Guns scare me, they always have. It seems like an awful lot of power for one person, who may or may not know how to use it. My experience with guns had been limited to stories on the nightly news about unnecessary shootings, old Western movies and infomercials for the NRA. When I was younger I stayed away from little boys with BB guns and limited my shooting to neon-colored squirt guns. My restricted knowledge of guns fed my fear and I scoffed at people who felt like their God-given rights (gun ownership) were being threatened every time a new gun control law was passed. Yet there was something very compelling about guns to me, and even though I didn't know what it was, I turned my fear into curiosity and enrolled in a Basic Handgun Class.

My teacher for the day was Greg Block, a certified instructor for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Police Officer's Standard and Training, United States Department of Defense, United Stated Marine Corps and over a half a dozen gun manufacturers. To say this man has some experience with guns would be an understatement. He rattled off laws, codes, paragraphs and sections as though he wrote every word himself. He spoke of statistics and studies that prove "an armed society is a polite society." For example, if criminals knew all citizens were all allowed to carry a concealed weapon, they would be less likely to take a chance in harming or stealing from them. Sounded like a good argument, but I wasn't convinced. So Greg put it in simpler terms for me. "I would rather have a gun and never need to use it, than need a gun to defend myself and not have one." Seemed logical, but I couldn't help but think that not all gun owners are as smart, safe and logical as Greg. When the lecture ended and it was time to head out to the shooting range, I was nervous and less than ready to pull a trigger.

As I walked down to the range I watched a father and his 13-year old son who were enrolled in my class. Education is certainly the key to safety, but why would a 13-year old boy need to learn how to shoot a gun? I guess I keep forgetting some people don't own guns just for self-defense, but for sport as well. Maybe if I got bit by the "shooting bug" I would become a competitive shooter myself. Doubtful. I continued to eye the class and noticed almost half were women from their early 20's through their late 40's. As we waited for our guns to be handed out I spoke with a woman who already had her own gun. She was perky, friendly and more than happy to tell my why she started shooting. She liked it. Could it be that simple? Going to the range to shoot was an amazing way to relieve stress for her and after a hard day at work she was ready to take out her frustrations on a target, rather than her friends and family.

The guns were handed out by one of Greg's instructors who happened to be a polite, beautiful blond, with a perfect body. I have to admit these weren't the type of women I imagined I'd see at a shooting range. I picked up my .38 Smith and Wesson Special Revolver (with a 4-inch barrel) and slowly loaded each bullet with my sweaty hands. Some of the men in the class had semi-automatic pistols (including the boy and his father) and loaded with a magazine (an ammunition cartridge rather than individual bullets). It looked cool, but I'm glad the college guy next to me also had a revolver. Neither one of us had ever shot a gun before, but I was outwardly more apprehensive and he played the I've-got-it-under-control card. I adjusted my eye and ear protection and prepared to shoot a gun for the first time.

Up to this point I had the fundamentals of firearm safety under my belt. I knew the legal aspects of owning, transporting and using a gun in a self-defense situation. I was sure of how the gun worked, why it did what it did and what to expect under special circumstances...but nothing prepared me for the first shot fired from my gun. When Greg announced "fire" over the intercom system, guns were going off all around me and the sounds were paralyzing, I don't even remember pulling the trigger but I emptied my ammunition into the paper silhouette target in front of me. I can't even tell you that my eyes were open the whole time (pretty reassuring huh?) but the instructor behind me patted me on the shoulder and began to give me pointers. Greg came over the intercom and reminded us there was no need to start shooting in a blaze of glory, and I smiled to myself. I think I may have been one of the culprits.

After the initial anticipation and fear of shooting (or being shot), I relaxed and began to concentrate on proper stance, grip, sight alignment, sight picture and trigger control. We practiced rapid fire and combat shooting, my favorite. We had three silhouettes in front of us, and Greg gave us instructions to shoot 2 rounds into each target beginning with the one on the left, then to right, then back to the center, cover right. I was really beginning to enjoy this sport. It was certainly empowering -- but as I continued to practice my shot, I knew I would never buy a gun or advise others to.

The old saying, "Guns don't kill people, people kill people" is certainly accurate. I had gone through life up until this point afraid of an inanimate object that is unable to harm me unless under the supervision of a careless human. Guns don't "go off" accidentally, somebody has to pull the trigger. My education on firearms has definitely made me a stronger person, because knowledge is power. Fear and ignorance fuels intolerance. The ladies and gentleman I was fortunate enough to be taught by were absolute professionals who clearly stressed safety first, above all else. I spoke with the beautiful blond instructor after class and she told me she had been a victim of a violent crime and after waiting over 20 minutes for the police to arrive, decided she would arm herself and never be a victim again. This woman doesn't rely on others to protect her and her children. Criminals be warned.

-- Kristy Paige