A Cornered Cat

The Cornered Cat

Spike in Female CCW

A positive news report on the matter.

Of course, it's from Tulsa Oklahoma, so whadaya expect?

A very positive piece on women and guns.

Self Defense in Austin

She was outside her apartment when a man scaled her fence. She ran inside and grabbed her Smith & Wesson .38 caliber revolver. Then she went back outside. She was tackled from behind, and the fight went to the ground.

She shoved her revolver in her attacker's face. "First I tried to point it up in his face so that he would see that I had a gun so he would take off running," she said, "But he didn't." The two continued to struggle on the ground. The attacker blocked his victim's nose and mouth so she could neither scream nor breathe. She fired three shots. "It was very difficult for me to do," she says. Her attacker fled before police arrived.

Half an hour later, Christopher Benavides showed up in the emergency room of Brackenridge Hospital. He had a gunshot wound to the face. Police were notified. Benavides had a prior record of criminal trespass and mischief. He confessed he had planned to steal her cell phone to sell for cash. He now faces charges of assault and robbery.

The victim was not charged.

Manhattan's Only Shooting Range

A New York Girl learns about shooting.

Hatsoff to Breda

Congrats!

First it was Breda.........

Now it's Squeak.

Go congratulate them.

Women who pack heat rock!

Phlegmmy

Yeah.......She shoots like a girl.....

Home Defense in Dadeville, Missouri

She Nearly Got the Best of Him.......

She was strong and fit. She had martial arts training. Her dog was with her. She had the wits and the will to survive. She coped with mental torment, beatings, and rape.....For three days. Meredith Emerson forcibly disarmed her captor of both a knife and a baton, suffering two black eyes and a fractured nose in the process.

"That's one thing that broke my heart in this case," Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent Clay Bridges said. "She was doing everything she was supposed to do to stay alive, and we didn't get there in time."

Breda said it best.........If only she had a gun. May Meredith Emerson's soul rest in peace.

She's Got a Gun

"For the first nine years after Jimmy's death, Dad would drive past the cemetery where Jimmy was buried, on his way to work. Each day, twice a day, he would say as he passed by, 'Come on home, Jimmy boy.' Dad stopped doing this after he changed jobs and his driving route changed. He told me he held on to the slightest hope that the body sent home to us wasn't Jimmy's and he was still alive, somewhere in Vietnam. Dad acknowledged how far-fetched this sounded, but it didn't stop him from thinking it, wishing it. If Jimmy had come home, I wonder, would he have followed his boyhood dream and become a gunsmith? ...

If Jimmy had come home from Vietnam, I don't think his kid sister would have purchased a gun at the end of the first Gulf War. The only reason I bought my gun was because I wanted to understand what he loved about firearms. By doing what he loved most, I thought I might learn more about him. And I have."

Nancy Floyd

"She's Got a Gun" is a volume of women gun owners photographed, quoted, and compiled by Georgia State University photography professor Nancy Floyd. It challenges the idea that gun ownership and appreciation is solely a masculine quality. In the exerpts located at Creative Loafing, it looks like this book is a good one....A very good one. Like "Armed America" by Kyle Cassidy, it crushes the myths that gun owners are ignorant tobacco chewing rednecks with dried up cornflakes stuck in their beards.

She's Got a Gun by Nancy Floyd is available in hardcover at Amazon.com, and also at Temple University Press.

Hat tip to Tam

Home Invasion Analysis

Now, the story......

Glenn Heights, TX-- An attempted break-in early Sunday morning led to a terrifying and unexpected wake up call for a woman in Glenn Heights. While four men failed to break into Carrie Shannon's home on Brentwood Street, their attempt was captured on surveillance video. Shannon was home alone when the men tried to kick in her door around 4:35 a.m.

"I immediately jumped up," she said of when she heard the loud kicking. After hearing the men, Shannon said she got out of bed and called police on her cell phone. "I grabbed my handgun and I proceeded right to the back, because as soon as I saw a shadow, I was going to go ahead and start shooting," she said.

After several kicks, the men gave up and took off. "I just want to be safe here in my own home," Shannon said. "That's it. That's all I want." Signs of the attempted home invasion were everywhere in the form of broken glass, damage to the door and a broken lock. Shannon's home security camera didn't miss a beat either. It even caught one of the men cutting the phone line. The video was turned over to police.

Two men were captured on video trying to kick in the home's door. "I hope you go to jail," she said of the suspects. "You need to leave people alone." Shannon said she believes the incident may be connected to a burglary that happened at her home nearly three weeks ago. In that case, four men stormed into her home through the front door. "[I'm] just a hard working woman trying to live, trying to support her son and trying to support herself and live a better life," she said.

