Women taking lessons on using guns
>
> By JENNIFER BIGGS
> Scripps Howard News Service
> October 12, 2001
>
> SOUTHAVEN, Miss. – The police department here armed 50 women this week
> and Chief Tom Long gave them this frank advice:
>
> “It’s better to be judged by 12 than carried by six.”
>
> The advice was heartfelt and in the spirit of the class.
>
> “We’re not trying to tell anyone to violate the law,” Long said. “But we
> have to stress that personal safety should be everyone’s
> primary goal.”
>
> The class, devoted to handguns, drew an overflow crowd. Capt. Phil Cox
> said about 100 women were turned away because there
> wasn’t enough room..
>
> At the session, Long and Cox explained different types of handguns,
> showed how to load them and demonstrated how to shoot
> them, including a lesson on recoil.
>
> Recoil is the kickback of a gun after it’s fired. Long told the students
> to lock their wrists and elbows to direct the recoil through their
> arms to their bodies. Controlling recoil is particularly important in
> self-defense shooting, Long said, because one shot is usually not
> enough.
>
> “A one-shot stop with a handgun just usually doesn’t happen,” he said.
>
> Linda Henderson, 62, said she knows a little about guns, but wants to
> conquer her fear. “I’ve been shown several times how to use
> them, but I’m still scared of them,” she said. “I think I’ll get more
> out of this class than my husband and my son showing me.”
>
> Betty Bigelow, 57, was accompanied by her daughter, Kelley, 21. “We
> thought it would be good to know how to defend ourselves,”
> Betty said. “We drive back and forth to Memphis a lot.”
>
> Kelley Bigelow said she wants to learn how to use a gun so she’ll feel
> comfortable having one.
>
> “There’s this overconfidence in just having a gun,” she said. “You feel
> safe having it, but if you don’t know how to use it, you can get
> hurt.”
>
> And even though knowing how to use a gun is a good defense, Long said
> there’s a better one.
>
> “The first thing, the best thing, is don’t put yourself in a situation
> where you need a gun,” Long said.
>
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