The Origins of The Well-Heeled Shooter

I initially started this blog back in the summer of 2009 when I was much more active in party politics and had more time to spend toward hobbies and the like. But then a layoff occurred and I switched careers entirely, leaving very little time for involvement in the Democratic Party and caucus activities. Now that life has returned to somewhat normal, it's time to start fresh and pick up the baton again in support of the right to bear arms and related issues.

The primary mission of this blog is to keep women informed about the world of guns - legislation that would impact their ownership and operation of weapons, resources on where to learn more about guns and other key issues that influence decisions we need to make to properly defend ourselves.

When I poll my friends on whether they own a gun or not, while many of my guy friends either own or know how to operate one, very few of my girlfriends a) own a gun and b) know how to shoot one. It's time for that to change.

The Second Amendment was not written for men alone - as more single women live and travel alone, we need to take it upon ourselves to properly arm ourselves with protection of some kind. A gun is a much better line of defense than mace, pepper spray or an alarm system and I'm willing to guess that since not many offenders would expect a woman to be carrying, the element of surprise would play in the woman's favor if the situation arises.

Women don't need to be scared of guns or be afraid to ask the men in their lives to help them gain a comfort level on how to properly use a weapon. I hope to change that with this platform - to help provide the information to women about how to get a gun, how to get the training to use one (why have one if you don't know how to use it) and to diffuse some of the confusion in the issues being tossed around in today's political arena.

So, reader, you may be asking why I called this "The Well-Heeled Shooter"? It all goes back to my involvement in the early days of the Democratic Party of Oregon's Gun Owner Caucus in the summer of 2006 and my letter to the editor of The Oregonian surrounding fashion and a certain pair of Prada boots. The then-chair of the Caucus teased me a bit about my uber-girly side and I showed up to the next gun shoot wearing a flashy pair of designer sandals. As a female who believes in the right to keep and bear arms for protection, who knows what kind of shoes I'll be wearing if I ever have to use my weapon to defend myself. Rest assured that regardless of footwear, I'll be packed, stacked and well-heeled if and when that time ever comes.