myths of gun safety – what you must know in order to truly protect your children. Part III addresses when it is safe to educate your child on firearms. Part IV explores what’s really responsible for the death of our nation’s children. If you enjoy what you read, please comment and share on your blog or Twitter. Thank you.

This is the final part in a series I’ve been writing on Children and Guns.

I’ll start right off with answering the question, “What is Really Responsible for the Deaths of Our Nation’s Children?” This is specifically posed to the deaths that result from guns being inappropriately used by children, and not all of the other more deadly causes of death discussed in Part II of this series. The answer is the somewhat naïve position that parents take regarding “toy guns” and the entertainment that we expose our children to. Allow me to show you why this is indeed the case.

As you well know, the media and overwhelming political powers have successfully positioned in the minds of caring parents that children and guns simply don’t mix--when in fact, children and guns collide whether you like it or not. In this regard, the only decision you really get to make is if you prepare for it by making this a positive concert or a deadly clash.

The other night I was at a family gathering watching 12 raucous boys ranging in age from 3 to 12 in the back yard. There were all kinds of “boy toys” back there such as foam swords, balls, and even a plastic gun. I was livid however, when one of the boys picked up a toy gun and began “shooting” his cousin with it. Clearly this child has not been taught anything about the proper use of guns in his environment (Yes, I did intercede and took the moment to educate…not that it will do any good unless it’s reinforced in his home as well).

Let me speak plainly. While I firmly believe and have even provided you with statistics that guns are not the “bad guy”, and are not the killer that the media and political diatribe would have you believe, they still are—100%—to be fully respected and confined to their proper perspective.

It may sound odd to some parents to know that my husband and I—who are avid shooters and in full support of their use for self-defense—have agreed that we will not have ANY toy guns in the home. A child’s desire to play with a toy gun is merely a mimicking and acting out of what he has seen on T.V. or at his friend’s home. However, the creation of toy guns is actually our nation creating a promise for disaster. In actuality it’s downright shocking that more deaths of children combined with guns do not occur. Think about it. A perfectly dangerous combination exists with all of the inconsequential violence that your children are subjected to in video games, movies, and other social activities, combined with the fact that there are over 300 million legally held guns in the U.S. and over 73 million children under the age of 18. So if we were to actually believe the picture that the media feeds us, shouldn’t there be MORE deaths involving children and guns? I mean seriously, if the media painted overeating and refined sugar as the villains that they really are the same way they portray guns in the presence of children, we’d have a very different health status in our American youth. It’s hard to uncover any other way that children die which receives more focus by the media in America. Regardless, one life lost unnecessarily is too many in my opinion, especially when it truly is so easily avoidable. The key aspect of this problem is that our nation has come to accept a dichotomous position, yet the two sides of this position simply cannot coexist and still foster gun safety with children.

There’s NO Such Thing as a “Toy” Gun
It defies logic to think that we can simply teach children that “play” guns are acceptable but “real” guns are not, when “play” guns always instill the physical action of pointing and shooting! Parents have an even tougher challenge in this regard when we consider that “play” guns are expertly mimicking the appearance of real guns today. Parents, you simply cannot have it both ways. You can’t successfully have a world of toy guns and a world of real guns. Remember, you can’t control what your children will find outside of your home. The rules for guns need to be consistent, and deliberate whether it’s a “play gun” or a “real gun.” Teach your children that there’s no such thing as a “toy” gun. Non-real guns can be used to teach skills, safety awareness, etc. But every gun your child comes into contact with should be viewed with the same safety rules and respect as a gun which shoots real bullets and can take another’s life, otherwise it’s playing Russian Roulette in it’s truest form. There’s too much else that your child is exposed to which is relentlessly fighting against your message to your children of gun safety. As such, you can’t afford for there to be any confusion on the subject. You are either going to teach your children unequivocal truths about gun safety, with no exceptions, or you are going to fail miserably. Does this mean that you shouldn’t teach you children how to shoot, how to clean a gun, how to hunt, how to enjoy shooting sports, and how to defend themselves? Absolutely not. In fact, quite to the contrary.

When a child is old enough to pick up a toy gun and begin playing with it, this is the perfect time to take him into the education process of teaching him the REAL world of guns. Start teaching him how to clean them. Teach him the safety rules, all of them, again and again. Take him shooting. Take him to a REAL gun training class (like the kind that Women of Caliber offers to children 5 and up with a parent present). My husband and I even bought our niece a BB gun when she was 5 (with her mother’s permission, of course) and taught her how to shoot it. Bottom line, you can’t successfully outlaw all guns, period, because of what they will be exposed to elsewhere. So you’ve got to educate them with one set of rules which applies to all guns.

