For Heather Rothe, firearm safety is a top priority

In August 2014, Rothe started the Trussville chapter of The Well Armed Woman, a group that seeks to educate and empower women through firearms training. But just a few months later, tragedy struck.

“I lost my 13-year-old son to a firearm accident,” Rothe said. “That was three months after starting the chapter, the day before my third chapter meeting.”

After her son Jonah’s death, Rothe said she reflected on her stance on firearms. It was a hard time for her and her family, she said, and required thoughts and prayers in regard to keeping firearms in the house and allowing her sons access to those firearms.

“I really still feel secure in doing that,” she said. “Jonah’s accident was merely an accident. If anything, I’m more of an advocate now on firearm safety in the home and with children.”

Continuing the TWAW chapter meant there was a way for her to speak openly and help other individuals and families avoid similar tragedies. 

“I share my story with our members and visitors,” Rothe said. “I’m very honest with them about it. I do not discourage them from teaching their children, and I do not discourage them from teaching their children to shoot. But I do encourage them to always be vigilant and never, never let your guard down.”

Rothe has also spoken to Bama Carry, a local gun rights group. She said she hopes in the future to share her story with more people and continue to emphasize the importance of gun safety.

“I’ve decided to stay with the chapter,” she said. “I’ve even decided at some point to venture out on my own as an instructor and start my own business and be an advocate for firearm safety when it comes to children being involved.”

Getting started

While Rothe did not grow up with firearms in her home, she said her husband, Jason Rothe, has always been interested in them. She first started shooting as a way to connect in their marriage, where going to the range would be like a date — picnic lunch and all. Because there were guns in the home, Rothe and her husband also worked to include and educate their four sons — Jonah, Joshua, Jayson and Daniel. 

“It was very relaxing and a very family-oriented event,” she said.

The move toward concealed carry came in 2012, when there was an incident at their Trussville home.

“I came home, and the house had been broken into, and I really wasn’t sure if anybody was still on the property,” Rothe said.

Rothe had a firearm in her car, which she grabbed and drew for personal protection, but realized after the police came and cleared her home, she would not have felt comfortable using the gun if she had needed it.

“I thought to myself, ‘Here I am carrying this in my car, sometimes in my purse, and if I ever had to pull it, I’d shake like a leaf,’” Rothe said. “Any criminal would see right through that, and what’s meant to protect me could be taken away from me and used against me.”

That realization caused her to explore her training options, which led her to starting the Trussville chapter for The Well Armed Woman.

“I found out about it on Facebook,” she said. “I kept seeing people would share it, and I would go onto the Well Armed Woman website and just read on it and thought, ‘You know, this really sounds like what I would be interested in.’”

At the time, there were two Alabama chapters — one near Opelika and the other in Huntsville — but neither was convenient for Rothe to attend the monthly meetings. She emailed to see if there was a chapter planned in her area, and the response was no. Instead, The Well Armed Woman asked Rothe if she would be interested in kicking off a chapter.

“My first thought was, ‘I am nowhere near qualified to [be] doing this,’” she said. “But then I started thinking about it, and my family really encouraged me.”

Her intent was to start the chapter, find a female instructor to take over and then help from the sidelines. Instead, Rothe said she discovered her passion for training, learning more about firearms and encouraging other women.

“It’s kind of my baby, and I don’t have any plans to let it go,” she said. “In fact, because of this, I’ve gotten my instructor certification; I’m getting more certifications. So I’m looking long-term into it.” 

Support in shooting

The Well Armed Woman is based on empowering women through firearms and knowledge, and Rothe said their group focuses on supporting each other as they learn. Their regular meetings at Brock’s Gap Training Center in Hoover include a classroom portion, where they will cover new equipment, safety tips or other lessons, and time on the range for practice shooting.

“This is our way of helping women learn it [shooting] in an environment that is safe and fun,” she said. “From the time we step into the classroom to the time we leave that range, that’s all we try to do is encourage each other.”

While in the past women have been considered the homemakers and their husbands take on the role of protecting the family, Rothe said that norm is shifting. Women are taking on a greater role in the family, and whether they are out and about or at home, it is important for them to remain aware of dangers and ways to protect themselves or their children.

“You look at women who are at the grocery store, and they have three or four children, and they’re completely distracted by getting the groceries and watching what their children are doing,” she said. “You’re not really observing what’s going on around you. You could have someone following you through that store.”

Women are starting to see the everyday dangers they may face, especially on the news, and Rothe said that leads some women to seek out firearms training for personal protection.

Women from all experience levels join the group, and everyone has their individual reasons for joining. The way they instruct is geared toward providing the best learning environment for busy women, she said.

“As a woman, we handle so much during the week,” Rothe said. “We work; we take care of the house, pay the bills, take care of the kids … so all of that comes first, and we tend to forget the things we’re taught about firearms.”

They will repeat lessons as many times as it takes the women in TWAW to pick it up, Rothe said, and they will focus on safety and one-on-one training with new members to help them adapt. Member and co-leader Katharine Sweatt said she joined TWAW to help protect her family. On Thanksgiving in 2009, there was a knock at her back door, and someone tried to force his way into Sweatt’s home. She was holding her 6-week-old son with one arm and opened the door, thinking it was a neighbor. Her husband was home and grabbed his pistol, Sweatt said, but all she was able to do was stay in the back room with her son and call the police.

“It was the most terrifying seven minutes of my life,” she said. “I knew how to shoot a pistol when my husband handed me a gun at the range, but I had no idea how to protect myself. When I heard about TWAW, I was so excited. I could learn how to protect myself and my family.”

Since joining, helping other women has become one of Sweatt’s passions, and she said their meetings are more than a time to practice shooting.

“I also found that TWAW is my girl time, my relaxing evening, and I have made so many wonderful friends and feel so blessed to be a part of such an amazing group of women,” she said. “I have to say I have gotten so much out of TWAW, and I hope I am able to give back to other women.”

For more information about TWAW, visit thewellarmedwoman.com or TWAW Shooting Chapter-Trussville, Alabama on Facebook.