In the first incident, the suspects stole at least $1,200. The Glenn Heights Police Department said they believe both cases may be connected.

By Monika Diaz / WFAA-TV

And finally, Xavier's Thoughts:

First, a home security system is an extremely worthwhile investment. Strong locks and doors can help keep criminals at bay. Unfortunately, windows break easily. I have to wonder what kept these door kicking imbeciles from breaking a window other than their own ignorance and Ms. Shannon's good fortune. The damage done to her home is infinitely preferable to years of civil litigation.

Next, in the video she displays an AR she purchased to supplement her handgun for home protection. I won't get into the AR vs AK vs shotgun application and suitability debate. There may be valid reasons for her choice beyond a gun counter commando selling a woman a tactical rifle. A .223 is a bad mojammy, that is true. I don't want to try to catch one fired from an AR. I still prefer a 12 gauge shotgun or two.......Or six. For what she paid for that AR, she could have purchased a home defense shotgun, a trunk load of ammunition, gotten a CCW and training. Even so, I'm happy she purchased a more effective life preserver for her home.

"I grabbed my handgun and I proceeded right to the back, because as soon as I saw a shadow, I was going to go ahead and start shooting," Shannon stated. Even though the men had been identified as criminals on video, shooting at shadows is foolhardy when armed with a weapon of limited capacity. Far better it is to identify your attacker and not waste ammunition shooting at shadows........Especially when there are four of them.

Finally, it does old Xavier's heart good to see a woman committed to her own defense. It does old Xavier proud to see a black woman committed to preserving her own life. If ever there was a segment of our population that could and should appreciate the value of armed self defense, it is black women in the United States. Good on you Ms. Shannon. Now get some training along with that rifle.

Yet Another Positive CCW Story!

More Women Pack Heat
These days, Kirby Bunch packs more than credit cards in her purse. Bunch carries a gun. In an age of increased awareness about violence, it makes her feel powerful. "The first time I shot a gun was in February. I was a practicing at a firing range and I felt empowered when I held it in my hand and fired," said Bunch, 24, of Canton Township, who added her father was a military man so she was always familiar with guns. "In that instant, I knew carrying a gun was something I wanted to do. I decided to get a personal weapon because of all the craziness going on today. My mother has been armed for many years and because of the times, it's more of a necessity."

Bunch has plenty of company who are locked, loaded and ready to fire. Fueled by crime fears and fading stereotypes about gun owners, she and other women increasingly are opting to carry concealed weapons six years after Michigan reformed laws making it easier to do so. Permit applications have steadily declined among men after a surge in the first two years the law changed. They fell for years among women as well, but are rising again. Women may set a record for statewide applications this year, and they're flooding ranges and prompting Wayne County and other training facilities to host "women-only" permit classes.

Bunch and other women remain the vast majority of the state's 150,000 who legally carry concealed weapons, but their ranks have jumped from 10 percent of permit-holders in 2001 to 17 percent this year. Women are on pace to receive nearly 4,100 permits this year, close to double that in 2003. Some carrying weapons say their motives aren't mysterious: Just read the news.

Detroit last week was named the most violent community in the nation, according to rankings from FBI statistics that city officials vigorously dispute. Some suburbs, such as Troy, Livonia and Sterling Heights, routinely rank as among the nation's safest. "After being bombarded with pictures of women being assaulted and raped, I said now is the time," said Noelle Dobbs, 37, of St. Clair Shores, who recently applied for a permit. She's sharpening her skills and bonding with her father during weekly shoots at Target Sports in Royal Oak. "Coming here and hearing the story of some of these women, drug dealers coming in and people intimidated them makes me want to protect myself," Dobbs said.

Jerry Wrage echoed the sentiment. The owner of Handgun, Shotgun and Training Specialist in Rochester Hills said business increases when crime -- or perceptions -- rise. Debbie Saari, 52, grew up with guns and hunting. Her father, Richard Totten, died in 2000 and left her a Colt .357 Magnum. It was locked away until she took a concealed weapons permit class this fall offered by Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans.

Now, the nurse and real estate agent said she's "hooked" and practicing regularly at ranges. Her permit should arrive soon. "It's the increase in crime and in the bigger picture, with everything going on with terrorism and politics, we need to all take advantage of our constitutional rights," Saari said. "If more people took advantage of their rights, we'd all be better off."

Others argue public sentiments about guns are slowly changing from an exclusively male domain. In the past 20 years, gun manufacturers have changed designs and make smaller firearms that fit easily into purses -- and they're advertising directly to women, according advocates on both sides of the issue.