From the beginning of the 1800’s and through the 1970’s you rarely heard of accidental shootings with children. Why? Because the combination of gun usage and children was a necessary and integral way of life for a significant portion of our youth during that time. Children had to regularly learn to shoot on their farms, for hunting, in sporting events, and yes, even to defend themselves. Don’t you recall the abundance of “children” that attempted to enlist during the Revolutionary War, Civil War, and even World War I? It was also custom at the time that when a boy turned 4 years old, he was taught how to shoot rabbits to put food on the table. Additionally, children were not exposed to the kind of “entertainment” and pervasive television like they are now either. Guns weren’t vilified during these years as they are now. Think about it. Our nation lasted over a century without this prevalent kind of problem in our midst. Why is that? Because guns had their proper, respected place in society.

I wholeheartedly encourage parents to teach their children about guns, consistently, and to be sure that their rules apply to ALL kinds of guns. This will ensure your safety and that of your children in many more ways than one.

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved.
You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

Children and Guns—Part II

This is part of a four-part blog series addressing Children and Guns. Part I – want to ensure your kid never commits a crime? Give him a gun. Part II addresses myths of gun safety – what you must know in order to truly protect your children. Part III addresses when it is safe to educate your child on firearms. Part IV explores what’s really responsible for the death of our nation’s children. If you enjoy what you read, please comment and share on your blog or Twitter. Thank you.

The Myth of Gun Safety

By Kellene Bishop

Wow! Our first installment in this series reaped the most feedback, e-mails, and responses than all of our other posts from Women of Caliber. I hope that you will find this installment at least as equally beneficial.

In this piece I’m specifically addressing real gun safety. I’m referring to the avoidance of accidents, and putting the safety of guns around children in its proper perspective. I’ve read far too many statistics which inflate the danger of guns around children. My objection to this is not only that it’s false information, but that such information is the foundation for many women who would otherwise elect to possess a firearm and the accompanying self-defense skills. So let’s provide the real facts so that we can make an educated decision, shall we?

Myth #1: “Children are constantly killed by accidental gun usage.”

The fact of the matter is that the reason why the media highlights the deaths of children via gun accidents is because they happen so rarely. Obviously, it’s much more headline worthy when an innocent child is killed via a gun than a headline reading that a child is 6 times more likely to die in a car wreck than by a gun. In fact, the likelihood of children dying via a car wreck is 14.5 times more likely than from a gun.

There are approximately 300,000,000 guns owned legally by 94 million people in the U.S. There are approximately 40 million children in America. In 1999, the last year for which a detailed breakdown was available, 31 children younger than age 10 died from accidental shootings. The Center for Disease Control only noted 4 children under the age of 10 dying from accidental gun deaths. With 300 million guns and 40 million children, you would think that there would be a lot more deaths if the firearms in our homes were as dangerous as the media makes them out to be.

Based on statistics in the same year, roughly 550 children ages 0-14 were run over by cars, 800 drowned, 660 were burned to death in fires, and 1,850 died inside cars. Most of the 800 drowned were as a result of unattended children in a swimming pool, 93 drowned in bathtubs, and 36 died in 5-gallon buckets, yet we have no "mothers against bathtubs, buckets and swimming pools" organizations to speak of.

Eight times as many children die from non-gun violence acts than from gun crimes. (Kids and Guns, 2000, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquincy Prevention)

82% of homicides against children age 13 and under were committed without a gun. (1997, FBI Uniform Crime Statistics)

While less than 0.1% of all deaths for children between the ages 0-14 are from firearms, 0.6% are from motor vehicles, 5.3% are from being struck in beatings or bludgeoning, 6% from poisoning, and 42.6% from suffocation. (1997 National Center for Health Statistics National Vital Statistics Report)

Why aren’t more children dying at the villainous hands of 94 million gun owners throughout all of America? Because, with few exceptions, law-abiding gun owners are conscientious of educating children on gun safety and likewise practice it themselves. And yet so many parents, and particularly women, relinquish their freedoms to defend themselves based on the warped reality spoon-fed to them by the media.

While one would think that enough has been said about the exaggerated accidents involving children and guns, I still feel it’s necessary to address this next myth.

Myth #2: “If I don’t have a gun, my children are safer and better protected.”

