I hate off-body carry with an unbridled passion, and personally feel that if you can’t carry a weapon on your body, that you should not be carrying a firearm at all.

I simply don’t feel that purses, personal organizers, etc have the requisite weapon security, even though some off-body systems do look very nice.

Unfortunately, some women eschew even these quality purses designed to securely carry a handgun in a secure compartment, and instead opt to drop their handgun in a regular purse with little to no weapon retention capability at all. They then compound the risk of the weapon being unsecured, by putting their purse with an unsecured weapon in it nearby, instead of keeping it on their body away from intruding hands, such as those of inquisitive children.

Such thoughtless negligence just turned an Idaho toddler into a killer.

Authorities in northern Idaho say a 2-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his mother after he reached into her purse at a Wal-Mart store and the concealed gun fired.

Kootenai County sheriff’s spokesman Stu Miller tells reporters that the shooting was accidental and occurred in the store in Hayden, Idaho, a town about 40 miles northeast of Spokane, Washington.

The vultures of Moms Demand Action and other gun control groups are going to have a field day with this horrific story, and all we can do in response is wring our hands in anguish. This mother had a valid concealed carry permit, but either lacked decent training, common sense, or more than likely, both. Now she’s dead at the hands of an innocent child, who will one day have to wrestle with the fact that he is motherless due to her stupidity.

Women have an incredible array of fashion choices that they can make, far more than most men. As a result, an ever widening market of products is being created and marketed so that women can carry a holstered weapon on their body, nearly regardless of their casual, business, or formal attire. If a woman is wearing much  more than her underwear, she can conceal a handgun, she simply needs to select the right system.

This mother tried to be lazy. This mother tried to be cheap. And now this mother isn’t going to be anything but a vague memory and some faded pictures in this child’s life as he gets older.

And it was all so unnecessary.

Please carry on-body in proper holsters, ladies, and find a good female shooting instructor in your area or one of the ladies-focused shooting sites (Guns & Curves, perhaps) online if you have questions about gear.

Handguns can be great equalizers for the fairer sex, but only if you are trained to use them properly, which includes safe carry and storage.