A shot at learning limited for women

Many women won’t leave the house without a purse or lip gloss. But for others, like Barb Smith of Sugarloaf, the daily routine includes something more.

A handgun.

Smith carries the gun during her long commutes to a local hospital -- for protection, she said. The side roads she takes to shorten her drive don’t give her a good feeling, but knowing she has her handgun makes her feel secure.

There are between 17,000 and 20,000 license-to-carry firearms permits in Luzerne County though Sheriff Michael Savokinas said he does not know how many have been issued to women. The county’s application for a permit to carry a gun asks for the applicant’s gender but Savokinas said there is no way to determine the number of women with permits because of a recent computer problem.

Some area gun shop owners have noticed an upward trend in the number of women who are buying guns and seeking permits to carry the weapons for self-defense.

“It’s usually a panic situation,” said Joe Lasecki, owner of Nimrod Haven Sporting Goods in Hanover Township. “They just got robbed or their neighbor got robbed. Their home got vandalized or they saw a suspicious person in the neighborhood.”

That’s in line with what Peggy Tartaro, executive editor of Women & Guns magazine, said is a national trend. Although there’s no statistical proof, she said the interest in owning guns has grown among women.

“When people call me and they are skeptical that women have been increasingly purchasing guns, I tell them to call the first five gun shops in their phone book and ask if they have more women customers than 10 to 20 years ago,” Tartaro said. “I tell them to call me back if that shop owner says no. And in the 20 years I’ve been doing this, no one has called back.”

Self-defense motivates purchases

According to Gun Owners of America, guns are used 2.5 million times a year in self-defense. And as many as 200,000 women use a gun every year to defend themselves against crimes.

Jerry Murtha, owner of Jerry’s Gun Shop in Hanover Township, said he’s noticed an increase in women looking to purchase guns in the last two or three years.

“(Women) buy guns for self-defense,” Murtha said. “There is an awful lot of muggings in this area. My wife even carries a gun. And so do I. We feel safer. The old saying around the shop is ‘You can’t rape a .38.’ ”

But Wilkes-Barre Police Chief Gerry Dessoye says there is more to it than buying a gun and obtaining a permit to carry it. A big concern, he said, is leaving the weapon in a purse or car where it can end up in the wrong hands.

“Don’t just go buy a gun and stick it in your purse,” Dessoye said. “I see women leave their purses on the seat of their cars now and wonder why they (thieves) smashed a window and took their purse…imagine if you leave a firearm in your purse and you still leave your purse on your seat. Now we have a firearm out on the street.”

Dessoye stressed that keeping the gun concealed is always the way to go, making sure the firearm doesn’t fall into the hands of someone who shouldn’t have one.

“I believe everybody has the right to self protection, providing they are legally licensed to carry a firearm. I have no objections to it,” Dessoye said.

Tartaro’s Women & Guns publication is one organization devoted to the issue. Smith & Wesson manufactures LadySmith, which is designed specifically for females.

And, the number of women’s gun rights groups such as Armed Females of America and Second Amendment Sisters is on the rise.

“Gun ownership among women is related to the huge change in women’s lives in the last 25 years,” Tartaro said. “More and more, women are on their own, and they become the primary breadwinners, home and car owners, and eventually the primary person for personal and home defense. They feel the need to be armed and responsible.”

Proper training stressed

For Cindy B., who asked that her last name and hometown not be published, the decision to carry a concealed weapon was the result of a close brush with danger a few years ago. While on a business trip, she stopped at a small gas station in New York state to catch up on some paper work.

“I was sitting in my car, and a guy came over and asked for directions and tried to beat the crap out of me,” Cindy said. “I was swinging a club and hitting him over and over, and he finally got off me and I got out of there quick.”

Now, Cindy carries either a .9mm or .45 pistol with her at all times. “I got educated on laws and started carrying. Think about it: If you’re less than 170 pounds you can’t take on a guy your size or bigger. You better learn how to do something. You need to protect yourself.”

Since being assaulted, Cindy has joined the International Defensive Pistol Association, where she shoots competitively against men and women, and has participated in many local matchups.

“You have to keep an eye on what’s going on around you,” Cindy said. “What happened to me a few years ago will never happen again.”

Patricia Murtha, 55, of Hanover Township, the wife of gun shop owner Jerry Murtha, believes most women are afraid of guns. She advocates proper training and handling so that women feel comfortable around the weapons.

“My point is, if you’re walking down the street and it’s dark, and someone comes up and is gonna try to rape you, would you rather have a gun, or nothing?” Murtha said.

Though she encourages her female friends to consider getting a permit to carry, Patricia Murtha never pushes the issue.

