I’ve long believed that when it comes to self-protection, having a gun is great. However, you can’t always expect to have one. Sometimes you may need to defend yourself in an environment where you’re disarmed or can’t be armed.

That means to be a well-prepared individual you need to possess the skills and knowledge of what to do in an instance when you don’t have one.

It seems a new Iowa program has that same kind of thinking.

It’s called Refuse to Be a Victim. The course includes several classes which explain the signs of a potential threat as well as how to handle confrontations, during this holiday season. “I know from experience a couple of years ago i did have a very odd situation at a parking lot at the mall. ” Luann Johnson signed up for the course for this very reason, to avoid any confrontation from dangerous people.Especially during this time of year. “I think women need to know all their safety precautions to take whether in the parking lot, at the work place at home in their automobile. Its a great thing women can learn,” says Johnson. The seminar tells the students to look out for certain behaviors. And strategies for a backup plan. But it also offers lessons on how to safely and appropriately use a gun, taught by NRA certified instructor Marion LaPointe.

Honestly, this is something I want to see more of.

Most of us spend a good bit of time learning how to master our firearm, but we also try to learn avoidance strategies and other techniques to keep our chances of needing to draw our weapons as low as humanly possible.

It sounds like this class is doing a lot of the same kind of things. I’m curious if they’re also going to teach hand-to-hand techniques as well. If so, then this would be an incredibly well-rounded training program.

Even without it, it’s a far sight better than many programs I’ve encountered through the years. After all, most of us are familiar with the adage about how if the only tool you have is a hammer, then every problem begins to look like a nail. This class seeks to make sure attendees have more than a hammer in their toolbox.

That’s great.

The question is, how many other classes like this are there throughout the country? I know what I hope the answer is, but what is it really?

If this is kind of unique, then I hope it’s so successful that it becomes common.

If it’s not, then we need to promote these classes to serve as an introduction to carrying a firearm for not just women, but I know a lot of men who need this kind of training. I suspect that you know some folks who need this as well, don’t you?

A gun isn’t magic. It doesn’t keep you safe all on its own. It’s part of a system that also involves the old gray matter between your ears. However, that won’t help if it’s not trained to help.

It sounds like someone is making sure these women in Iowa get that training.