Don't get me wrong, I love a bit of chivalry.
However ...
My classroom is a chivalry-free zone.
I know most of you are scratching your heads. Let me explain.
Gentlemen, by doing everything gun-related for your wives, you're hampering their learning. If your spouse is going to learn to shoot, you cannot be loading their magazines and guns for them. In your politeness, you're handicapping your spouse. Unintentionally, you're undermining their confidence with their own weapon. I understand that's not your intent. Truly, I do. But stop it! Let your spouses struggle a little bit while loading their own mags. Let them fumble through the administrative handling of their guns. Men, if you are the gun enthusiast in your household, and you have the knowledge, be available to answer questions and to guide your spouses through tasks, but do not do it for them.
Ladies, you need to step up and take ownership of your learning. When I ask you what you're shooting today, you should at least know the make, model, and caliber of your gun. I shouldn't be receiving blank, panicked looks. When I ask, at the beginning of class, for you to bring your bagged gun up to the front to unload and show clear, you need to be the one doing it. YOU alone are responsible for knowing the status of your gun. If I ask you to come to the front to unload and show clear, and you don't know how to do it. That's okay! I'll teach you.. As my friend, Vicki Farnam, says, "own your magnificence". Part of doing that is taking ownership.
Our spouses are not our gun bearers, around to hand us our pre-loaded gun just in time to take the shot on safari, so stop relying on them to do so. When the shit hits the fan, and you're home alone, what are you going to do?
It is our duty, as gun owners, to own our guns. All aspects: loading, unloading, safe storage, cleaning.
All. Of. It.
You will never be fully comfortable or confident with your gun if you are not in charge of the caretaking of said gun. So, ladies, step up and put in the work.
3 comments:
I am the the Good Knight that protects my Queen as well as my realm. She has her state pistol permit, but never joins me at the range even though I invite her every time, and has no interest or desire to carry a firearm to protect herself. Never mind loading magazines. While I am certainly glad to be the protector of The Kingdom, I can't be with her all the time. For those times we are apart, she is unfortunately on her own. I wish that were not the case.
For her sake, I also wish that was not the case. I hope that she will always be safe in her Castle, even when her Good Knight is not around.
Is the Queen adverse to other types of protection? Pepper spray? Flashlight? When used effectively, they can create space to rapidly exit a situation.
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