Women and Guns

[Dale00]

Firearms instructor, John Farnam, shares an interesting experience in teaching a class of international female police officers. Ladies, be thankful you live in the U.S.A.

Armed Women!

We recently completed a live-fire Program at an International Training Conference for Women LEOs in the Midwest. All our students were female, but most were from foreign countries. Some had never touched a gun before in their lives, despite working as police. Most had never drawn a pistol from a holster. Only a minuscule few carried guns on duty. Virtually none took guns home, owned guns privately, nor carried off-duty.

They used G17s, and Uncle Mike's holsters and duty-belts, provided by Conference organizers. Virtually all students fired more rounds in the following three hours that they had during their entire police careers, indeed in their entire lives!

A LEO from Ireland said, "... it's a 'cultural thing.' No matter how bad it gets, even after recent riots in London, they'll never issue us guns."

Another, from North Africa, commented that men on her PD were armed, but that women were not allowed to have guns, "... because we're women."

In the brief time we were together, we stressed basic principles of marksmanship and safe gun-handling.

All were enthusiastic and wanted to shoot more! In a moment of frustration, a woman from the UK commented how lucky we were in the USA to be able to privately own, and even carry concealed guns during our daily routine, and lawfully use them to defend ourselves. "Unheard of in most other places," said she.

Comment: This makes me crazy! I had to bite my tongue so as not to inadvertently say something unkind about someone else's government/culture.

LEOs in most other countries, particularly women, are absolutely expendable in the eyes of local politicians! With a straight face, they're expected to expose themselves to suicidal risk, without the tools necessary to have even a ghost of a chance of living through it.

Many don't! Politicians yawn, and then hire more. And, no one apparently sees a problem with that system!

Of all classes of citizens, women particularly, ought to be the ones most fervently jealous of their Second Amendment Rights, because it is they who are, in many cultures, deemed so expendable/replaceable.

"I declare to you that woman must not depend upon the protection of man, but must be taught to protect herself, and there I take my stand."

Susan B Anthony, from a speech in San Francisco, July 1871

http://www.defense-training.com/quips/26Aug11.html

 

[specialop24]

That's crazy. I believe women should be able to carry weapons just as men. ESPECIALLY female LEOs!!! I'm not going to start a lets bash foreign governments thread, but WOW. That's tough to think about.

 

[J.T.]

Thanks for posting this. I can honestly say I had no idea this was an issue overseas. Proud to be an American married to a weapons savvy woman.