Nationwide, Americans own more than 200 million firearms, more than 60 million of which are handguns, according to the National Institute of Justice. Figures vary widely about the gender breakdown of ownership, but federal statistics claim 9 percent of women own guns. "It's becoming more socially acceptable," said Macomb County Sheriff Mark Hackel.

Brian Anse Patrick, a professor at the University of Toledo who studies gun culture, said the reforms on carrying concealed weapons helped change attitudes in part by bringing the issue into the mainstream. Before the law changed, Michigan counties had their own boards whose standards for approval varied.

"Before the CCW laws were liberalized, the people getting trained traditionally in gun culture were the old white guys," Patrick said. "But after (2001) women said, 'I am a woman and at risk and it's a pretty sensible thing to do.'"

Just ask Laura Herfy. "Being a young female in this day and age, it's great thing to have. You can carry a .22 caliber in your purse," said Herfy, 25, of Troy, who got her CCW permit three years ago. "Before I was pretty frightened, but now I train males on how to shoot. It's something I learned to love. Some people run or jog to relieve stress. I come to the shooting range."

To meet the growing demand, the Firing Line in Westland offers a women's night at least once a month. There is normally a waiting list, and at least 30 show up each night, said Larry Sullivan, a retired police officer who works at the facility. "Few women feel comfortable with a guy showing them how to shoot," Sullivan said. "A lot of the women come and become better shooters than their husbands. Others want to defend themselves."

Other gun ranges report a surge in female customers, including Target Sports in Royal Oak, which has about 100 women at the range each week, general manager Ray Jay said. In Wayne County, a jump from about 200 annual applications a few years ago to nearly 1,000 caused Evans, the sheriff, to host a women-only permit class. Originally only two were planned. But when 150 women showed up, the sheriff offered six classes. "That kind of struck us as being significant," Evans said. "Some of the feedback is that they love the class but it would be nice to have it where women can be in their own peer group, because some women have never been around a gun. Generally a lot of them are women who are out alone at night and they just want to feel like they have that level of protection. There are also a lot of single moms who feel it is important to protect their family and their kids in that regard."

Darren A. Nichols and Iveory Perkins / The Detroit News

It looks like we are winning the public perception problem!
Thank you Darren and Iveory!

Excellent!

A Girl and a Gun

Hat tip to Dustin

911 Call

This 911 call took place in a town in Indiana. The woman went on one date with Ryan Bergner. She declined further dates, but the man refused to leave her alone, stalking and harassing her. The woman filed six complaints against him. Then he made the last wrong decision of his life - he broke into her house.

Hat tip Michael Bane

Beth's Got a Gun

She was beaten, kicked in the face, gagged, tied to a chair and locked in a closet. After escaping that nightmare, Beth Ferguson needed nearly two weeks to garner the courage to step out of her home. Her first trip was to church, her safe haven. She went on a Saturday night, hoping fewer people would be there as opposed to the heavily attended Sunday morning service. But it was packed. "It's odd, because when you're a victim of something like this, you almost begin to act like a victim. I got real overwhelmed and nervous. I was scared half to death, and I didn't know why," Beth said. "Have you ever seen a scary movie and been scared afterward? That's what it's like."

She endured the glances from curious church members, who couldn't help but see the bruises and cuts on her face. After that night, Beth decided she needed to return to a normal life. But she still felt violated, unsafe. She was living in fear. Her second trip out of the house: a gun shop on Cross County Road in North Charleston. "I'm going back to work one day," Beth said. "And when I do, I'll have a gun."

The Attack; The Recovery

Beth, 41, was the only customer in the Carolina Florist shop on Ashley Phosphate Road late in the afternoon on April 10. The man behind the counter advised her to look through a book so she could pick out a corsage for her son's prom. Suddenly, he held a knife to her throat. She fought, but he choked her until she was unconscious. She woke up to find him standing over her. When she fought again, he kicked her in the face until she agreed to cooperate.

In the locked closet, Beth sat tied to a chair, a tennis ball stuffed in her mouth. But then the man drove away, and Beth seized the moment to free herself. After she climbed through the false ceiling and dropped down into the bathroom next door, she smashed her way out through the front glass window to freedom. Lemar "Tommy" Mack, the 45-year-old husband of the florist shop owner, was arrested two days later. He was charged with kidnapping, armed robbery and assault and battery with intent to kill.

Mack had previously been convicted and served jail time for abducting a woman at a Kmart on Rivers Avenue and raping her. He also had been convicted for attacking women in 1979 and 1984. He remains at the Charleston County Detention Center because he can't make the $3 million bail. Beth has filed a $1.5 million lawsuit against Mack and his wife, Deborah Mack, and Carolina Florist.

