If you are of age and willing to accept the responsibility to carry a firearm for self defense, you should. If you are going to continue training after getting your CCW then that is even better. This is something I always suggest after getting your Concealed Weapons Permit. Its not uncommon that ladies will get theirs and get excited about shopping around for a CCW pistol. This is a good thing! You should be excited on the leg of the adventure. But just before you decide to pull the trigger on the Tiffany Blue, the Electric Purple, or the Hot Pink firearm of your liking let me drop some knowledge on you first.
Hate to break it to the lot of you, but you should never buy a pink gun. Ever.
Lets start with the obvious. A firearm is not a toy. Do not purchase one that looks or resembles a toy. Many women will go out and the first bright pink one they see may catch their eye. The urge to want to get something cute or pretty that matches this or that is probably strong. Your common sense should be stronger! A firearm is a tool. It is NOT a fashion accessory! And it should be treated as a tool. The way that it looks matters. Especially if you have children. And especially if you actually have to use it in self defense.
First off, if it looks like a toy and you decide to carry it in your purse (you should never carry in a purse, that is another topic for conversation) and its a bright color, to a young child or adult it may look like a toy. This is a recipe for disaster. Every year children and people get killed negligently due to a firearm resembling something like a toy. It simply gets picked up and accidentally gets fired whether by a child or an adult not thinking it is real or it is loaded. As a carrier you are responsible for what happens at all times with your firearm while it is in your possession or on your person. Lets reiterate, you are ALWAYS responsible for your firearm while it is in your possession and or on your person.
Secondly, it is a tool and should be treated with respect. If you respect the firearm and you abide by the most basic of firearm safety rules then negligence is minimized or completely neutralized from the equation. A firearm needs to resemble what it is. A tool to be respected.
The last point is if you actually have to use it in a self defense scenario in court the jury of your peers will see the weapon used. And it should be no surprise that the peanut gallery is going to make assumptions based solely on what the firearm looks like. They have no idea about firearms usually and it tends to be a popularity contest of sorts. A bright pink or purple pistol may unfortunately give the jury a preconceived idea about who you are even without knowing the case. Another common tactic used by prosecutors is to use the color of the weapon as weight in the case against you. Don't give them that. In the end the jury needs to like you and needs to side with you. A bright color pistol may give them reason not to. They may think you are not serious about the privilege of carrying. This goes to the couch commando men too. Donning a pistol with Punisher logos or parts that say "KILL THEM ALL" is not suggested. Your very character is being judged by a bunch of strangers that have no idea about guns. Giving them a reason to question that may be a mistake that can land you in jail, even though your use of it was justified.
Ladies, if you decide to carry a firearm and be part of the armed and trained responsible population do yourself a favor. Skip over the bright color pistols please. It does no benefit for you in the long run. We all have responsibilities to be the protectors of ourselves, our children, our families and our kindred. Its very easy to go and get a CCW permit and to go and purchase a pistol for the upstanding citizen. Accepting the responsibility is a challenge and a long term duty. Do not make it harder on yourselves if you can help it. Its already hard for the law abiding citizen to live their life peacefully. There is no sense making it any more challenging in the wake of having to use it in self defense.
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