Class to teach women self defense Articles / Gun News Date: Dec 09, 2004 - 06:35 PM The holiday season can be prime time for criminals preying on shoppers, particularly women. A holiday safety event at Montgomery College can help women learn how to protect themselves. "Women's Personal Safety for the Holidays and Beyond," sponsored by the Second Amendment Academy at Montgomery College, will take place from 6:30-8 p.m. tonight at the college in Building B, Room 102. The event is free to the public.Donna Vandermolen, a local firearms expert, competitive shooter and former police officer, will make the presentation, geared primarily toward women. "They need to choose if they're going to take responsibility for their safety, instead of relying o­n the police or male members of their family to protect them," she said. "If you want to live your life so you're not a victim, you have to develop behavior patterns, a mindset and skills."Vandermolen, an advocate of the Second Amendment, which guarantees U.S. citizens the right to own and carry firearms, said she will discuss several options women can take for personal protection, such as using martial arts or carrying mace, pepper spray or firearms.However, protecting yourself also brings certain responsibilities, particularly if a woman chooses to carry a gun, which is legal in Texas. "You need to get that training and practice," she said. "Owning a piano does not make you a musician."The Second Amendment Academy was formed in the fall semester of 2003 by a group of students and two professors, including Richard Hunting, who teaches accounting."There were a handful of students and a colleague of mine and I standing in the hallway o­ne day," he said. "We were talking about deer hunting and guns. We thought, 'We ought to start a club.' But since we're a college, we also felt we needed to bring in legislative and educational things. So, we put out a notice to see how much interest there might be."Man, was there ever interest."The Second Amendment Academy is now the largest student club at Montgomery College, with more than 150 members. The club, which aims to educate students o­n Second Amendment freedoms and gun safety, has two meetings a month o­n campus - no firearms allowed - and o­ne shooting event a month at a local practice range."We have students who've never shot a gun before," Hunting said. "It's a very exciting thing for them; o­nce they get past that intimidation or fear, they realize it's a lot of fun."About 25 percent of the club's membership is made up of women. "Women love (shooting) because they can compete equally with men," Hunting said. "Women are better shooters, because they have better hand-eye coordination."It's real empowering to women."http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1574&dept_id=532216&newsid=13520815&PAG=461&rfi=9 This article comes from TxGuns.com http://www.txguns.com/ The URL for this story is: http://www.txguns.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=107