This concern is falsely founded for so many reasons. For starters, if you are not familiar with the workings of a firearm, how are you able to appropriately stop an accident from happening? Suppose you walk in on your child who’s holding a firearm in his hands. What do you do? Do you grab it from him? Do you instruct him to put it down? HOW do you grab it? HOW would you instruct him to put it down? Do you know when a firearm’s safety is actually engaged on every possible gun your child could get their hands on? Do you know the proper manner to TAKE a firearm from an unauthorized child? Why should you NOT holler at the child, even to “freeze” and put the gun down? If you don’t know the answers to these questions then you could actually CAUSE a firearm accident by simply trying to prevent one. (I’ll answer these questions specifically in a further post as the instructions for such an instance are an entirely separate piece.) Additionally, is a child’s exposure to a gun solely relegated to your own home? Not teaching your child (and yourself) about firearms doesn’t protect them, it exposes them.
If they don’t know what a gun really is, then how are they supposed to respect its deadly power or to even be an influence among their less educated friends who may possess a firearm in their presence? Parents who choose to ignore the reality of a firearm in the midst of their children only promote a greater percentage of danger to them.

If you are not in favor of possessing a firearm yourself and teaching the accompanying rules with such a responsibility, then at least teach your child these 4 simple rules when they come in contact with a gun.

STOP!
Don't Touch.
Leave the Area.
Tell an Adult.

(Eddie Eagle Education Program sponsored by the NRA)

When the only exposure to guns that children have is on video games—where they “kill” people who get right back up to play some more—you are increasing the chance of them or their friends being injured in a gun accident whether you possess one or not.

Now, let’s address the last myth. I warn you in advance, this is going to get a bit dicey as it will address a topic that most parents do not want to even think about.

Myth # 3: “Waiting until my children are grown so that they can make their own decision on using a firearm is the best policy.”

First of all, let me ask you this question, when has your child EVER waited according to your time-frame to do anything? They grow up too fast, date far too soon, get married when you swear they are still only 8-years-old, and make you a grandparent while you’re still feeling in your prime. So let’s debunk the myth that they will actually wait until YOU are ready before deciding for themselves about firearm usage. The best thing you can do is to give them proper knowledge and education early on so that when they do make that unprecedented decision for themselves, they do it fully informed.

We communicate regularly with a lot of single moms on the topic of gun ownership so I’m going to create this scenario specifically for you, Super Moms.

Suppose a criminal enters your home just as you’re about to put your 3 children down for bed. He’s got a knife and he’s holding it at you and making vile threats against you if you don’t give him money. He’s also made it clear that he intends to fiercely violate your virtue in the presence of your children. Sounds a bit melodramatic, you may think, but unfortunately this is exactly the situation that numerous children have faced throughout the nation (See examples below). Of course as a mother you don’t want to ever have to think about your child needing to defend your life with a gun. That’s a natural instinct. But if this same scenario is thought out rationally, think about the alternative. Would you rather that your children have to witness a heinous attack on their mother, then her death, and perhaps even be subjected to more violence to themselves afterwards? That’s obviously an even more disturbing thought.

So what do you do? You train your child not to be a victim and to handle a firearm properly. Why a firearm? Because out of all of the championship karate matches I’ve ever been to, I have yet to see a “power pint” who is truly capable of kicking the butt of a drug-enraged criminal intent on causing death and mayhem.

If you do not prepare them mentally for such a situation now, they won’t be ready if such a horrific event does occur and you’ll risk more than one life being lost. By preparing them for such an instance you are NOT emotionally scarring them. You are preparing them to win with the best possible situation. You’re not treating them to bully others. You’re treating them to heroically defend the lives of those around them. Such a mental fostering has a much more powerful effect on their lives than fearfully and helplessly reacting to a crisis. If they don’t decide when they are young, they may not be able to make a decision when someone’s life depends on it.

See:
Boy shoots home invader http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/308864

Son uses shotgun to defend mother against armed home invader http://www.cbs12.com/news/intruder_4709600___article.html/home_alleged.html

17-year-old disarms armed robber and shoots him saving his mother http://wwwtmrcom.blogspot.com/2007/06/17-year-old-disarms-shoots-robber.html

Bank robbery and hostage situation thwarted by a teenager in 1915
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=070702_1_A4_Kingo54280&breadcrumb=state

17-year-old thwarts home robbery with shotgun http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou061228_ac_crosbyshooting.547846d3.html

In closing, I want to reiterate that the maximum way to ensure your children are safe is to be an involved parent. We can’t control what they are exposed to, but we can have a great influence in what happens when they are exposed. While I’m fully aware that parts of this article are quite uncomfortable to consider, I believe that even putting yourself mentally “there” goes a long way to assist you in your progress to be fully capable to defend yourself and your loved ones. I simply don’t want you to NOT make that decision out of misguided information fed to you by the media. As I’ve said before, I respect individuals who elect not to possess a firearm, so long as that decision is based on sound knowledge. I hope this piece has assisted you in making wise decisions regarding your own self-defense as well as that of your children.

