Husbands and Fathers, Prepare
Ok, I have some strong oppinions about this topic. I’ve been around a lot of guys that recoil from me and say something to the effect of, “you own a gun”. I just assure them that only a coward would be without one. Here is why I say that. As a husband and father it is your moral duty to not just provide for but also to protect your family. What you think that’s the job of the police? Wrong! like the saying goes, “when seconds count the police are only minutes away”.
Here is where I may offend some of you. If you are not prepared to protect your family you are an irresponsible and cowardly husband and father. You should be ashamed of yourself and your family should be ashamed of you. You and only you are your family’s first line of defence. So if you are prepared to do nothing then you are prepared to fail. Now don’t get me wrong…I know you can’t walk around like a bodyguard every minute of the day. That’s why you need a family plan to deal with problems that may come.
Let’s break this down.
You need to be prepared to come home every night without exception. What does this mean? If you don’t come home safe you aren’t there to protect your family. You have to come home with exception so be prepared to keep yourself safe. This could come in the form of a conceiled weapon (where that is legal), a knife (where legal), or martial arts. Wait for it….there is another option too. There is also a combination of of them. Hey there we have a layered defence.
You should be doing the same thing when out with your family. You may not be herding them like a bodyguard, mind you. You should, however, be just as alert, just as focused, and just as ready to defend them to the death if nessisary.
The other part of this is what does your family do when they are out of the house without you. This is where the teacher in you comes out. Your kids need to know their phone number and address. Even my 3yr old can tell you her phone number and city. A full address may be too much for the younger ones to remember but we need to get there. I know several martial arts studios that take kids. The same kid mentioned above started at age 2. You may not be able to sway some wives to take martial arts, carry a gun, or knife either one. Ok, I understand that. Do the best you can and at least see that she has a cell phone. She can at least be convinced to call for help. If the place she works has security make sure that she is getting an escort to her car if it is dark. Having been a security guard in my youth I know that they are trained to do so when ever asked.
So MEN, lets be safe out there and be prepared to defend ourselves and our families.
This site is great! I came across it while looking for a gunsmith.
I happen to agree with the whole article on “husbands and fathers prepare”. I work in the private security industry and unfortunately, do herd my girlfriend and kids every time we go out. They are used to it now and have become more aware of their surroundings when I see them interacting from a distance. Now they appreciate it and understand.
All of the articles I have read on this site are great and I have sent the link to others. Since I’m usually the one telling people to be prepared or watch out for their well being; it’s nice to come here and learn things I didn’t know and to confirm many of the things I practice. To everyone that reads this who may be against firearms, I have saved my family from a home invasion that went very wrong for the attacker, due to having my gun ready. It turned out he was wanted for assault and rape charges. I have 4 women in my home so it would have been a jackpot for him. My girlfriend now has her own Glock 17 9mm with +P+ Federal rounds and a Saiga 12, so she can protect the kids when I’m at work. She has her own BUGOUT Bag and gear too. She has since made 4 smaller bugout bags for her children. As the Gun Doctor stated, you are a coward if you don’t protect your family.
Guys, you may be surprised at how much your girl will get into the aspect of survival and protection if you include her and get her some goodies too!
The Gun Doctor Rocks, pay attention folks.
Thanks for all of the great articles Gun Doctor,
Rob
January 8, 2009 at 6:12 am
Thanks much Rob. It’s comments like yours that makes my job worth it. I too herd my family around. I just see it as, I’m dad and it’s part of the job to keep them away from the trouble or bust through it for them. I’m glad I’m not the only one that sees it that way.
Thanks for reading and passing the site along and please comment any time you like.
January 8, 2009 at 11:48 am
I’d like to schedule to bring my Sig in for a duracoat finish. how do I schedule? whats the turnaround time? Thanks
April 14, 2009 at 12:02 am
Richard,
You can bring it in to the shop any time. There’s no need to schedule a time. Turnaround time is about 2 weeks depending on how many are ahead of you. It can be a shorter time than 2 weeks but I’d get yours in ASAP to get a good time.
April 14, 2009 at 12:08 am
I agree with the gentleman above – note that “gentleman” should refer only to those people who act in a manner that deserves gentle and respectful treatment. The desire to protect and guard that which is ours is a “hardwired” response and not a learned behavior from society.
