By Kellene Bishop

I am frequently asked how I feel about letting the Government know I have a firearm. Folks seem to be a bit concerned for my well-being when they learn that I’ve applied for a concealed firearm permit. They are concerned that doing so somehow puts me on a list and now the government can know where to go to take my firearm. Well, that’s one way to put it, Ladies, but I see it very, very differently than that.

Remember one of the greatest strategies of self-defense is to prevent the attack from happening in the first place, right? You do so by appearing confident, by never disengaging from your surroundings, and always being aware, right? This gives a very different message to a would-be attacker than a woman who has her purse lying open in the seat of the car, with the door open, while she’s attempting to simultaneously load groceries into the trunk of the minivan and balance her checkbook at the same time. (Yes, you know who you are. *ahem*)

So, let’s look at the whole Concealed Carry thing the same way. While some may see it as me showing my cards, there’s the other side of the coin in that I’m doing the same thing with the government as I do with a would-be attacker. As such, in actuality I’m NOT showing my cards, rather I’m actually putting “them” on notice that my home and my life is a “Bully Free Zone”.

Please know that I’m not accusing any one particular government employee of being a bad guy. I have dear friends who work for the government. I’d like to think that they may actually have an influence for good someday. But unfortunately, there are enough genuine “bad guys” within the body of the government that have the power and authority to inflict harm on We The People. The most common attack used by these nefarious persons is to bully. They initiate contact from a bullying position and with the least bit of resistance  from their prey, their natural response is to up the ante of intimidation. Unfortunately, many surrender at this point, especially when the threats are directed towards the loss or harm of their children.

Frankly, they are successful overall with this tactic because of a person’s ignorance of the laws and their freedoms. One thing we need to remember is that the laws of the land stand in your favor.  We also need to remember that the Supreme Court has ruled that it’s acceptable for law enforcement officials to lie to their targets in order to get what they want. A great deal of confessions by the innocent are derived by relentless harassment and manipulation.  So, when I put the powers that be on notice, informing them that I own a firearm and intend to have it with me at all times, I’m also putting them on notice that I have an educated understanding of what my rights are. I can promise you that this is not just posturing. Just like a woman needs to create an aura of confidence and awareness in order to avoid the appearance of being easy prey, I have studied and applied in earnest the laws of the land which truly do protect me.

I know it’s hard to believe that sometimes there are laws out there that protect you, because the mainstream media goes out of its way to promote the government as the supreme power in our life. Especially when you hear newscasts citing kids being removed from a parent’s home just because they sought out a second opinion in dealing with their son’s cancer diagnosis, people’s life savings being destroyed because they had the audacity to drink milk fresh from the cow, and a man arrested and jailed for demanding that his son’s elementary school allow them to “opt out” of homosexual education. Unfortunately, we don’t get to hear about the circumstances of a man who successfully fights back and wins against the big bank who was trying to foreclose on his home, or the man who was found justified in shooting someone breaking into his home—turned out it was a police officer, and even the man in Utah who now threatens to topple a system that generates over $6B by illegally fining, citing, and even imprisoning citizens all because the citizens don’t know their rights and liberties.

Frankly, I consider the “requirement” of getting a Concealed Carry Permit to be a violation of my rights and freedoms. The 2^nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution IS my concealed carry permit. But the bullies have successfully threatened and entreated too many for me to see that strategy as a viable one for now.  Instead, I prefer the upper hand I can enjoy by playing ball with them on their home turf—and still winning.

So, to answer the question, yep, of course I want them to know I’m a concealed carry holder because in doing so I’m putting anyone who would harm me, my family, or my freedoms on notice that I have a serious comprehension of my liberties and I know how to use them, nor am I afraid to use them. After all, the only way to handle a bully is to stand up to them.