Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

The French Revolution

Home
Politics and Religion
5 reasons why I decided to take my gun carry permit class… and carry this time for real

5 reasons why I decided to take my gun carry permit class… and carry this time for real

Last updated on: November 7, 2017 at 11:11 am by Nancy French

5 reasons why I decided to take my gun carry permit class… and carry this time for real 2017-11-07T11:11:50-05:00 Nancy French

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

5 reasons why I decided to take my gun carry permit class... and carry this time for real-1

The time “my biggest fan” showed up at my house.

One day, I was in the back yard with my three children when a man showed up at my house, blocking my driveway with his car.

He began walking down my long driveway, and the kids were the first to notice.

“Mom,” my oldest daughter said. “There’s a guy coming up behind you.”

I wheeled around to see a man in white shoes, wearing a gun holster.

“I’m your biggest fan,” he told me. “And I’ve driven thousands of miles to see you.”

My heart sank. My husband was working about an hour away, so I tried to stall by asking him questions. He seemed, legitimately, to be just overly enthusiastic. But my blood turned to ice when he looked at each of my children, called them by name, and asked about their specific school activities.

“How’s girl scouts, Camille?” he said.

Then, he turned to my son. “Are you still shooting trap?”

“Hello, Naomi,” he said looking at my youngest.

“Well, my husband’s not here,” I said, “So you better be going.”

“I can wait,” he said. “I’ve driven all this way to see you. I thought maybe I could just stay for a while.”

“How far?” I asked.

“Fifteen hundred miles.”

Unbeknownst to me, earlier that day, the secretary at my kids’ school reported seeing this man’s car driving suspiciously slow around the buildings. He seemed to be scoping out the place.

“No,” I said. “I think it would be best for you to leave.”

“I was hoping to stay for the evening,” he said.

I had guns inside my house — many, since my husband likes to collect them — but I had nothing on me at the time. I never carry a weapon. Why should I? Until that moment, I’d never considered it.

I scooped up my youngest daughter, handed her to my oldest, and whispered, “Call the neighbors.” (In the rural south, it would take the police quite a while to make their way out to the country.) Two neighbors showed up almost immediately and escorted him off my property.

I knew then I needed to learn how to use a gun confidently, but I still didn’t do anything to make that happen.

Slide: 2 of 7

Go back Continue Reading

Tennessee Handgun Permit

Women Warriors

Previous Post

August 21, 2016

Headline proof: CNN believes black people = felons

Next Post

August 22, 2016 Facebook apparently has a problem with the Second Amendment, based on what they did to these page owners

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Christmas faith family ministry music Television Uncategorized

Select a Month June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 March 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz