There have been a rash of burglaries in my neighborhood the past month or so. Several cars and garages have been broken into and stuff has been stolen. Someone even stole a 9mm handgun out of someones car.
TheNocturnus,
You're asking the right questions, and that's excellent. Sorry you have to go through this, though.
Best advice to begin with:
harden your house. The gun is a last-ditch, we're-out-of-other-options defense -- and it's better to never have to use it if that's at all possible.
If it's not possible, and you do have to use it, you want the peace of mind that comes with knowing you did everything within your reasonable power to avoid having to kill someone. That knowledge makes the aftermath slightly less painful for most survivors, I've been told.
In addition to (don't put this off!) improving the locks on your doors and improving the security of your windows, you'll want to take a serious look at the outside of your house from the perspective of someone looking to break in. Do you have exterior lighting, or are there dark shadows that would help conceal someone from casual view? Is your front porch/front door visible from the street, or obscured by foliage? Some of those things you may not be able to change, but in cases where you can make the doors more visible, the lighting brighter, etc -- you'll want to do it.
Take a look, too, at your family's habits as they relate to your home security. Do you park your car in the garage? If so, how long does the door typically remain open after you enter? Do you, by habit, wait for the door to finish closing before getting out of the car? Or do you generally hop right out and rarely look around before you do?
Ditto if you usually park on the street. Do you usually take just a brief moment to look at your house before you get out of the car? Or are you usually so focused on other things that it's unusual when you do look? A small change of habit there might help you avoid trouble if it comes while you're away.
Who answers the door at your house when there's a knock or the doorbell rings? Do you have children who race each other to door and slam it open excitedly?
Does your door have a viewport? Do you use it, by habit, every time before you open the door? Does your wife?
Does your door have a deadbolt, a good one? Do you use it, by habit, every time you shut the door behind you when you arrive home? Or does it only get set at bedtime... if then?
Lots of other potential things to look at there, and that's going to be your highest value, lowest investment type of changes.
Now none of these has involved armed robbery or any violence but I am afraid it may come to that eventually. Because of this I have finally convinced my wife that she needs a gun of her own at the house while I am at work.
Smart. Good for her.
If you're willing to do it, I would strongly suggest professional firearms training for both you and your wife. That will set her mind at ease as a new gun owner, and perhaps give you some improved peace of mind as you mentally prepare to protect your family from danger.
You can start with the "this is the end the bullets come out" stuff from a national franchise, but it's probably better if you find a good local school and build your foundations based on self defense from the ground up.
We plan on going to a LGS soon to pick one out for her. My question is after she finds the right gun for her, do you think I should push harder and ask her to carry it on her person at home when I am not there and maybe even get a ccw permit like I have? What would you do? Thanks!
It can't hurt to
ask. Of course you're aware that you can't command or insist, and that pushing too hard can backfire!
The ccw permit would be an excellent precaution for her, and you can probably sell it to her as such. Having the permit doesn't mean she has to carry the gun, but if she doesn't have the permit, she
can't carry the gun if she changes her mind or if something happens that escalates her sense of danger. In that sense, getting the permit is surprisingly cheap insurance.
Good luck to both of you. Please let her know, from me, that we'd love to see her on TFL one of these days.
pax