What Do I Think About Guns For Self Defense - Part 3

Wrapping up our series on self-defense with a weapon! We explore both lethal and non-lethal options. Mandi and Andrea dive into the real costs associated with self-defense, such as handguns, training, range fees, and concealed carry permits, particularly in California. They address challenges faced by those who may feel less safe but also face financial barriers, making it difficult to access these resources. Additionally, they discuss tips for choosing the right handgun, emphasizing the importance of asking experts for advice and taking personal comfort and safety into consideration.

They also cover privacy considerations when carrying, advising listeners to keep firearm ownership discreet, especially if they’re in vulnerable situations like escaping abuse or facing stalkers. Mandi stresses the importance of securing firearms if mental health struggles are a concern and advises against carrying for those in high-risk mental health seasons. Listeners are encouraged to take baby steps towards their self-protection, respecting each unique situation while prioritizing safety and peace.

LESSONS

Self-defense costs can add up – Expenses for a firearm, training, range fees, and concealed carry permits can be significant, especially in places like California.

Seek expert advice for choosing firearms – It’s a good idea to consult instructors, gun range experts, or trusted store employees when selecting a self-defense weapon that suits personal needs.

Discretion is important when carrying – For safety, firearm owners should be discreet about their ownership, especially in cases involving intimate partner violence or stalkers.

Privacy laws protect firearm registration – In most states, firearm registration information isn’t public, which can be beneficial for those in protective situations.

Consider mental health when owning a firearm – People experiencing severe mental health struggles, especially suicidal ideation, are advised to avoid having firearms accessible for their safety.

Customization in self-defense is crucial – Every person’s self-defense approach should be tailored to their individual situation, needs, and comfort level with weapons.

A self-defense plan can increase confidence – Knowing that there’s a strategy in place can create a greater sense of peace and reduce feelings of vulnerability.

Baby steps toward self-protection – Building a self-defense plan can be gradual; taking small steps over time can help people feel more prepared without adding extra stress.

Victims deserve the right to self-defense – Being a victim does not mean staying vulnerable, and everyone has the right to defend themselves and regain control over their safety.

RESOURCES

Helpful article here and helpful website here

Helpful ebook: Concealed Carry For Women

https://ccwsafe.com/ One option for CCW insurance - a must have if you are carrying.

JOIN my email list so you are notified of when my self defense course is live again and when we have an in person workshop on non-lethal self defense training. Sign up at awareandprepared.life at the bottom of the website.

Reach Mandi through her website AwareAndPrepared.Life or Instagram @WomenAwareAndPr

Transcript

"And people have a right, they have a right to self defense.  Just because you're a victim doesn't mean that you have to keep being victimized. And again, no victim shaming, because hey, like we've all, you know, some of us have been there and it's not really our fault. Does it take two to tango?  Is it my fault I was abused?

No. No, there's never an excuse for abuse."

Hey, brave one. Welcome to another episode of the Aware and Prepared podcast. I'm your host, Mandy Pratt, a trained domestic violence victim advocate, self defense teacher, and professional speaker who teaches those feeling vulnerable how to be street smart and feel safer with more peace. You'll hear true crime stories, But most importantly, how we might prevent crimes happening to us without judgment or shame.

Of course, you deserve to live in peace and safety. So return each week to learn safety tips and emotional self defense. So we live empowered with peace.  Let's be less naive and leave helplessness and worry behind so we can be safer, savvy, aware and prepared. 

Welcome back to the aware and prepared podcast.  We are continuing on in our series about defending yourself with a gun or a different type of weapon. Weapon so lethal versus non lethal all the pros and cons the things to think about my editor and friend Andrea is here again with us and she will ask me a few more questions and then we'll wrap up the series Hello.

Hello Hi  So let's talk about money  All right. How much does this all cost? Yes, I mean i'm sure people are wondering like how much is a handgun how much is a concealed permit? Uh huh. Right. So we talked about having a nine millimeter. So those are usually 500, 600, somewhere in there, at least where I live in California.

So then you might have a lesson that's a hundred bucks.  Um, the range is like 30 bucks. You have to buy ammunition. Um, that varies on the type of ammunition, the rounds that you're buying. And then if you want to do the CCW, so here where I live. There's an initial fee of 158, there's an issuance fee of  126, there's a range fee of 112, so that ends up being about 400 or so, but if you're just renewing like me, so that's 80 plus 16, so it's like 158.

So, yeah. A hundred bucks. Not cheap.  Not cheap. And again, I feel like that's not fair to people who are feeling like they're not safe and they're in, they're having troubles with homelessness or, you know, they can't afford this. So it's frustrating. Yeah. Do you feel like, um, there's specific things that someone could keep in mind or that someone should look for in their first handgun purchase? 

