CHL ready!

Well, I took a concealed handgun license (CHL) class yesterday.  In Texas in order to carry a handgun on your person, you must be licensed to do so.  It is also required to be concealed.  Some states allow open carry, but for whatever reason ours does not.  I'm not even sure how often I'll carry a gun on my person (certainly not on a daily basis considering I don't get out much), but being someone that does NOT like to attract attention, I seriously doubt I would entertain the idea of wearing it openly if the law allowed.

Anyway, obtaining a CHL involves 10 hours of instruction, a range test, a written test, and lots of delving into your background to make sure you're a law-abiding, mentally-stable resident (or non-resident, whatever your case maybe).  I was incredibly nervous about the range test.  You have to go through different sequences of shots and be able to obtain a certain amount of accuracy within an allotted time frame.  I had only ever practiced firing a weapon twice before, but I scored 4 points less than the maximum score.  I did better than most others in the class!

A friend asked me why I would want to carry a gun, and being nervous about the gun is one reason I decided to get my CHL - to force myself to become familiar and thus comfortable.  We have handguns in our home for protection (locked up and secured of course), but prior to making myself familiar with the weapons, I wouldn't have even known how to take the safety off!  How can you protect yourself or your family if you can't even use the weapon properly?  What happens if the gun jams when you try to use it or if you have a miss fire (where the primer fails to make the bullet fire)?  I've always felt it's important to be prepared, and this is no different in my mind.

Because I was unfamiliar with the weapon, I was also scared of the gun.  It goes without saying that a mistake on my part when handling the weapon could have deadly consequences.  I certainly didn't want to see this happen.  I could have just decided to practice at the gun range with the weapon to become more familiar, but I haven't had the chance until recently because it's not really safe to be around a gun when it's discharged when you're pregnant because of all the chemicals and lead.  I figured that since I'm in between pregnancies (is that like being in between jobs?), it would be the perfect time to take advantage of this opportunity.

I'd also like to say that it is our right provided by the Constitution to be able to defend ourselves by bearing arms.  If we do not take advantage of these rights, we may find that they are no longer available to us should we ever need them.

It's funny some of things you'll do after you realize you're not immune to tragedy.  You sometimes hear about chance random violent encounters in the news, but they really aren't that common.  I don't know the statistics, but you're probably more likely to die in a car accident than be a victim of a random violent crime.  But once you've become part of an unlikely statistic (unexplained stillbirth for example), you tend to believe that you could become part of any slim statistic.  If it is within my power to prevent even something remotely unlikely as a violent encounter, I'd like to have the ability to try!