The decision to own a gun is a very personal one, and not everyone chooses to share that fact with the world. I don't necessarily blame anyone for keeping their gun ownership private, especially when those folks live and work in areas of the country that are extremely hostile to our Second Amendment rights. Still, given the efforts of the gun control lobby to denormalize gun ownership, I'm always happy to see folks who are comfortable sharing their stories, even if the stories themselves aren't that pleasant. 

Caylee Hammack, a Capitol Records recording artist who lives in Nashville, recently opened up about her gun ownership with fans and followers of her Instagram account in a post where she encouraged others to take a training course.  

“Recently something happened that made me feel very very unsafe,” she wrote on her Instagram stories along with a photo of a handgun on a table, a box of shells, and targets, per Taste of Country. “Since then, I have been learning defensive maneuvers and strategies with a professional.” 

Taste of Country noted that Hammack did not explain what her scary situation was, but said she added that she was now confident in her “capacity to react in high stress moments.”

“Taking these defensive courses has given me such security within myself,” she wrote. If you are a gun owner for self defense reasons, I highly suggest looking into taking courses. The reassurance I have now in my capacity to react in high stress moments is a sweet relief from the fear I had been living in recently. 

“I pray I get to shoot only paper targets FOREVER & I never have to defend myself with OR without a weapon,” she added. “But I have invested in myself thru these courses so I can sleep better at night.”

I don't know a single gun owner who's eager or excited about the possibility of using a firearm in self-defense, no matter how prepared they might be to do so. As fun as it is to go to the range, when it comes to actually using a gun to protect myself or my family, I treat my firearms like I treat the fire extinguisher in my kitchen; I'm glad it's there, but I'm just fine with never having to actively use it. 

Hammack isn't the only entertainer in Nashville who's recently embraced their right to keep and bear arms. Jay Allen, who once got an invite to the White House from Jill Biden for his work raising money to fight Alzheimer's, has been hitting the range with his new handgun after a frightening incident a few weeks ago. 

“Serious talk … I got held up at a grocery store in East Nashville a few days ago,” he wrote. “I’m OK (besides being out a few bucks), but it was the feeling that I couldn’t get over. Even with having a muscular stature and being covered in tattoos, it didn’t matter. He had a gun, and I didn’t. I felt helpless, taken advantage of, and made at myself more than anything.”

Allen wrote that he had always “been on the fence about a gun,” prior to the incident.

“But today I’m a proud new gun owner,” he wrote. “It’s strictly for self-defense, and I will NEVER feel that way again.”

He also thanked a friend who he said was a “veteran” for helping train “so I can now safely protect myself.”

Owning a gun doesn't make you bulletproof, nor does it guarantee you'll always be protected from harm. But for tens of millions of Americans, exercising their Second Amendment rights is an empowering experience; one that helps them feel more secure and confident in their ability to handle scary situations like the ones Hammack and Allen have recently gone through. 

Both artists should be commended for their courage in opening up about their gun ownership, and I hope that their message will resonate with fans who, like Allen, have been on the fence about exercising their own Second Amendment rights. Choosing to arm yourself after a violent encounter is fairly common, but it's better to embrace your right to bear arms before you're the victim of an armed robber, home invader, carjacker, or stalker. Hammack and Allen have probably inspired others to become responsible and educated gun owners, and may very well have saved a life or two in the process.