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

Do You Have Enough Ammo to Last You 4 Years?

3/18/09 Update: While we're ecstatic to hear that the NRA-ILA and a couple of good politicians have rectified this wrong, there's still merit to this particular blog below in showing just how vulnerable we are to the minds and wills of a select few.

I would suspect that there are very few readers who do. And that’s a huge problem with the latest twist in the government soap opera.

As you may know, Obama previously proposed as a Senator that ammunition would receive a 500% tax hike. He did so as a crafty way to essentially take away our guns. Obviously, without ammunition, gun owners had better get good at throwing our firearms at an assailant or using them as batons without ammo. You and I both know that with his penchant for taxing the American people worse than any president ever (even through the liability of his spending packages), he’s not likely to get past a deaf and moot Congress this proposal for a 500% tax hike on ammo. So what does he do? Nothing. He doesn’t have to do anything because his Secretary of State is interpreting a Department of Defense directive to favor this new administration’s distaste for guns. And it’s done without Congress having any say in it. As of June 11, 2008, the Department of Defense is to no longer allow the military to sell fired casings to ammunition remanufacturers until they have been “mutilated”, aka shredded into scrap brass.

Let’s break this down a little bit.

In order for you to shoot, you have to have ammo. Duh, right? Bear with me here. When you practice shooting, you will typically use remanufactured ammunition because it’s less expensive. For example, 1,000 rounds of 9mm ammo (115 grain) which is remanufactured costs $207, while new ammo, 9mm (115 grain) costs $269 at a bargain price. So the savings can be substantial. The key to the pricing advantage of remanufactured ammunition is that the remanufacturers are able to buy their once-fired casings primarily from the military. As you can imagine, the military uses a LOT of ammo and due to their rules they can only use new ammo. This makes them an ideal source from which to purchase used casings. However, now that the DOD has determined that they are only permitted to sell their ammo casings AFTER they have been shredded, this means a whole lot to your wallet.

1) Yes, the “remanufactured” ammo will be more expensive (as if the past year of price increases haven’t been bad enough.) The reason being is now there is an extra step in the process in order for the remanufacturers to have foundries turn the shredded brass (and other metals) into the casings they need. The reason why I put the “remanufactured” in quotation marks is that it’s doubtful to me that the new product should be called “remanufactured” as opposed to new since this additional process entails what new-ammo manufacturers have to do to produce their ammo.

2) Your tax dollars now pay for the shredding of the casings which the military will now perform on all of their casings prior to selling it.

3) The remanufactured ammo represents approximately 65-75% of the ammunition market among civilians AND law enforcement. Law enforcement regularly uses remanufactured ammo for their target practices. Thus, now law enforcement is paying a higher price either for the remanufactured ammo, or a higher price to buy new ammo. Guess whose tax dollars pay for that?

4) Due to the interpretation of this DOD directive, there are a great deal of ammunition remanufacturers who will have to lay off a sizeable portion of their employees. Hello, unemployment. Hello, extra foreclosures. Hello, extra bankruptcies.

5) This all presumes that since the casings are being shredded they will still be sold to the remanufacturers. This is doubtful as China is the largest buyer of such metals from us in its shredded condition. Don’t think for a second that they won’t get first crack at buying this shredded brass. After all, we owe them for buying up so much of our debt, right? This means that we may have put out of business ALL of the remanufacturers in the U.S. with this one strategic directive. If the remanufacturers go out of business, then we have the small number of new-ammo manufacturers to provide all the rest of us with ammo. And the military gets first shot in front of any buyer to obtain their ammo. Now think about this economically. You have what used to represent about a third of the ammo sales in the U.S. and now they are the primary source to handle nearly all of the ammo manufacturing. That’s called a serious supply-and-demand problem. If you talk to anyone who buys ammo, you will undoubtedly hear stories of empty shelves, and hard-to-find ammo. Are you starting to see why ammo is so hard to obtain now and why prices have increased substantially? Expect an even greater supply-and-demand imbalance as the dominos continue to fall, folks.