Hmm. Yeah. So we talked about like maybe getting a nine millimeter and making sure that it can fit in, you know, your, if you're getting a CCW. So you want to make sure, so you could Google that probably, or you could go into your local sporting goods store. You can ask them, Hey, I'm. Let's say if it was me, Hey, I'm a woman and I want to be able to get my CCW.

What's the best one that you would recommend for that? You can also ask at the gun range. You can also ask your instructor, right? So you can get different opinions and then go from there. You can collect all the information and then make your choice that way.  I noticed that we're doing this very public media platform, this podcast, and you are sharing, you're disclosing that you carry. 

I'm assuming that's not something you would have done when you were in a more dangerous time in your life. Mm hmm. Do you advise people to be careful who they tell?  Oh yeah, I wouldn't go around blabbing it, um, because then everybody knows.  So it is, I am putting it out there for people to know I have a CCW, but hey, I might not renew it.

Maybe I will. Maybe I won't. Maybe I'm caring. Maybe I'm not.  Yeah. And I noticed you're not sharing specifics like where It is on your body and what you carry and all that. And I think that's smart. I mean, you are a self defense instructor, so people might be able to guess, but what would you advise people who are in those more vulnerable situations in their lives?

Like maybe they did just leave an abuser or they have a stalker or there's something going on that is more serious and that's the season they find themselves in. Do they need to keep this information close to their chest? Mm hmm. Yep, I would. Yeah, for sure. Especially if it's like a intimate partner violence  and you tell somebody and they let them know, right?

That's none of their business. So yeah, I wouldn't go around and blab it. Yeah, even gun ownership. Like, is there a way to look people up or is that private? If you're registering to purchase a gun and going through that process, is that public knowledge on record somewhere? That's a good question. Let's look it up. 

Let's see, I'll text my mentor. This armed security expert person on Quora, you know, so take care of the grain and salt.  You likely cannot  find out who has registered guns. Most US states don't have a registration system, and those that do generally keep that info on a need to know basis, i. e. law enforcement only, etc.

You could possibly file a Freedom of Information Act, but who knows what would happen.  Interesting. Obviously you can look up criminal records, so if someone has like,  a crime with a firearm, then they're not a, they're not a legal owner of a firearm anymore. Right. Right. B that is public information. Yeah.

But as far as just like someone's abuser trying to figure out if they're purchasing a weapon or not,  it's kind of looking like they would have a hard time finding that,  which is kind of good, I guess. Yeah. Good for the victim. I heard back from my mentor. He said, I think someone leaked names of the CCW holders in California a few years ago. 

I don't think it is public information unless they get access to California DOJ database. I don't know how they'd get information on specific gun owners. Wow. So there was like a data leak. Yeah. I kind of vaguely remember that too. So here's another thing that you might want to factor in.  Let's say you do decide to get a firearm, right?

Okay. Okay. Like I did, do I have bumper stickers on my car that say, you know, I don't know what they would say, but do I have them on my car? No, I don't. So I don't go out and broadcast, you know, Hey, I have a gun in the car, I'm carrying a gun. Like,  so it's just something, if you decide to do it, it's your choice.

You do it legally and you just. Don't have to be flashy or whatever. Um, and you can't, it's illegal to brandish, I think they call it your gun. Right? So, um, you can't be doing that too. So anyway, if you decide to get a CCW, they teach you all that stuff. They, they do. Help you through it. So you don't have to worry about it.

They tell you everything you need to know who is not allowed to carry a gun. And of course, it varies by state. But sure. Yeah, here in California,  um, convicted felons are not allowed to possess firearms as well as narcotics addicts.  And then California makes it a lot. It's a crime to carry a concealed firearm.

Or concealed weapon,  unless you have a concealed carry permit, right? That's the whole point of what we're talking about. And the state law makes it illegal to openly carry a gun. This applies to the open carry of both unloaded weapons, as well as loaded weapons, right? There's all kinds, there's other laws here, but as far as who cannot have them, that's, I think those are the two specific. 

Types of people situations that are not allowed to have again. Mm hmm. Is there anyone else that you would generally advise not to like, let's say someone's not a convicted felon, but maybe they're,  um, maybe they have a certain mental health history that includes suicidal ideation or,  I mean, what kind of considerations do you have?

might we take with like,  who, who do we recommend or encourage to like, Sure. Yeah. That's a gun ownership.  Sure. That's a good question. So, um,  yeah, when somebody is in that situation, it's not a good idea for them to have a firearm,  um, you know, for their own protection. So if you were, if you're the family member, you know, it would be important to collect those and like, you know,  make sure that they're not accessible.

