Two FBI background checks were done every second on Black Friday this year. I highly support the American right to own a firearm and I recommend that you have one to protect yourself and your family. But a tool is not worth much if you don't know how to use it and a gun is just that, a tool. You must know how to use it and be familiar with it. In other words, don't wait until your tire is flat to learn how to use your jack.
Firing a gun is a little more complicated than just pulling the trigger. First and foremost you have to know the safety rules that need to be applied one hundred percent of the time. You have to know how to hold it properly. You have know how to load the magazine and how to rack the slide. You have to know how to aim it, how to handle the recoil, how to handle yourself in a hostile situation. You need to have awareness of your weapon at all times to prevent accidental injury. With so much to learn it can be a little off-putting and sound like a lot of work. Honestly, it is! But it is something you must do if you want to feel comfortable protecting yourself and your family.
The reason that I picked this pin as the pin of the month is it is a great article from thewellarmedwoman.com about using technique rather than strength to rack the gun, which can be a big challenge for some ladies, older folks or small men. They give an excellent run down of how the energy from the first bullet works and how you can rack that gun easily and what calibers may be best for you. But more than that I wanted to draw attention to The Well Armed Woman organization. It is a great organization to be a part of if you are a female. Going to the gun range full of male testosterone can be a little intimidating, this organization is all about females getting together with other females and trained female instructors to learn to handle firearms in a safe environment. I have members of the family that are part of this organization and have nothing but good things to say. This is for you ladies. Find out where your local chapter meets and get out there and practice.
Another organization I want to highlight is Project Appleseed. This is a group which gets together to honor rifle shooting. They instruct about the profound history of rifles in the United States and teach multiple positions of shooting your rifle on the range. There is a meeting by you and it is inexpensive to get your family out there for the weekend. Make it a family event and get some more rifle practice in.
The bottom line here is support your right to bear arms but don't just buy a gun, train to shoot the gun so it can be a reliable tool if you need it.