Success Stories

If you are like most people, you don’t know any woman who has used a gun to protect herself. This makes it very easy to fall into the trap of believing that such incidents don’t happen, or that they are incredibly rare.

But, according to authorities such as Prof. Gary Kleck of Florida State University, guns are used for defense about 3 to 5 times more often than they are used in crimes. A wide range of different surveys puts the number of defensive gun uses at between 777,000 and 3 million per year. Surely some of these defensive situations must involve women. Why don’t we hear their stories?

One reason is that stories that “make the news” on TV in newspapers almost always involve someone being shot, and in well over 90% of defensive gun uses, the gun is never fired. This is extremely good news for the person with the gun, because it is terrible to have to shoot someone, but it means that most media outlets never hear about such incidents or, if they do, they don’t consider them newsworthy. Consequently, these stories are never heard.

Another reason is that stories that do have enough impact to make the news tend to be fleeting, and if you miss it, you never get a chance to see it again. And a third reason is that many stories are reported without giving the name of the person involved, making it difficult to contact people to find out more about what happened to them.

For some years, Lyn Bates, the Vice President of AWARE, has also been a contributing editor to Women&Guns magazine. Some of her articles have appeared in a series called Lessons in Reality, each of which tells the story of a woman who has successfully defended herself using a firearm. Those stories are archived here. (If you have a success story of your own, or know someone who does, please let us know by contacting AWARE.)

Why not include success stories that involve other methods of self-protection? Frankly, stories about other methods are fairly easily available from other sources; one of AWARE’s unique contributions to the discussion about women’s safety is our in-depth knowledge of firearms and the people who use them.

Be warned that some of these stories may be shocking and difficult to read because of the level of violence involved. They were also written for an audience of women who already have some familiarity with firearms. Nonetheless, many people have said that they find these stories inspiring, because they prove that, in the right hands, firearms can be lifesavers.

 

Self-Defense, Lethal Force

Specifically Women

Tactics & Techniques

 


Permission Statement

The documents in this archive are copyrighted by the author. You may use, copy, and distribute it for academic, research, educational, and personal-use purposes only, without a fee, provided that:

  1. The above copyright notice and this permission notice appear in all copies, and
  2. The author’s, AWARE’s and/or Women&Guns’ names may not be used in any advertising or publicity relating to this document without the specific, prior, written permission of the author, and
  3. That no changes are made in this document. You may quote reasonable excerpts from this document provided the quotes do not misrepresent the author’s position and both proper credit and citation are given.

If you wish to distribute or use this work in any way other than mentioned above, you must email info@aware.org for prior permission.

By using or copying this document, you agree to abide by the copyright law and all other applicable laws of the U.S.

Possession and/or ownership of firearms is subject to various federal, state, and local restrictions. Those restrictions are subject to frequent change. It is your obligation to insure that you know the current law(s) that applies to you before buying, carrying, or using a firearm. Buying, carrying, or using a firearm without compliance with those laws is a crime and could result in criminal prosecution.. It is your legal responsibility to learn and obey the laws that apply in your area.

Neither the authors, AWARE and/or Women&Guns suggest that anyone purchase, maintain or use a firearm for any unlawful reason. We write expressly for the individual who uses many resources to explore the safety, moral, and legal issues surrounding firearms ownership and use.

Opinions expressed by the authors herein are not necessarily those of any organization. Articles cannot explore every aspect of a given topic; therefore, the reader is advised to consult local legal and law enforcement authorities for further information and clarification. Neither the author nor the publisher(s) are responsible for mishaps of any nature which might occur based on information, opinions, or recommendations contained herein.