Entry #5 – “A Peaceful Woman Explains Why She Carries A Gun.” By Linda M. Hasselstrom

In the article, “A Peaceful Woman Explains Why She Carries A Gun”, Linda discusses the various reasons why she carries a gun. One of the main reasons is that she often feels threatened by men, and believes that a gun is the only way she can effectively protect herself. She brings up an example of when she was followed by a car one night on her way home. After being passed and re-passed by the driver, Linda was able to scare him off by honking her horn and speeding past the man’s car. The author also talks about how she tried to use other methods to protect herself, like learning kung fu and practicing safe habits. “My first positive step was to take a kung fu class which teaches evasive or protective action when someone enters your space without permission. I learned to move confidently, scanning for possible attackers. I learned to assess danger and techniques for avoiding it without combat” (Hasselstrom 356). However, Linda believed that these methods were insufficient and she still felt unsafe. Although she didn’t want to, Linda decided to carry a pistol, “With some reluctance I decided to try carrying a pistol” (Hasselstrom 356). After learning how to use it properly, and purchasing a license, Linda carried the gun wherever she went and finally felt that she was safe.

This article written by Linda M. Hasselstrom was very interesting and I was able to relate to it in many ways. As a young woman, I also feel the need to constantly be on the look out for predators, and I have felt threatened by men on many occasions. I do not carry a gun, and do not plan to in the future, but I have taken precautionary measures. I carry mace with me whenever I am alone, and I took a self-defense class last fall, which taught me many of the same things Linda’s kung fu class taught her. I probably will never carry a gun because my situation is different from Linda’s. Linda lives on a ranch 25 miles from town and travels alone a lot, I live with my family in a safe suburban area.  I believe that it is every man and woman’s right, to carry a licensed and registered gun to protect themselves.