So why do I ask if you have enough ammo for 4 years? Because if you don’t, that situation is not likely to change unless this administration reigns-in how the directive is being interpreted, or an administration change occurs four years from now. It won’t matter how much money you have. You simply won’t be able to buy enough with the military standing in line in front of you. NOW some of you may know why I predicted that there would come a time when a bucket of ammo would be worth more than a bucket of gold…on so many levels. (see http://www.preparednesspro.wordpress.com/)

Clearly the economists who thought this one through are on the same team as those who are running Wall Street and are devoid of much in the form of patriotism or intellect.

See the link below the draft of this directive.
www.dla.mil/j-6/dlmso/Archives/JSACG/meetings/11Jun08/ADC_220_Small%20ArmsDefinition_DRAFT_JSACG_11June2008.doc

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

Why We Fear Guns

If guns are good for us, then why are they so controversial? Why are we afraid of them?

Well, the answer is short and sweet—manipulation.

Even in the movies we love, guns are typically portrayed in a negative light. They are used by “bad guys” to commit unspeakable horror, and they are used by “law enforcement officers” to fight the bad guys, they are used in times of intense war, or they are used by decent people who mistakenly take the law into their own hands.

Additionally, the media in general has cast an ugly skewed shadow on the consequences of having a gun in the home, the stereotype of those who carry guns, and the supposed harm that such items cause to an otherwise civil society. In fact, even the word “assault weapon” was created by the anti-gun individuals and the media as an accomplice to impose a derogatory and frightening mental picture associated with any firearm resembling a rifle (The phrase “assault weapon” is clearly one of many mischaracterizations of a firearm. The word “assault” denotes an act of aggressive proactive behavior. If that were really the case, perhaps we should call all fishing rods an “assault rod”).

In other words, the first reason why we’ve come to fear guns so badly is because the only education we receive typically is at the hands the media or the movie industry. Now that I think about it, with the exception of the movie The Patriot, I don’t recall seeing any movie that promoted the right to keep and bear arms and the necessity of such to ensure a free country in an appropriate light. In a movie we see and hear the big blast of a firearm, see the ensuing (and predictably obligatory) blood splatters, and that’s the picture we have training our mind about guns. We never get to see and thus to better feel the relief one would have in truly being able to defend themselves from a violent crime on the big screen. And rarely, if ever, do we hear in the media of all of the crimes that are prevented by the use of a firearm in the hands of a responsible and competent citizen. Nope. The only way you can find out about that is to join some kind of 2nd Amendment activist group or purchase books which look like they were produced with a small budget.

Do you have any idea of how hard I had to search just to find the FBI statistic which states that the mere presence of a firearm in the hands of our citizens prevents over 5,500 crimes PER DAY? Nope. You’ll never see a mainstream newspaper put that in their headlines.

In other words, all of our firearm education is through the stunning special effects and loud professional voices of manipulation by those who would have us believe that the use of a firearm for self-defense is a barbaric tactic.

Not to say that your parents were wrong in the choices they made in raising you, but they have a great deal of responsibility in your feelings towards gun as well. In their defense, they were fed the same “state of reality” growing up through the movies, media, etc. I’m curious how far back in history I’d have to go to find a time when we actually taught about all of the components of the Constitution in elementary or middle school. Regardless, your parents didn’t have such education. AND they weren’t raised in a time where thousands of gangs roam our nation committed to wreaking terror and death throughout, periodic invasions from foreign terrorists, a stark imbalance between law enforcement protection and the citizens, record numbers of overcrowding in our jails, rampant substance abuse, the highest level of violent crime in the history of our nation and a laissez faire attitude and naïveté that opens us to even more crimes. I could point out many more societal changes which may dictate that we have more reasons to take personal responsibility for our own effective self-defense today rather than yesterday, but I don’t really want this to appear too doom and gloom. I guess I could have summed this part up by simply saying that your folks were raised in a different time of violence and crime and thus the likelihood that you were raised unaware and uneducated in matters of firearm defense is very likely. They were subjected to the same glitzy, high-budget media and movie education that everyone else is.

Now I don’t know about you, but when I find that I’m being manipulated, I tend to resist—fiercely. In fact, when I’m listening to a professional speaker on a stage who is so predictably trying to get the audience to bob their heads in agreement or to contrive a laugh from the audience, I personally rebel and refuse to submit. So, when I see that I’m being manipulated by one side of the topic, I make it a point to get the whole story…full education. As a result, I’ve come to believe strongly in the necessity of learning how to use a firearm in self-defense AND ensure that such a right as a citizen of this nation is never threatened.

