Here’s my story, if anyone wants to hear it.

Hello. I am a 43 year old woman in Central Texas, an avid gun owner, and a member of this sub for well over a year now. My interest in firearms began because my husband wanted firearms in the house to protect me and our little girls in case someone busted in while he was at work. I was very anti-gun at the time, but when he brought it up, something about it sat right. I agreed we could have firearms in the house as long as they were locked up and out of reach of our kids, but I did not want to touch them at all.<br><br>Fast forward a few years; we moved to a rural area in Central Texas. Having moved from a big city, the peace and quiet, lack of traffic, and the beauty of the Texas Hill Country was something I had been dreaming of my whole life. We built a house on five acres with a barn and a long driveway. One night, while my husband was out of town for work and the kids were fast asleep, I was awoken in the middle of the night to the sound of what I thought was an animal scratching on my front door. When I opened it to look and see what it was I immediately slammed and locked it shut; there was a man standing on my front porch. I called 911 and they told me to get my gun. In that moment, I ran upstairs to our gun safe, unlocked it, and opened it for the first time. I pulled out my husband’s Glock 26 (which at the time looked like a huge gun to me). I held it like they told me to, barrel up, and pointed it at the door. I waited. I heard the man try the door but it was locked. He jiggled the handle a few times but he gave up and walked off into the woods at the end of our driveway. The 911 operator asked me several questions to confirm it was a person and not an animal and once she was satisfied it was a person, she said help was on the way. I waited, shaking, with that gun pointed at the door for what felt like an eternity. Twenty minutes felt like hours. I was so glad to see the lights of the police. I told them I had a gun so they wouldn’t shoot me, and I set it on the ground. They took my statement and told me that I most likely saved my life. They never caught the guy but they told me I most likely saved my life.<br><br>After that night, I had a completely different view of firearms. I felt empowered for the first time in my life. That night, and the feeling of empowerment that lingered, changed everything for me. It made me realize how much I had been relying on my husband to keep me and our little girls safe. It made me realize that my husband can’t always be there to protect me; sometimes I have to protect myself. I started going to the shooting range and learned to shoot. It was hard; I cried and I quit and I hated it, but I didn’t give up. I kept going back, farther and farther, little by little. And over time, I got better and better. I even competed in a few shooting competitions. I learned to conceal and carry and carried everywhere I could. I was proud to be a gun owner and I felt more confident than I had in my whole life.<br><br>I became so passionate about owning a gun that I began to tell other women about my story and suggest they learn to own a gun too. I even began to work on convincing my liberal parents back in Massachusetts that owning a gun wasn’t a bad thing. I was proud to be a gun owner, especially as a gun owning woman, and I felt empowered by it.<br><br>I love being a gun owner. I felt empowered by it. I loved the feeling of being able to protect myself and my little girls if anyone ever tried to harm us.<br><br>I am so glad I learned to shoot a gun; owning a gun most likely saved my life.<br><br>Edit: I wasn’t sure if I should post this here or not, since the story isn’t from today, but I wanted to share it because it is my story and it is how I became a gun owner. There was an incident today at my home and they said they were looking for a woman with a gun. I believe it was probably the same guy from years ago and he is still on the loose. I am grateful that I have learned to shoot and I have guns in my home. Never in a million years would I have guessed I would be a “gun nut” but now I couldn’t imagine my life without them.