Hello and happy Mother’s Day! I want to take this opportunity to share my journey with carrying a concealed firearm with all my fellow female shooters, and mothers in particular. My hope is that by explaining how I initially approached carrying, and how I think of it now that I am a mother, helps shed some light on why mothers like myself carry a firearm with them.
I received my first Concealed Carry license in 2012, but rarely carried my firearm for the first five years I had it. When I did carry my firearm, it was on trips I knew were more dangerous, like longer solo car trips. But carrying was definitely the exception back in that day. We teach in our CCW class that you have to take the time to really consider if you have the ability to pull your gun and use it on another person. At this time in my life, I didn’t know if I could so often my firearm stayed at home.
In 2016, my mindset changed. My first daughter, Juliet, was born. I became a mom and my entire attitude towards carrying a firearm changed. I think as moms we all take this silent vow to do anything and everything that we can to make sure that our children are given every opportunity possible, and to make sure they are safe. This vow was never more apparent to me than just a few months after Juliet was born. There was an attempted car theft in the parking lot of a Walmart just south of where we live. A man ran up to a lady in her car and tried to force her out of the car to steal it, all while her baby was in the back seat. Luckily the man was unsuccessful, and nobody was hurt.
I’m sure that for all the moms out there this story produces a small twinge of anxiety. But for my momma’s who have dealt with post-partum anxiety, as I have, you can understand how this put me over the edge. As moms we are incredibly protective of our babies and I will do everything in my power to protect my kiddos. The incident at the Walmart was a reminder to me that I would give my life for my babies, and I would, without hesitation, take the life of anyone who would dare endanger their lives.
I have been consistently carrying my Smith & Wesson M&P Shield EZ with me for the past 4 years. And let me tell you, sometimes it’s incredibly inconvenient. During the summer it’s already hot, and holsters often make it hotter. Wearing my gun is always uncomfortable and sometimes I think I look really fat in the shirts I pick out to increase concealability. But I know that I am doing this to protect my daughters. And to me, this is one of the most important things I can give them.