That's one. And then whoever is going to have one, you have to  want, you have to want it. You have to know that you're going to practice with it and be responsible with it. Yeah, it's just, it's a serious thing. And I think if you've got any struggles with mental health in yourself or your family, That's a big consideration because a huge percentage of deaths by gunshot is suicide, and we know that's a real thing,  and it's such an irrevocable  moment.

Yeah, it would be best for those individuals to not have access during any seasons of struggle with suicide.  Suicidal ideation. Right. I mean,  I don't know what to tell the person who finds themselves struggling with both a dangerous person in pursuit of them and suicidal ideation. Yeah, that's just a tricky situation that you'll have to work out with a therapist.

Mm hmm. And I've trained professional, but yeah, not everyone should always, you know, that's kind of what we said at the beginning. Like it's not one broad stroke. It's such a nuanced conversation and everybody's experience is different and everybody's needs are different. Yeah. Yeah. And some people just aren't comfortable carrying them and that's totally fine.

You know, then I would suggest something else that they might want to look at. Well, I was just going to ask too, like,  so what about a person who.  I mean, are there any abuse and domestic violence situations that it's contraindicated to  have a gun around? I mean, what kind of scenarios would you  advise against it? 

Yeah, I mean that, that was kind of the point of them making that law about, you know, if  With domestic violence, the perpetrator, there should not be a gun in the home. One of my friends who's an advocate shared with me that her former abusive husband would threaten her with a gun, like put it at her head.

And, you know, in those situations, it's just  so difficult. Cause it's like, you want the victim to have it, but you don't want the abuser to have it. So,  I mean, in that situation, I recommend you leave. Uh, with the safety plan, but yeah, and we discussed in a previous episode in the series about how do you make sure that your gun is not used on you, right?

Yeah. You have to have enough distance to make sure you're the only person with access. Yeah. Right. So yeah, just anyone listening, if you're finding yourself in a trickier situation, whether it involves your mental health, someone else's mental health journey and or  domestic violence or abuse. or any other type of criminal activity that's being targeting you.

Please consult professionals. Please reach out to experts. Um, you can reach out to Mandy on her website and you can also reach out to your local police, your therapist, and, um, self defense experts because these are the tricky situations that are very, very real for some and we want you to have support and all the help that you need around you.

to navigate through it. So, Mandy, my last question for you is, do you feel better? Like, do you feel safer knowing that you have a self defense plan? Heck yeah. Yes, I do. So, I refuse to be a victim. As much as it is in my control, so I have made sure that I have different methods of protecting myself. And let me tell you, oh my gosh, like when I go on trips by myself, when I do certain things.

You know, I'm not afraid because I know, Oh man, if I get a flat tire, you know, if some creep pulls over and tries to like shove me into his car, I have a way to protect myself and that's not going to happen. So yes, I feel very much more safe, which means that I have more peace. So the whole point of everything that I teach is not.

To burden people with extra stuff and extra fear. It's just to encourage them to be more prepared. Just baby step at a time, right? So that you feel safer. So that you have more peace. So maybe by listening to these episodes, now you've thought about, okay, so maybe a firearm isn't for me. Or okay, maybe I do want to proceed with a firearm, you know, and as you proceed, maybe you decide, okay, maybe it's not for me.

Or you're like, okay, yeah. So it's just again, taking baby steps and helping yourself. So you don't feel vulnerable all the time. That's how I felt. And I hated it and I felt it for so long. So I'm determined to not ever feel that again. And people have a right, they have a right to self defense. Just because you're a victim doesn't mean that you have to keep being victimized.

And again, no victim shaming because hey, like we've all, you know, some of us have been there and it's not really our fault. Does it take two to tango?  Is it my fault I was abused? No, no, there's never an excuse for abuse. That was a mic drop because  that's going to hit really deep with a lot of our listeners. 

So Mandy, thank you for all the education and advocacy  that you do. You have created community for people and resources for people. I know you're helping so many people and I just want to show you my appreciation for just this podcast and things that you put out there for us to consider. And here's to taking all of our next baby steps.

Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you for listening to you and helping edit the podcast and to everybody out there who's listening and sharing this. I really appreciate it. And I wish all of you peace and safety.  Thanks for being a fan of the aware and prepared podcast. Show it some love by leaving a review and don't forget to hit follow so you can catch future episodes.

To book me to speak and transform your audience, go to my website, awareandprepared. life, L I F E. To join my VIPs who get each episode's lessons learned, resource links, and more sent directly to you, sign up is also at my website where you'll find a free gift when you do. The link is in the show notes.

I'll talk with you next week. Remember you are worthy of a safe and peaceful life.