I would just like to take a moment to congratulate an amazing woman with an amazing story on her latest amazing accomplishment (among many). Mrs. Melody Lauer, who goes by the internet moniker “Limatunes,” is an accomplished defensive shooter, an NRA-certified instructor, a Rangemaster-certified instructor, an EMT, a talented blogger with a blinding facility for words, a loving and devoted wife, and a proud mother of three. Stitching together an effective tapestry of skill sets from each of these roles, she just offered her very first class on responsible carry options for parents of infants. More specifically, the class covered the unique and timely topic of “baby-wearing” and concealed carry.
Two weeks ago, I was honored to have Melody in my seminar at the Rangemaster Tactical Conference, where I covered the topic of effective presentation skills for firearms instructors (and by “presentation” I mean public speaking with slide show software, not drawing from the holster). It was only by sheer coincidence that she attended my seminar a few days before her own class was scheduled to take place. I was thrilled to hear from her afterwards that the seminar gave her some useful tips that she would later incorporate into her material. Since Melody is about as sweet a person as you’ll ever encounter, I’m honestly not sure if she was just being nice or if she actually did find the seminar helpful (I sincerely hope the latter). But more to the point here, Melody’s class was a HUGE success, as it most certainly would have been with or without me.
Perhaps more than even she expected, Melody’s innovation has gone viral — not just in her Iowa hometown, but literally from coast to coast. You might have seen her story on one of the national networks, in online magazines and blogs, or even perhaps on your own local news. And with that honor comes the predictable backlash of vitriol and ignorant, hateful, ad hominem attacks. To her credit, she has handled it all in stride, with dignity and class. And not that she needed it (she is no shrinking violet and perfectly capable of fending for herself), but several giants of the personal defense community have flocked to her defense, including Claude Werner, Chuck Haggard, and many others.
I personally think what Melody is doing is phenomenal. There is so much misinformation out there about “mixing kids and guns,” as they say (as if you were tossing your two-year-old into a blender with your 1911). Melody’s work could go a long way toward tearing down some of those myths and demystifying an issue that might be otherwise off-putting to the under-informed. She’s a great ambassador for Second Amendment advocates of all stripes, and I dare say we have only grazed the tip of the iceberg in terms of what she and other young women like her can bring to the table. Kudos, kudos, kudos.