#I have never felt unsafe in public since I started concealed carrying. Not once.

[lobotomy-lady]

hello ms lobotomy. i'm a woman who is interested in owning a gun for self defense (and getting proper gun training). however everyone i have talked to about gun safety has insisted i am 100% more likely to shoot an innocent person than ever successfully defend myself, that guns are useless at close range, that carrying a gun would make me more likely to get killed, etc etc, all around just making it seem like it's not worth it at all. what do you think?

These people fail to realize that just bc a ton of absolute fucking morons with 0 training & a paranoid personality type own guns & misuse them, it doesn't mean /you/ will. Your risk of shooting an innocent person is not nearly as high as those morons risk is if you are a smart, cautious, responsible, & trained individual rather than a trigger happy lunatic who drinks moonshine all day & thinks they're being gangstalked. I'd be interested to see the gender breakdown also bc I have a feeling as usual men are the ones most likely to shoot an innocent person by accident bc they are most likely to be impulsively violent in other regards as well.

An analogy for this would be someone saying "everyone has a 1 in 15 chance of dying of lung cancer" just bc 1 in 15 ppl will die of it, as if an individual person has no possible way of minimizing (or increasing) their personal risk, like choosing not to smoke. It's just a product of people misinterpreting statistics.

As for guns being useless at a close range, that's the dumbest shit I've ever heard bc the whole point of a gun is NOT LETTING THE ATTACKER GET CLOSE IN THE FIRST PLACE. Yes, if an attacker who is physically stronger than you gets close, they can take your weapon. This is true of knives, tasers, pepper spray, mace, brass knuckles, etc-the difference is all of those weapons are USELESS at a long or mid range-but the long & mid range is where women can fight the best way against a man, bc they can't use their strength against you until they're close enough to grab you.

Obviously it isn't foolproof. An attacker could sneak up on you and restrain you before you can draw your gun, that's a real possibility (& that is why it's incredibly important to develop a good sense of situational awareness & always be vigilant). There is no weapon or self defense strategy that will prevent 100% of attacks or dangerous situations, but you can make yourself more of a threat by training with a firearm. Don't pay attention to what other people say, if YOU think you can handle the responsibility of owning a lethal weapon & are willing to put in the work then that's all that matters.