Gun Tote’n Mamas is serious about women’s protection, and this includes students. The team behind the concealed-carry purse line wants you to be safe and secure in your everyday encounters, regardless of whether you carry a firearm or not. With this in mind, we wanted to check with Gary Quesenberry, author of the “Spotting Danger” situational awareness book series and ask for his top five safety tips for college students.
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1. Understand how body language signals vulnerability and how predators use this information to inform target selection. You could be walking around looking like a victim and not even know it.
2. Avoid focus lock when you’re in public. Don’t allow self-imposed distractions such as cellphones and earbuds to cut you off from the things you should be paying attention to. Situational awareness requires all of your senses.
3. Learn what baseline behaviors are and how they affect your levels of awareness. Once something rises above your established baseline and catches your attention, start developing plans to avoid or circumvent it.
4. Listen to your intuition. Intuition is nothing more than your brain’s way of telling you something is wrong even before you realize you’re in danger. It bypasses your other senses and hits you straight in the nervous system. Always listen when it speaks to you.
5. Set personal boundaries and don’t be afraid to enforce them. If someone is making you uncomfortable or acting inappropriately, don’t be afraid to speak up and draw attention to the matter. When it comes to your safety, manners are secondary.
Bonus: Enroll in some form of credible self-defense class. It helps to boost confidence and changes the way you move and interact with your environment, automatically changing how potential threats view you. Always strive to be the hard target.
Gun Tote’n Mamas offers many different types of bags with separate zippered compartments to carry self-defense tools. These are easily accessible for both right- and left-handed users. Also, the shoulder straps of the handbags are slash resistant and made with 11-ply steel cable. Check out the large variety of Gun Tote’n Mamas bags here.
Gary Quesenberry enlisted in the United States Army at 17, serving as an artilleryman during Operation Desert Storm. After the events of 9/11, Gary went to work as a Federal Air Marshal. There, he became a leading expert in the fields of violence and predatory behavior. Gary now serves as the CEO of Quesenberry Personal Defense Training and is the author of the “Spotting Danger” situational awareness series. Gary has an extensive background in domestic and foreign counter-terror training. He has worked in both the private and corporate sectors to educate others on the importance of situational awareness and personal safety. Visit him at garyquesenberry.com and follow along on Instagram and Facebook at @Gary.Quesenberry.
Michelle Cerino, aka Princess Gunslinger, first entered the firearms industry in 2011 as co-owner, president and trainer at a national training company. She immediately began competing in both 3-Gun and NRA Action Pistol, becoming a sponsored shooter. Michelle is currently a columnist and Managing Editor of Women’s Outdoor News, as well as owner of Pervenio LLC. She also manages social media for Vera Koo and GTM Original. Michelle encourages others to step out of the comforts of home and explore. View all posts by Michelle Cerino