Weeks after the attack, she walked into a gun shop for the first time. A steady stream of customers flowed in and out of Trader World Gun & Indoor Range, where dozens of shotguns, rifles and assault weapons line the walls. Shaking, Beth headed for the glass encasement filled with handguns. It runs the length of the shop. Boxes of ammunition sat on the counter. Behind it stood Frank DiNardo, a handgun in a holster on his side. Frank, a firearms instructor for nearly 30 years, was expecting Beth. Her instruction began with their first handshake; firm, thumb straight forward, not to the side. "That's how you hold a gun," Frank told her.

As the two talked, Beth saw a fellow church member from Cathedral of Praise. The woman had heard of Beth's kidnapping; she was there to buy pepper spray. Several women from the church, in fact, had come in for spray and stun guns. A group of them was considering purchasing handguns. One of them already was receiving private firearms instruction from Frank. Beth asked Frank if she needed to buy her gun before her firearms lessons began. "You're not ready," he said. He worried about her emotional state so soon after the attack.

"One minute I'm fine, and the next, I'm crying for no reason," she had told him. Counseling sessions were being arranged. Frank scheduled her gun classes to start about 10 days after their first meeting. Four hours each class. Five classes. Maybe then she would be ready, Frank said.

Frank sees a difference between the sexes when it comes to buying a gun. Men tend to walk in and buy on the spot, then schedule only the training required if they decide to apply for a concealed weapons permit. Women are more cautious. They want to learn how to properly handle and fire a gun first, then decide if they will buy, Frank said. Frank recommends taking three courses before the purchase — a basic course in the handling, firing and storing of a handgun; a personal protection course; and a course on carrying concealed handguns.

On May 6, Beth started classes, and she found a new friend in her instructor. Frank listened as she told him her story and cried. "We're going to go through this together," he said. The bruises on her face had healed. Some redness in her left eye was the only visible trace of the assault.

"My outside's healed a lot, but my inside needs healing," Beth said. She cried less often, and she and her husband had resumed their weekly date nights. Still, she sometimes had panic attacks when she was alone, or if she saw someone who looked like the man who attacked her. She found strength in the 100-plus cards and letters from friends and strangers. She resolved to arm herself with a gun. "What the Lord told me is, 'You're going to be the victor, not the victim.' "

A Gun in the Hand

The three basic rules for handling a gun were in large, capital letters on a screen in the training room May 6:

ALWAYS MAKE SURE THE GUN IS UNLOADED.

ALWAYS POINT THE GUN IN A SAFE DIRECTION.

ALWAYS KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER.

Frank takes a slow and easy approach to teaching people how to use handguns. He starts with a toy gun, then uses dummy cartridges to teach people how to load a real revolver. In the hot, darkened firing range, the first gun Beth shot was an air pistol. The recoil is slight when the gun is fired, and it makes little noise. She fired at inflated balloons, which made a pop that helped prepare her for the sound of a gun blast.

Next, Beth brought in a .22- caliber pistol. It is loud, and the recoil made her hand jiggle slightly as she shot off 10 rounds at the target — a paper figure of a man. Tiny puffs of smoke wafted from the gun, and the metal casings pinged against the concrete floor beneath her. Beth grinned. "It's not so bad."

June brought a different Beth to the Trader World gun shop for her second class. She prepared a short speech for a judge when her accused assailant requested that his bond be reduced. She was relieved when she learned the judge would not consider it. A counselor had helped her deal with post-trauma stress. Panic attacks came less frequently, and she felt much stronger. Frank took off the kid gloves and put a 9 mm pistol in Beth's hands.

A startling blast and a bright red flash erupted from the gun, and Beth's hand jumped upward. She winced and then stood motionless in a cloud of gray smoke. "Your whole body just jolts. It was so powerful. I felt like I couldn't control it," she said. Beth learned that choosing a firearm is like buying a good pair of shoes. It has to fit.

The 9 mm was too much. The .38-caliber revolver was easier to control — less recoil, but the trigger was more difficult to pull and it had no safety lock. She definitely wanted her gun to have a safety feature. Something between those two, a .380-caliber pistol, seemed just right. Moderate recoil, good control and a safety lock. It was small to boot — the perfect concealable weapon.

Back to Work

By mid-June, Beth felt a lot more like her old self — the one who was strong and trusting and confident. She had vowed not to return to work without a firearm, but she was needed to help run the six mattress stores she and her husband own. Pepper spray would do while she finished her firearms classes and applied for her concealed weapons permit. Her first day back overwhelmed and frightened her. Finding a full day too much at first, she eased herself back to work. "Baby steps," Beth said.

