No Guns, Just Safety Tips in NRA Seminar

Here is what was on the National Rifle Assn.’s display table of handy “personal protection devices” for women--a fake rock, a key chain, a dummy named Sam.

And not a firearm in sight.

For the first time in California, the NRA on Saturday put on its popular, women-only “Refuse To Be a Victim” seminar. Twenty-six women attended lectures by three female instructors on more than 100 safety suggestions.

The three-hour, $20 seminar is aimed at getting women to review their lifestyles for safety risks and come up with defensive strategies, NRA officials said. It does not teach self-defense tactics such as physical resistance or firearm use.

More than 12,000 women have taken the course in 27 states. NRA officials decided to offer the course in Orange County at the request of its Southern California chapter, said Chandra E. Gribbon, a seminar instructor.

Instructors for the NRA, known for its powerful gun lobby, say the course does not promote firearm ownership. Guns, in fact, are mentioned only in passing and listed last on a list of 42 safety options. (“Firearms are the option of last resort,” the NRA pamphlet says. “However, in a criminally threatening situation, a firearm can be a psychological, as well as a physical stopping force that can save innocent lives and discourage violence.”)

Although the NRA has plenty of courses on firearm safety, Gribbon said, the “Refuse To Be a Victim” seminar was developed in 1993 at the request of female members who wanted general safety advice. More than 100,000 people have called the NRA’s toll-free number for its free safety pamphlet and information on the seminars.

NRA’s membership of 3 million is about 15% female, officials said. Marion Hammer was elected president in April, the first woman to head the organization in its 125-year history.

“People taking pistol courses or things like that were saying, ‘This is a great course, but I want to know what to do beforehand,’ ” Gribbon said. “What this class offers are tips you can implement right now, today.”

Among the tips: Keep a spare key in a “rock” with a false bottom in the garden (never hide an extra key under a mat or easily accessible place); use a two-piece key ring separating car and house keys (give valets and mechanics the car keys only), and prop a “Safety Sam” dummy in the car if you drive alone late at night so it looks like a man is aboard (the torso only is $50; the full body, $100).

Instructors also showed ways to thwart a potential robber. For instance, keep a wad of bills handy to throw on the ground to divert the robber’s attention and create an opportunity to escape, they said.

Participants kicked in other suggestions. One woman, who lives in an isolated area, installed a “trip wire” under the road to her house so she would be alerted when a car approached. Another, who doesn’t own a dog, posted a “beware of dog” sign and leaves a dog dish outside her house marked with the name “Killer.”

“The dog thing is really clever,” said participant Cathy Johnston, 32, scribbling in a notebook.

Johnston, a home-care nurse, often goes into bad neighborhoods alone at night to visit patients. She has studied kung fu and taken other safety courses before but was still learning “several good things,” she said.

Alicia Greenwald, who declined to give her age, said she wanted to go beyond the self-defense tactics she had learned at other courses.

“I’m older now,” she said. “I don’t know if I could kick someone in the groin anymore. I’m anxious to see a different alternative.”