All too often, among married couples, the husband is the firearms enthusiast and the one interested in personal defense, while the wife tends to rely on that protection. Unfortunately, things don’t always work out so well when that kind of thinking prevails.
In the case of a home invasion, or any kind of attack when a couple is targeted, the crooks will be focused on neutralizing the man as quickly as possible because they see him as the major threat. What that means to us guys, whether we like to think about it or not, is that we may be the first one to hit the ground with a debilitating wound. What is the unarmed, unprepared woman going to do then?
If the woman is encouraged to take part in the training and the preparedness, we now have a defensive team that multiplies our chances of prevailing when attacked. In fact, she becomes the wild card in many situations. The crooks don’t pay much attention to her because they expect her to be running scared. When, instead, she takes a fighting stance and is looking at them over the gun sights it may well mess up their whole predetermined battle plan to the point that they decide the best thing to do is just to leave.
In the days of the American frontier, women were generally always a major part of the defensive situation. They had to be simply because there was no other choice. And, though history rarely reports it, the woman was often the better shot. In fact, the entire family had various assigned duties to perform when the homestead was under attack.
Fortunately, today, we are seeing women’s interest in personal defense increasing. These efforts are being and must be encouraged. More than that, we can use our influence to get women’s classes and clubs organized in our area.
More importantly, we work with the women in our lives to truly develop as a team. That requires established methods of communication, verbal and non-verbal, as well as working out ways to provide support to each other. She may not be interested in becoming a firearms enthusiast, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t interested in protecting herself and her family. If we make sure that we use the same kind of defensive handgun, in the same caliber as she does that will simplify logistics. It will also mean that both defenders can function with whichever firearm we can get our hands on.
If you’re a firearm enthusiast, it is incumbent upon you to ensure your partner is properly trained. She can be the best defensive partner that you could hope for, and she may end up saving your life.