I strongly recommend to anyone interested in reasons why people behave the way they do (comes under the heading of know your enemy) The following book -
“The Dark Side of Man” by Michael P. Ghiglieri [ISBN # 0-7382-0076-X]. He is a biologist who addresses the generic or hardwired imperatives found in man and forms a very reasonable and coherent explaination for why men and woman think and act differently, why men are more aggreesive, why almost exclusivily men use force to steal or rape, and why owning a weapon and supporting real punishments for crimes committed are the only truely effective deterents to crime. He even admits that when he started the book he thought gun control was the proper answer – and in doing research discovered – more guns responsibly carried and used means less crime.
If it would make anyone happier he also refers to most anthropologists and socioloigists that claim crime is a product of mans’ respressive environment to be idiots that completely ignore biology in their thinking.
Sorry about the rant – Nice book and I thought it explained a lot.
August 9, 2009 at 1:07 pm
Once again, another good and thoughtful comment.
I have been “mature for my years” I have been told all my life. When I was in my later to mid teens, I was somewhat against firearms in the hands of joe public, and a big believer in “gun control”. After 1 intelligent discussion/debate with a “pro-gunner”, I changed my point of view. I reliezed more of what reality was, and a better, more proper to respond to/ deal with it.
Moving onto this article. Now even though I believed in citizens being allowed to have and carry a gun, it wasn’t until recently that I got one. Now I have one, but hate the legal tripwires and restrictions everywhere prohibiting me from being able to use its effectiveness. A gun is like a fire extinguisher- its good to have and know how to use, but if its not with you, it isn’t going to do anyone any good sitting on a self. arrggh.
Well, like I said, I have a pistol and a rifle, and have trained with it, and know the laws. My problem (other than “gun control” laws) is that my wife is still VERY MUCH against having, using, or seeing guns. As a responsible husband, father, and individual, I can protect myself and those around me. My problem is, what about my family when I’m not there? I do go to work.
More info- I have 2 pistols, 3 rifles, 2 knives, 1 12″ sword/machete, a dog that barks (doubt it would attack anything), and security grade windows and patio door. We both have basic martial arts skills and cell phones. When I’ve talked with her about defense for her and our young children, her answer always is “that’s why I keep the outside light on, and don’t like it when you are away.” And her defensive plan is “get all the children together into the closest room and lock the (hollow core) door (with privacy locks). Call the police (assuming she has access to a phone) and wait for the police to arrive. (Who of course will come with guns.)
May 8, 2010 at 3:26 pm
As always, the police are never around when you need them the most. I agree when “seconds count the police are minutes away”. That’s always true. Just try telling the bad guy with the gun to your head hey do you mind a 10-15 minute time out while we wait for the cops to show up please. See how far that gets you. Granted I don’t have thousands of guns laying around I do have protection with the ones that I do have. A thousand guns really doesn’t do you any good in the first place pick a few and become familiar as you can with them using different scenarios for training; shoot off handed, low light situations, iron sights, etc. Don’t rely on electronics as the batteries may be dead when you do need to rely on them.
Most importantly, when your life, your families lives, and/or your friends lives are in danger don’t be afraid to do anything necessary to protect yourself and your loved ones. Seriously people jump to so many conclusions because of the bone headed media not knowing a single thing about self defense, the 2nd amendment, let alone different types of guns that they are afraid to do anything.
If someone in your family doesn’t want to learn to shoot, that’s on them to figure out how to protect themselves. Seriously you can’t save everyone sorry. However I do encourage you to take that person with you when you and others goto the range to shoot. Let them sit back and watch you guys have fun at the range. Most likely pretty soon (note: this might mean a few trips to the range later) they’ll be edging closer and closer to weapons, and will soon be asking questions and in some cases will actually start picking them up and looking at them. Remember though safety is key, even though they may not want to touch them at first show them about gun safety, show them that guns truly aren’t as dangerous as they seem or are portrayed by the media. A lot of people that don’t want to have guns are scared possibly due to an experience they had with one earlier in their life.
Its always best to know how to operate many different firearms don’t just learn yours and forget about others. If other family members and/or friends have different brands of firearms share them amongst yourselves at the range get used to them as you never no when you might have to pickup a different firearm in a self defense situation. You don’t want to be in that situation while trying to figure out how it operates. I admit guns aren’t really that complicated but when under stress even the simplest thing like loading a magazine seems like it takes forever sometimes.
August 8, 2011 at 2:56 pm