Hannah Haney

AURORA – Grandmothers Konnie Couch and Robin Willoughby, 52 and 57, from Aurora in Dearborn County sit next to each other in matching pink shirts and chat about their businesses, grandchildren, illnesses. And their guns.

Both women have concealed carry licenses and carry their handguns with them at all times. And they know how to use them.

Couch and Willoughby are the founders of a new local group, Women Armed and Ready, or WAR. After both women were robbed around 2011, they decided they were tired of being victims and didn't want to see others go through what they did. After two years of development, they held their first meeting May 6.

"The thing of it is, bad things happen to good people all the time, and, if something bad is going to happen, it's gonna happen without warning," Couch said. "It's gonna be very quick, and you've gotta be prepared for it."

Gun ownership among women is on the rise. A 2013 Gallup poll revealed that 15 percent of gun owners are women, up from 13 percent in 2005. Indiana alone has issued 123,536 firearms licenses to women in the first quarter of 2014. (Ohio and Kentucky don't break down concealed carry permits by gender.) There are numerous female gun groups nationally, including Armed Females of America, Women & Guns and the Well Armed Woman.

Cincinnati is home to two chapters of the Well Armed Woman, one in Newtown and one in Fairfield. There is also a local group based in Cincinnati called Shooting Sirens, which was founded in 2011 by Erin Cooper. The group is still establishing itself at a range and finding a regular meeting time.

Confident can be careless: 'I want you to be competent'

"(Our main objective is) to get women trained and where, if they have to ... they would be able to react and save themselves. Or at least make a very valiant attempt to save themselves," Couch said.

The three main goals of the group: education, training and competence.

"I don't want you to be confident in what you do," Couch tells members of WAR during a meeting July 8. "When you're confident, you're careless. I want you to be competent."

There are 35 registered members of WAR, though Willoughby said "we've never had less than 40 at a meeting," with an age range of 50 to 81.

All members have their concealed carry licenses.

The women get their licenses online from the state of Florida, since Florida licenses are accepted in 34 states, including Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. Indiana licenses are not accepted in Ohio.

The group meets twice a month and tries to divide its time between speaker-led classes at Big Daddy's BBQ – owned by Willoughby – and practice time at the Laughery Valley Fish and Game shooting range in Versailles, Indiana.

Dale Reatherford, 62, is a Springdale police officer who frequently attends WAR meetings. He has taught concealed carry classes for the past five years and often leads both class and range time for WAR.

"We want to make sure (the members) know all the laws. ... Knowledge and skill (are) what's going to keep you out of trouble. So we're going to make sure they understand all the laws and then the basic safe handling of a handgun," Reatherford said.

The women primarily focus on stationary shooting when they are out on the range, but they hope soon to start to work on tactical shooting. Stationary shooting involves firing at a target that isn't moving, while tactical shooting involves moving targets and simulates real-life scenarios.

"Just because you carry a gun doesn't make you Annie Oakley," Couch said. "If you draw that firearm, there is a chance you are going to kill somebody."

In an effort to be well rounded, Couch and Willoughby have tried to bring in a wide array of speakers, including Michael Krienhop, Dearborn County sheriff; Aaron Negangard, prosecutor for Dearborn and Ohio counties; state Rep. Jud McMillin, a Brookville Republican; and a representative from the NRA.

The women of WAR joined the group for several reasons. Some are just looking for protection.

Barb Maness has been widowed for three years and lives in a secluded area. "My gun is the answer to anybody who thinks I'm an old lady living alone," she said.

Others are there because they want to stop being victims. Connie, who declined to give her last name, said she joined to overcome her fear of guns. She said her ex-husband would put a gun to her head as a form of manipulation, and she was done being afraid. Other women told similar stories of abuse.

Police chief says of WAR: 'I think it's a good thing.'

The Aurora Police Department fully supports what these women are trying to accomplish.

"I think it's a good thing," said Chief Josh Daugherty. "They're meeting and actively discussing safety issues."

While Daugherty says Aurora is a safe community, violent crime in nearby metropolises, such as Cincinnati, is slightly up from previous years, according to 2013 FBI statistics.

"Any community, no matter how safe, is going to have crime," said Daugherty. "Being aware of your surroundings and discussing that isn't a bad idea."

The women of WAR have a bond that goes deeper than twice monthly meetings. Couch and Willoughby remind their members that WAR is also "a support group," and they encourage the women to call them if they need a shoulder to cry on or need some time on the range.

In an effort to further their mission to empower women to protect themselves, WAR is hosting a self-defense class at 10 a.m. Saturday open to the public.

The class will be taught by Jim Byard, a former Transportation Security Administration officer who has studied self-defense for several years and is involved with WAR. The class is geared primarily toward women who are entering the workforce or going off to college, but Byard encourages anyone who is interested to attend. His class will cover street smarts, rape and basic survival tactics.

"We don't have to be that victim. We don't have to be that statistic," Couch reminded her members.

The founder and retired director of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence, Toby Hoover, is wary of groups like this.

"If people are just getting together to make a group to get guns with no training or knowledge of laws, that's dangerous. (Getting guns for self-protection) just isn't working. It doesn't work anywhere." ■

For more information, visit WAR's Facebook page or contact Couch and Willoughby at womenarmedandready@gmail.com.