Look, some of you are going to go full cringe on this one so let me throw the topic out right here at the top:
Guns.
I am going to talk about guns, my experiences with them, and why I will soon submit my application for a Concealed Carry Permit. Mostly, I am going to talk about why I just took a beginner’s class on gun safety. I will, in the end, respect your opinion on the topic and hope you give me the same gift while we remain friends because (gasp!) we don’t have to agree on everything to do so.
It’s okay if you don’t want to read on. For those who choose not to, please just consider this one piece of advice: Take a gun safety class.
No matter which side of the firearms fence you sit on, take a class.
None of us wants to hear about another mass shooting or about any injury (or worse) that might have been prevented if only…This is especially true for gun owners, despite what the news narrative might be trying to convince you.
Okay, I’ll climb down from my cartridge box.
If you’d told me a decade ago that I’d be taking a gun safety class, I’d have laughed. In fact, a decade ago, I was fresh off a phone call with the parent of a Sandy Hook victim. This woman was a long-time family friend who we’d lost track of and she’d called in a quest for my mother’s phone number as she yearned for the comfort of those who knew her daughter. I knew her daughter. We’d played together as children. So yes, I know exactly what guns in the wrong hands can do.
It wasn’t long after that phone call that I packed my bags to move in with my now-husband and into a home with guns that I would completely avoid for years (both the actual weapons and the topic). If I did encounter one, such as when I needed to get into our safe, I would summon my husband and then stand well away while he collected whatever I needed.
A few years ago, I leerily took my first trip to the local shooting range, to put a line through my husband’s insistence (nagging) that I at least learn how to handle a gun. I thought it would be a one-and-done visit but that visit taught me two things. First, I was terrified. Second, target shooting was incredibly relaxing. This was a place, for me, in which I could completely turn off my brain from all other things and fully concentrate on the targets. And, at that time, my brain was racked with stressors so this side effect was a complete and welcome surprise.
My husband is a near-perfect gun owner, following all safety measures. Perhaps his only flaw was not being more insistent that I take Pistol 101 before moving in with him instead of allowing me to pretend our small inventory simply didn’t exist. Last year, on one of our regular visits to Greentop, I surprised myself by holding a few guns and liking a few guns and then really liking one that I found light and easy to manage even with a bum wrist. I then surprised myself further by purchasing it once all approvals were stamped. My husband? He was the most surprised. And also probably a little confused.
Wait, now what? Wasn’t I afraid of guns? Yes.
As a brand new gun owner, I had no choice but to sign up for a safety class. Well, yes, I had a choice, but not by my personal pledge to do this responsibly. I signed up for Pistol 101, choosing the “Ladies Only” day and showing up with an incredibly nervous stomach and a side of “What am I doing here?” Looking around, I could easily see a dozen other women feeling the exact same trepidation. I cannot stress this next sentence enough:
I should have done this years ago. I should have done this before I moved into a home with guns.
As I sat in class, I thought back to a day when I had to get my passport out of our safe and completely panicked when I realized that it was tucked behind a gun. I froze. How was I going to get behind it without touching it? What if it was loaded? What if I dropped it and something terrible happened? My husband was on a business trip, the kids were at school, and I needed my passport. I knew at that moment that I needed to be a more responsible member of our household–it just took another six months for me to get there.
Five minutes into the Pistol 101 class, I knew that I would be writing this piece encouraging quite literally everyone to take a gun safety class. The class was less about our thoughts on gun ownership and more about having the correct knowledge of how guns work and what we should do if we come across one. Or, I suppose, what we could do if we had to make a decision in a terrible situation. No, none of us (either side of the fence) wants to be in a terrible situation, but what could we do if we were? You see, you can be anti-gun and still be educated.
I know this because I am pro-second amendment and also pro-fixing-gun-control-guidelines.
At the end of class, I felt so much more educated and, yes, so much more respectful of firearms. I also felt proud to live so close to a place like Greentop, staffed with knowledgeable people ready and willing to offer their time to coach anyone willing to set aside their beliefs and learn. I also arrived home with a new narrative of facts that continue to flow today, weeks later. I’m not sure my husband is excited about that.
I should have done this years ago. I should have done this before I even moved in with a gun owner.
If you’d told me a decade ago that I’d be taking a gun safety class, I’d have laughed. Today, I tell anyone who asks to take the class. Get educated, no matter your thoughts on guns or gun legislation. My new take? We can, after all, do two things at once: push for better gun laws and become experts on their handling.
We can even have differing opinions and still work together for a better future.
Ending thoughts:
- Perhaps a push for change might be requiring a gun safety certification prior to taking ownership of a purchase. Perhaps the final piece of the buy is picking up your product at the end of Pistol 101 or something equivalent.
- One of the reasons I took the class was for my concealed carry permit as my husband often travels with a gun. He also often forgets to remove it from our shared car, which I then also forget to remove, which means that, when I took the car solo, I was doing so illegally. Again, I should have taken this class long ago.