“A necessity to protect yourself”

Even with a permit to carry a weapon, there are still places where guns cannot be carried: in workplaces, in schools and government buildings, for instance.

Pat Watlavage, 48, of Harveys Lake, carries one of three handguns with her at all times, except in places where she is not allowed to, such as work.

“As you get older, I feel your life changes and your fears are different ... I feel like it’s almost a necessity to be able to protect yourself,” Watlavage said.

Watlavage first got her license to carry a concealed firearm five years ago. Since she already owned guns, she figured she might as well begin to carry one regularly.

During her long commutes to work at an area hospital, Barb Smith takes rural roads to make her trip shorter. “It’s freaky on those roads. I feel safer when I have my gun with me than when I don’t,” Smith said. “You never know what’s going to happen.”

Smith said it’s a common misconception that women don’t have guns. “People are surprised when I tell them I have a gun. Even when I tell them I hunt or fish, they don’t see that a woman can do it, too.”

A lack of firearms classes

If a situation arose, Watlavage said she wouldn’t think twice about using her gun.

That’s important, according to shop owner Lasecki, who said he discourages women from buying a firearm if they are afraid, even if it means losing a sale. Usually, a woman who is hesitant about firing a weapon will leave his store with pepper spray, mace or a stun gun instead. Some women, Lasecki said, just want to injure someone, rather than the alternative: killing someone with a gun.

Chief Dessoye said gun owners should remember the most important law pertaining to shooting in self-defense states the shooter’s life or someone else’s life must be in imminent danger. Dessoye said the goal should be to fire one round and eliminate the threat. After one round, things become more complicated.

“After the immediate threat has ended and you continue to shoot, you have to explain your reasons,” Dessoye said. “The totality of the circumstances would be examined to be determined if you crossed the line or not.”

Though more women are exploring the idea of owning and carrying a gun, finding a place to take lessons is difficult.

Dessoye said firearms training and familiarity with the laws are important for gun owners, but is hard-pressed to suggest a place where women can learn how to shoot.

Watlavage agrees the area needs firearms classes and believes such a class would be popular because her female friends want her to teach them how to use a gun.

Cathy Curtin of Berwick has a permit to carry a concealed weapon -- but it’s more about teaching than protection.

Curtin was introduced to shooting 29 years ago – on her first date with her husband Dennis. “It was a lot of fun, and I was good at it. So I pursued it because I was successful,” Curtin said. In 1993, the National Rifle Association asked Curtin to become an instructor, then sent her to Florida for intensive training on how to teach shooting, safety and other techniques.

“Then, I became involved in the local 4-H programs where they needed someone to teach young people to shoot,” Curtin said. “That really became my love. I loved to work with the kids.”

The NRA sponsors a program called Refuse to be a Victim, where participants learn how to minimize the chances of an attack. NRA spokesman Justin McDaniel said women learn self-defense in a number of aspects through the program, without the use of firearms.

Joseph Grilli, vice president of training institutes and external affairs and planning at Luzerne County Community College, said the college has not discussed a self-defense firearms handling course, but would consider it.

“I don’t know that specifically (that we would offer it), but I can tell you we’re branching out and offering courses on things we thought we’d never get into,” Grilli said. “Whatever we think we can do as a service, we will do.”

Hunting, shooting for recreation

At age 12, Watlavage received her first gun -- a 12-gauge Mossberg shotgun -- from her father. She enjoys target shooting and collecting guns.

Smith hunts and shoots for recreation, too. And Curtin, who had hunted for a long time, switched to target shooting.

The NRA, which hosts women-only hunting excursions, said 500 females participated in the trips in 2000. In 2007, there were 6,200.

Some of Curtin’s students from the 4-H club, who attended the Berwick Area School District, got involved with the PIAA rifle club.

“We’re very successful. And the top three shooters in the league are young women. We’re the only true coed sport in Pennsylvania,” Curtin said.

Her 21-year-old daughter Shannon Curtin, a Wilkes University student, is applying for a permit to carry a gun. She is an avid hunter and recently bagged a 700-pound bull elk while hunting with her father in New Mexico.

“Whether or not I use it all the time, is a different story,” Shannon said. “But the opportunity to be able to carry it, especially to places where I wouldn’t take any chances, is a good thing.”

She’s been around guns her whole life and was a participant in the Berwick school district’s rifle club. In her senior year, she placed second in the state.

Her mother Cathy said more girls are showing an interest in the rifle club – and doing well at it.

“Usually shooting is a ‘good ol’ boys’ network, but not any more,” Cathy Curtin said. “And most of the time during our competitions, boys get beat by girls.”