For Susan Romanov, founder of the Shooting for Woman Alliance (SFWA), "you are your only responder when things go bad." SFWA is a non-profit organization that aims to educate and motivate women and men in their lives in increasing the odds of prevailing in a self-defense situation and shooting sports.
Romanov, who was held hostage for five and a half hours in her own home back in the '90s and was stalked for two years, recounted her traumatic experience with Jason Schaller during a recent episode of "For the Love of Guns." That chapter of her life inspired the creation of SFWA.
According to Romanov, she called 911 but did not get an answer before the assailant broke the landline and held her hostage. Not long after the incident, she was stalked and followed for a couple more years by an unidentified man. Eventually, she was advised to get a gun and train to protect herself.
"When your life is at stake, everything starts to change. So, it [having a firearm] was immediate. I guess [it] is the best answer," she said. The gun expert also pointed out how awareness levels can help reduce the odds that people get attacked.
"You can keep your situational awareness level up. The difference is you have to want to do so and decide that's the most important thing for you. Because until that happened to me, my awareness level [was too low]. But when you know that you have this threat, then you make it yours. Now it's a lifestyle for me. You have to accept the fact that awareness is the key to safety."
But she warned that being able to carry a gun can also lead to having a false sense of security.
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While the presence of a gun often makes people with bad intentions leave, Romanov said it is not your go-to thing if you don't know how to use it. "So, it is a false sense of security. And my heart is really heavy for people that are just carrying guns, especially with the new 'let's do the non-constitutional carry permit.' They don't really know anything about what it takes to defend yourself with a gun."
Schaller agreed as there are a lot of legal issues with carrying guns, regardless of what state one is in. So, he said, it is important to go to a knowledgeable and credible instructor. "The first concealed carry class that I went through, we lucked out that we chose the right instructor right off the bat," Schaller said.
DeSantis approves permit-less carry gun bill
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is trying his best to make it easier for his constituents to defend themselves. He recently signed into law a bill allowing residents to carry a concealed loaded weapon without a permit, NBC News reported.
Bill sponsors, legislative leaders and gun rights advocates, including the National Rifle Association (NRA), were present when DeSantis signed the legislation.
"This is a momentous step in the Constitutional Carry movement as now the majority of American states recognize the Constitution protects the right for law-abiding Americans to defend themselves outside their homes without fees or permits," Randy Kozuch, interim executive director of the NRA-ILA, the lobbying arm of the National Rifle Association, said in a statement. "The carry movement began decades ago and the NRA has been working to get this legislation passed throughout America. Therefore, today is indeed a day to celebrate."
Florida is now the 26th state to pass some form of permit-less carry law. The measure came on the heels of the transgender mass shooting that killed six victims, including three children, at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee. (Related: Nashville shooting aftermath: Anti-gun and pro-transgender activists storm state capitol buildings.)
Check out SecondAmendment.news for more stories on the right to carry firearms.
Watch the full episode of "For the Love of Guns" with Jason Schaller featuring Susan Romanov below.
This video is from the Rogue Banshee channel on Brighteon.com.
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