Hillary’s Enemies List: Carrie Lightfoot

In response to a Democratic presidential debate question on Oct. 13, 2015, Hillary Clinton put the 5 million members of the NRA at the top of the list of enemies she is most proud of.

This is unprecedented: On national television, a candidate for president of the United States named peaceable, law-abiding gun owners, who are simply trying to protect the Second Amendment, as her biggest enemies. She even listed NRA members ahead of Iran—the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism. Drug cartels, Vladimir Putin, North Korea and ISIS terrorists didn’t even get a mention.

Clinton’s declaration made us wonder how NRA members feel about being recklessly declared her enemy. So we decided to ask them: How does it feel to be named Public Enemy Number 1 by Hillary Clinton?

Today we hear from Carrie Lightfoot, owner of The Well-Armed Woman, a trusted resource for female shooters, and founder and chairwoman of the board of The Well Armed Woman Shooting Chapters Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit organization with 310 chapters across the country 

Hearing that I, a petite, middle-aged woman, had been placed on the Democratic presidential candidate’s “enemies list” was not only incredibly offensive, it was infuriating. But if you think about it, having been given the top position on her list means that I am a worthy opponent—that all gun-owning American women are a force to be reckoned with. It communicates the thought that taking on tens of millions of empowered, confident and intelligent gun-owning women is a problem for Hillary Clinton.

After all, she is the champion of women, right? Isn’t her platform built on the truth that “women’s rights are human rights”? But wait—aren’t life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness inalienable human rights given to us by our Creator, not to be repealed or restrained by human laws? Clinton professes that “every woman deserves the chance to realize her God-given potential,” but how can my God-given human right to fulfill my potential be met if I am raped and murdered on the very unequal battlefield of physical violence?

It is a fact that the majority of violence perpetrated against women is by men, who, by their sheer size and strength, have the advantage. It is only through the use of a tool that can balance this disparity of force that women are offered the chance to prevail and survive—and the best tool available is a firearm.

So which one is it Hillary? Are women to be equal or not? Or should they just be unequal in the areas that provide you with the power you crave? Are women to be bound to victimhood because of your and the progressive left’s insatiable need for control?

We all know that a government cannot truly satisfy its lust for power when its citizenry is armed and prepared to protect itself against tyranny. By professing to be a champion for women’s equality and empowerment, yet committing them to the bondage of fear and a life of defenseless victimhood, Clinton’s platform is truly the ultimate act of war on women. Maybe she thinks we will subjugate ourselves, turning from our self-reliance and sense of personal responsibility and instead leaning on her federal government to be our knight in shining armor.

The days of women depending on their “knights” for their self-protection, however, are long gone. Being a single mother of four whose youngest child is preparing to head off to college, and who has accepted a job working with homeless and poverty-stricken people, caused me to begin to wonder, “What would I do if …?” and “How would I protect myself?” As an empowered, independent woman seeking to protect the life God granted me, I thoroughly researched my options for self-protection and determined that a firearm was my tool of choice. It provides me with the ability to equalize the battlefield of violence like no other tool can. Like tens of millions of other women who have taken on the task of being their own protectors, I trained, studied and learned how to safely and effectively live my life with a firearm.

I, too, am on a mission to empower and create equality for women. The Well Armed Woman and The Well Armed Woman Shooting Chapter organization works daily to ensure equality for women on the streets, in dark parking lots, in their workplaces, and even in their homes, where the ugly, uneven force of violence and terror can appear. It is through educating, equipping and empowering women self-protectors that true equality is found.

I am blessed to witness daily the life-changing transformation of women as their confidence rises to levels they have never known before. Watching a woman be set free from the chains of fear is incredibly inspiring, and we love witnessing the realization of her God-given potential to live a full life of liberty and happiness.

I, like millions of law-abiding American women, work hard to be an independent, self-sufficient, productive and capable member of society. Being told that we must be dependent on anyone other than ourselves to keep us safe flies in the face of Hillary’s hypocritical women’s battle cry: “There cannot be true democracy unless women are given the opportunity to take responsibility for their own lives.”

Yes, Mrs. Clinton, I agree. And by practicing armed self-defense, millions of women across this country are doing just that—taking responsibility for their own lives!