NOTE: Comments and discussion will be moderated. I don’t mind a little friendly debate and discussion. Personal attacks will not be tolerated. 
Are you thinking, is she talking about carrying a gun around? If so, then the answer is YES. Why?
Well earlier this year, a man followed my oldest daughter to the woman’s restroom. He stood outside it, but, didn’t know that I had already become concerned with his presence. Call it what you want, a sixth sense, mama bear awareness, or God giving me the signs to stand guard. Anyway, I was on full alert and knew he had been watching her. When you go to a restaurant with your children and you know not all of you are going to fit in the restroom at one time, you tend to have a plan in place for when the need arises. When going out with my children without another adult, I ask to sit where I can see the restroom doors. I NORMALY and from now on, will stick to the rule that you go in pairs. Two at a time, no excuses. Our situation that day had me send her to go when I knew the restroom was empty.
Here is what happened, she went to go in, and the man that I had already noticed was of a different concerning character followed her. He didn’t go in, but stood outside the door. I left the two little girls in the booth, and went over there. Luckily some cops were there, and realized something was off. One stayed with my girls, one requested the guy who followed my daughter to go with him, and the other questioned me. God was definitely there that day, not that He isn’t ever, but it raised a bunch of questions in my mind.
What would I do if this happened again, and there were no cops to come help?
What would my daughters or even sons do if they were in a situation?
I have taught them all to scream, and the if someone covers their mouth, they are to bite….but, they need more…
When we left the restaurant, we went to Wal-Mart and purchased some pepper spray. When we got home and I had calmed a little, we talked. We watched some self-defense videos on You Tube and such.
My husband and I talked and I told him I wanted to get my concealed carry permit. By the end of the week, I had purchased a Ruger SP 101 and signed up for the next class. Now, I have taken the class and need a picture and meeting for finger prints with our sheriff. Then I send it off and will be able to carry when all my stuff has been run through the Attorney General’s office.
Is this the only reason I got this though? No, it isn’t, it was the straw the broke the camels back so to say. We had talked about it, but living in a fairly small community, didn’t really see the need…talk about naïve though…that is just crazy. Actually, I think it makes you a sitting duck in hind sight…See, you know nearly everyone, and everyone knows you know them…so, you are more likely to believe you are safe, when you may not really be…
What about my children?
First when we brought the gun home, we let each of them hold it, and their toy guns. Then we asked them to tell us the difference. The big thing each of them mentioned, was the weight. My gun weighs a whopping 28 oz. Then we talked about that they are NEVER to touch it, unless mommy or daddy has asked them to. Not likely we would. We talked about the dangers of it, and such. We also shot it off once near them without them wearing ear protection. They are SCARED to DEATH of it now. Smartest thing we did. It is LOUD!! My ears rang for 3 hours afterward. We explained to them that they are not to talk about it to their friends and such. Yes, I am talking to y’all, but what I want to say is, that women can carry safely with children.
What does all this have to do with our Second Amendment Rights. Well, those in favor of keeping the Second Amendment believe that getting your CC, will help protect our rights. If we don’t lawfully or legally use a right, it will be taken away. We may not know why we need that right, until it is gone. Let’s not let that happen.
Many of you are probably wondering how I am going to carry, what I need to change and so forth. That is for another post. I have some ideas and have made a few changes. I do plan to post about that too, at a little later date. If you are interested in discussions pertaining to this, please friend me on Facebook, and I can get you in a group, just for that.
How do you learn to shoot? Practice. Is it scary? No, I have been shooting rifles and shotguns since I was ten years old. My daddy believed that I should be prepared for different things.
Have I killed anything? Do pop cans and skunks count? I don’t want to kill anything. I don’t go around shooting skunks, but, if a skunk decides his home is under the front porch of my home, and our dog is upset by this, causing both the house and dog to be sprayed, something has to give.
Have you considered Concealed Carry? What are some considerations you struggled with or are struggling with?
NOTE: Comments and discussion will be moderated. I don’t mind a little friendly debate and discussion. Personal attacks will not be tolerated.
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mother, christian, wife, woman, child of God. It is about my life as a farmer’s wife, as a cook, a baker, a nurse, a teacher, a woodworker, a housekeeper, a farmer (yep, I drive tractors, pick up hay bales, and other farm duties), a gardener. So, what you read here, is me, as a transparent sometimes hot headed, passionate, and opinionated person.
What a GREAT post! My husband and I have been talking about concealed classes for both of us for a few years now. We have hunting rifles, but I can’t really imagine concealing one of those
Your post was very informative, while keeping a lighter tone and staying friendly. There is a lot of ignorance in our world, and the only solution is to become educated. Gun control should not be about the government (city, state or federal) deciding if we are allowed to have guns, and which kinds. Gun control is about knowing how to choose the right weapon for the job (hunting, personal defense, military missions, or recreational target practice) and then using that weapon safely.
Thanks for sharing your experience and your thoughts!
Good for you Betty! I have had my CC for a few years now. And carry the gun you mentioned in this post. I am blessed that my husband’s job in the military is being a small arms instructor - so it was easy to learn with him as my coach. We are teaching the kids to shoot too. I would love to belong to your FB group about shooting/guns/being a homeschooling mom. My FB name is the name I am posting this comment with. What is just as important as getting your CC is practice, practice, practice. If you can it is important to get some good practice time in at least every 10 days or so. Thanks for this post!
I practice as often as I can.
I love shooting now that I have started. There is a little saying in our family:
“You might have married a redneck, if your wife wants to drag you to a gun show for your 15th anniversary”
I will friend you on Facebook and get ya added.
