The Sisters in Crime, Northern California women writers’ chapter education session today was at a gun store and was provided by an ex-Marine/cop as well as a women that runs a gun safety and security business. I learned a lot about guns and how to write about them accurately. We also discussed sloppy portrayals of gun actions on TV. As those of you that have read my books know, I find other ways to murder my characters in my books and I'll think I'll probably do that going forward.
Perhaps what was more interesting was coming face to face with someone who believes from the bottom of their heart that everyone should own a gun to protect themselves. This is a philosophy that I don't share. I was struck by my own polar opposite opinion to that of the instructor's and then was delighted that we could peacefully coexist in America.
There are some new gun rules going into effect in California at the end of this year that are a response to the stockpile of ammunition by some individuals who then carry out acts of domestic terrorism like recently happened in San Bernadino. Gun owners will no longer be allowed to buy ammunition online which will drive up the cost of bullets. The instructor indicated that a bullet costs about fifty cents and in her opinion law enforcement and others needed to practice shooting. She had numerous gun certifications and uses 3,000 rounds a month to maintain her accuracy.
I see the flaws she described with this new system - primarily that law enforcement personnel needing shooting accuracy on the job; will likely reduce the number of rounds they practice with due to the cost. But I can't live in a world where we do nothing to prevent the next mass shooter from stockpiling bullets.
By the way I did learn some terms that I'll use in future books. One of my favorite questions from my fellow sister writers was: What gun fits best in a Prada evening bag? The answer is a Glock 17 or 19, 9mm. Though frankly when they showed us the gun, I'm not sure it would have fit in many of my purses. Another interesting factoid was ‘lady’ guns are typically sold in the pink hues. The problem with many of these ‘lady guns’ is the manufacturer has lightened the gun for us little ladies, but I learned a lighter gun has a stronger recoil so you're trading accuracy for pink. Hmmmm.