The myths are that guns are symbols of violence, whereas I now see them as a symbol of enduring peace in a violent world around me.

The myth is that guns are used by insecure, mentally deranged people. I find that my ability to competently use a firearm eliminates fear in my life and thus I’m able to replace that fear with confidence and unmask other positive attributes which I possess.

The myth is that guns kill lots of people every year. The fact is they do, but typically in the hands of criminals. The biggest killer of our American citizens is medical errors, followed by heart disease, and then cancer. Seriously, statistically, doctors who cause death by dereliction are 9,000 times more dangerous than guns held by legal gun owners! And yet no one has ever run a news story that paints doctors and hospital staff in the same barbaric light as gun owners.

Additional consideration is the number of violent crimes that are committed by illegal immigrants in our country. Illegal immigrants kill over 8,000 legal American citizens in our country every year, and are also responsible for sexually assaulting over 2,000 of our children every year and yet we can’t seem to lobby against them.

Lastly, there’s the myth is that a gun in the house will result in a fatal accident among children or others. The fact is if you don’t know how to use and be safe with a firearm, your chances of an accident happening are sky-high – not just in your home, but in the home of your neighbors whom your children visit. If you don’t know about firearms and their workings, how do you know you’ll act appropriately if you walk in on a child who has one in their hands? Education is the key. Curiosity and ignorance is a deadly combination and is what causes accidents. Not guns. Attempting to say as much is like saying that pencils cause spelling errors.

I’m completely accepting of the fact that someone chooses not to have a firearm so long as that person makes the decision with full knowledge of the facts rather than the myths. So please, get informed and then make your decision. If you do choose to get educated on the USE of a firearm, Women of Caliber will be here for you with the most expert training available for women—by women.

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

If a violent criminal has broken in to your home…who’s his first target?

There are a handful of common reasons why women do not proactively learn how to defend themselves either physically or with a firearm. But I have found that most of these reasons can be resolved with education. In today’s article I wanted to give my fellow women some useful food for thought.

Suppose you have a competent husband. He works out. He’s fit. He’s conscious of his surroundings, and perhaps he even is familiar with the proper use of a handgun for self-defense purposes. Let’s even add to the mix that you also have a few children as well who have been taught how to safely live in an environment aware of self-defense. Thus you may have a sense that all is well.

Now, let’s suppose that the unthinkable occurs and a violent criminal has broken into your home. And we’ll even assume that you “got lucky” and your husband is home when the invasion occurs. Who do you think a strategic criminal would target first in order to get his demands met? Your husband, because he’s the strongest threat? No. That would be an incorrect assumption. The criminal would go after you, the wife and mother, first because you are perceived as being the weakest yet the greatest asset. Think about it. What would your husband do in exchange for your life? What would your children do if “Mommy” was being threatened with unspeakable violence? In this instance, your lack of skill and knowledge is actually a dangerous liability to the rest of your family.

This situation could be significantly different if you merely appeared to be the weakest and yet were able to fully protect and defend yourself and your family.

That was a married woman example. Let’s play this out in a single mom situation. The criminal may go after you as you are perceived to be the only viable threat. Or the criminal could go after your children in order to manipulate your actions. Either way, your unquestionable will to protect your children is simply not enough to save them. You must back up that will with knowledge and skill. Otherwise you will still be a liability to your children or anyone else you love and care for.

So how do you defend yourself? While there are many defensive alternatives that can be considered, consider this. A firearm operated safely and with expertise is the ultimate equalizer between a woman and her would-be attacker. If an attacker is under the influence of drugs, alcohol, or rage the proverbial karate chop is not likely to save your life and to end the altercation. You need real stopping powers against such mind and body numbing substances in order to truly bring the altercation to stop and ensure you and your family’s safety.

In today’s society where criminal activity seems to know no bounds, it’s naïve of us women to think that someone else will save us. The police can’t stop every attack from ever happening. Our husbands or significant others won’t always be there to protect us. We will not be able to ward off an intruder solely by our motherly lioness instincts. These instincts may provide us with adrenaline and determination, but unless they are backed up with applicable and practical skill such instincts may only bring us more harm.

Here’s the good news. No, you do not need to train countless hours to have this kind of expertise. And no, you do not need to shrink from your femininity in order to be capable of protecting yourself. There is a proprietary technique available that will ensure that you hit only what you’re aiming at, and to do so expeditiously before the encounter escalates to an impossible situation.

For more information, go to http://www.womenofcaliber.com/

Here’s to your safety and peace.

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.