With the basic gun course behind her, Beth started an eight-hour concealed weapons course that would teach her the laws about guns. Although citizens with a permit can carry a weapon, the gun cannot be visible. Beth experimented with a variety of options, including keeping her gun in her purse, in her pocket or in a holster on her hip or ankle. She quickly ruled out keeping it in her purse, because one of the first things her attacker did was take her purse. "If there was a gun in my purse, he would have had it," Beth said.

The Big Day

On July 2, Beth was strong again, empowered even. She held a pistol with conviction as she stepped onto the range for the shooting test for her concealed weapons permit. She had to hit the target at least 35 times out of 50 shots, and she made it look easy. "She shot a 46 out of a possible 50," Frank said. "She did extremely well." Beth aced her written test as well, and the permit application was off in the mail.

In mid-October Beth's concealed weapons permit arrived. She met up with Frank and purchased the little .380-caliber pistol that she had eyed months earlier. The attack earlier in the spring was behind her. Beth has her life back, and now she's packing heat. "If I'm in a situation that's life or death, I want to live," she said. "So I'm prepared."

Nadine Parks
The Post and Courier; Charleston.net

Thank you Nadine Parks! Ms. Parks concludes her article with a primer on the basic steps towards gaining a CCW in South Carolina. she also includes a listing of those prohibited from buying a gun, such as felons, the mentally defective or incompetent, illegal aliens and those subject to a restraining order. If only other journalists would write such positive articles!

Beth Ferguson chose to protect herself with a Bersa Thunder 380. Congratulations Beth!

Woman Saves Her Man in Louisiana

On August 22, 2007, at approximately 6:00 AM, as Nathaniel Evans left his St. Charles Parish home for work, he was accosted by two armed men. Evans was ordered back into his home by the gunmen, who brandished a 38 revolver, a 9 mm and a 40 caliber handgun. Inside the home was Irene Bailey and a five year old child.

Once inside the home, Evans and Irene Bailey were forced to the floor at gunpoint, as the home invaders continually demanded "Where is it?". Irene Bailey was forced into the bedroom with her five year old child. At some point, for some reason, Evans was shot by the gunmen in the torso, lacerating his liver. That is when Irene Bailey responded like a cornered cat. She somehow managed to get to a 40 caliber handgun, and she shot both criminals. She shredded one criminal's torso with five rounds, and shot the other criminal in the torso once. Jason Jammal Todd was pronounced dead at the scene at 6:20 a.m. by the coroner. The second criminal, Chris Avila, was lucky. Although injured, he ran like a bunny rabbit, and was found hemorrhaging in a nearby grassy field around 8 a.m. by police.

Jason Todd got personalized toe jewelery at the local morgue.
Chris Avila will be booked with attempted murder and aggravated burglary.
Nathanial Evans is listed in in guarded condition at St. Charles Hospital.
The five year old was not injured.
Irene Bailey will not be charged for righteous self defense.

Who Was She?

"I picked up a gun for the first time on my 45th birthday"



Debbie Ferns gained national media attention recently on a NBC News indepth segment, Fired Up. Meet Deb Ferns, author of Babes with Bullets.

Ladies Camp

If you haven't done it, do it. It's a shame men cannot get in!

Self Defense in Mississippi

D’IBERVILLE (AP) — Authorities say they aren’t likely to file charges against a woman accused of fatally shooting her husband until a grand jury looks at the case. The shooting happened early Friday morning.

Police say that during a heated argument, Gene Hudson pointed a gun at his estranged wife. She pulled out her own gun and fired, according to police.

Police found Hudson, a 52-year-old Moss Point man, in a “large pool of blood” around 1:30 a.m. Friday, said Harrison County Coroner Gary Hargrove. Investigators believe Hudson’s estranged wife, whose name has not been released, shot him several times after an argument at her home, according to a written statement from Harrison County Sheriff George Payne. She was not injured.

Police found Hudson on the ground down the street from his wife’s home, according to sources. He was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, according to a www.sunherald.com article. Harrison County Sheriff’s Capt. Ron Pullen said investigators are continuing to look into the case, but it’s unlikely any arrest will be made before a grand jury review. “I’m not calling it self defense at this point, but there was enough evidence there that suggests we should let the grand jury look at it,” he said.

It's far too early, and I am in possession of far too little information to draw any conclusions on this occurance. One pearl of wisdom can be plucked from the muck, however.......Guns are not a tool of negotiation. Don't pull a gun on someone unless you are prepared to use it. They may pull their own firearm, and righteously kill your dumb, indecisive ass.

The Cornered Cat