Thanks!!
My husband came home in August and told me that he was going to take the concealed carry class and had signed me up as well. I had never shot a gun before in my life and had only 2 weeks to get prepared because I was not going to this class and make a fool out of myself. I came up with every excuse in the book to get out of it; not because I was averse to the idea, I just was kind of ehhh about it. Hubby finally told me in his unfiltered way: “Baby, I signed you up because I love you. I’m going to get you ready and you’re going to be awesome. You don’t have to carry but you’re going to get the permit.” I now carry daily. And he’s become an instructor for the state of KS for concealed carry and he now teaches ladies only pistol classes. And I’m the biggest cheerleader you will hear about women getting permitted. THANK YOU for writing on the topic and encouraging other women.
~~Lonestar Outfitters
Good for you! I firmly believe in owning a weapon to protect yourself! Your kid’s safety come before some sleazy person’s ideas! Thank God the cops were already there. Thank you for sharing this post!
Love this! No, not the creepy man by the bathroom. Yay for you persuing your CC! I just got mine a year ago and have been so happy ever since. I am a concealed carry mommy too. In this world you can’t ever be too careful - and I at least know now that I can try to keep my kids safer. I feel more women need to do this and am trying to help out and encourage ladies in my area to do it.
Regardless of the community that you live in, bad things can still happen. I would rather be prepared and be able to defend my family, than not. We are looking at hand guns now and trying to decide who to take the class from. Lord willing, we can make these important decisions soon.
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Funny you should make this post. My husband is all for me getting my concealed weapons permit, and at times I desire it. I hesitate though I’m not 100% sure why. Your story helps me see how it could become necessary. I to have lived in the same small town all my life and it is easy to feel ‘safe’. I would really like to hear more of your thoughts on this subject, and how you plan to carry etc.
Tina, I will be sharing more over time. Before I can share about how to carry etc, I feel I need to actually be legal and able to carry.
I encourage you to take a class now or as soon as possible, as here anyway, it could still be 3 months before I can actually carry.
I had my conceal carry but accidentally let it expire. I will be reapplying here soon. Our kids are very familiar with guns and we constantly discuss it with them. I think it’s important to do so. We always remind them about gun safety when we have friends over as well. I don’t want to rely on someone else to save me or my boys if the need arises.
My husband bought us matching handguns for our 5 year anniversary this year.
I’m currently 7 months pregnant with #3, so I haven’t even gotten to shoot it yet (don’t want to hurt baby’s ears). I’ve taken self defense classes and such too, but being out with my kids definitely adds a whole other sense of vulnerability. I plan to get my CC as soon as I can after baby comes. I hope and pray I never need to use it, but if I ever didn’t have it when I needed it… I’d never need it again. (If you know what I’m saying.)
I don’t believe there is a provision for concealed carry here in Canada, but i would definitely do it. I keep talking about getting my firearms acquisition certificate, but haven’t done it. Yet.
I have a gun that hubby purchased for my birthday, but I don’t have a concealed weapon permit yet. Technically, I don’t need one in my state to carry, but it’s something that I want to get anyway. That being said, we’re getting ready to pcs to CA which means the chances of getting a ccw are slim to none. We’ll see….
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I have considered CC. I grew up on a farm and am familiar with several types of guns and my husband has several as well. I came to the conclusion a long time ago that if my family was ever in danger, I could, and would, use deadly force to protect us if my husband was not around. When you live in a rural area, and the nearest police protection is usually over 20 minutes away, you cannot rely on that protection when time is critical. We have the right to protect ourselves. And speaking to the comments from the other side that no one needs a large magazine or automatic style weapon, who is going to guarantee that the government stops there? Once a piece of a right is taken away or even given away, it becomes easier to take/give away another piece, and another, and another…until the right is gone for good. I am not sure why I haven’t pursued my concealed carry yet. I should. And maybe your post will spur me on to do just that!
I encourage you to go ahead.
Today the bad guys need to know that they should be thinking twice before doing anything. If more of us were protected, I suspect there would be less of them. 
So true! Our rights will nnever all dissapear overnight..it is a slow process
Very good. Let me tell you about a small community - ours has a population of about 900, and a number of them are registered sex offenders…ick! I do not have a CC, but certainly support the right to have one. I know I should get mine. Time and expense. Hope it doesn’t take a situation like that to get me motivated to do it. I originally got my first firearm because I enjoy going out in the boonies by myself, and some male friends were concerned for my safety. Am getting ready to get my 9yo his first for his next birthday.
Target practicing with my daddy is one of my biggest memories.
I should go see how the tree we used to shoot has grown. 
Oh, nice story there! Ick! I’m so glad there were policemen there and that everything turned out okay.
I don’t have a CC permit yet. For us, the cost is prohibitive. I’ve always been an avid walker, runner, and, in more recent years, bicyclist. After many creepy moments…so many times I’ve been followed in a suspicious way (even at a public track/field area with other people around), I told my husband I want a gun on me when I’m out like that by myself especially. I have pepper spray, but it feels sorely inadequate when you’re 10 miles out from civilization on an empty bike trail in the woods, and the odd-looking guy who had been walking on the trail when you passed him on the way up, is nowhere to be found when you’ve turned around and are biking back down…until you pass some dense woods and notice with a jolt that he’s HIDING in the trees, peeking out at you. *shudder*
Yes, I’d love to be in on any discussions you host.
Cam, email me your Facebook User Name, so we can friend each other. Then I can add you.
betty at peacecreekontheprairie . com Take out spaces and us @. 