May 20, 2019
We are excited to introduce you to Cheryl Todd. Cheryl is a wife, a mom, and a grandma. She is the co-host of Gun Freedom Radio, co-owner of AZFirearms.com, a small mom & pops gun shop in AZ. Cheryl is also the AZ Delegate for The DC Project. She sits on several Boards including the Arizona State Rifle & Pistol Association and the Arizona Citizens Defense League Foundation. While Cheryl Todd is indeed a Carry Girl, and has her Concealed Carry License, she considers herself foremost an Advocate for our Constitutional Rights and an Ambassador for the Firearms Community, and she speaks to the value of her 2nd Amendment Rights through the lens of self-protection and instilling those values in the generations to come.
Carry Girl: Why you shoot or carry?
Cheryl: I carry because I am a fierce Mama-Bear who was born without fangs and claws, but rather, with the intellect to use tools and tactics of self-defense. I carry because danger walks among us, and uses the element of surprise to gain the upper hand. Therefore, I must be prepared to be my own First Responder, because I am the one who will be immediately responding to what is happening to me. And, I carry to instill in my daughter and granddaughter that we are strong and capable women who value our Constitutional and Civil Rights and exercise these Rights unencumbered, and as free American Citizens, who need no permission from anyone to do so.
Carry Girl: What has led you to this point in your life?
Cheryl: For most of my adult life I was out of touch with my Constitutional Rights and the importance of protecting and defending them. Not only with the way I interacted (or didn’t interact at all) with our elected officials, but also with the ways I voted. Once my husband, Danny, and I opened a gun store nearly 15 years ago, I became acutely aware of how politicians use talking points to vilify not only the guns themselves but also the people who own guns and most certainly those of us who sell firearms.
We would hear utter nonsense being repeated like a metronome every night on the evening news, and in a very short amount of time we began to see our neighbors and friends begin to believe these politicians’ half-truths and outright lies. I found myself in a defensive posture more often than not when someone would happen to ask what my husband and I did for a living. I was constantly trying to un-ring the bell of misinformation over and over again. The good news is that I found that most people were genuinely hungry for the truth and would listen with open minds to what guns actually are (and are not), and why someone as “normal” as my husband and I are would be in the business of selling these “weapons.” That was when I realized that I needed to broaden my sphere of influence, and the idea for Gun Freedom Radio was born. Through the radio-show / podcast format I am able to reach people from all over the globe to help educate, engage and inform them about the rare and beautiful freedoms we have because of the Second Amendment.
Carry Girl: How do you train?
Cheryl: While I am sure your question has to do with getting out on the shooting range and practicing with my firearms, I want to answer this question a little bit differently. As I mentioned earlier, I do own and carry firearms, and training with them is highly important, however I am foremost an advocate and an ambassador for those of us who value our rights. So, the way that I stay informed, educated, and proficient in those areas is by connecting with experts in their field. With our radio show I am able to interview people from all areas of expertise in the Firearm Industry, in the Constitutional Advocacy Communities, in Competitive Shooting, in Law Enforcement and Personal Protection Training, and in, yes, Politics. Also, as the AZ Delegate for The DC Project I connect with women from all across the United States to keep in touch with the individual concerns of the various cities, counties, and states across the nation.
The DC Project was founded by Dianna Muller, a retired police officer, who served 22 years with the Tulsa Police Department, and is now the Captain of Team Benelli 3-Gun. The DC Project is 50 women, one from each state, who join together in Washington, DC each summer to spend four days meeting with members of Congress. The DC Project is a nonpartisan initiative to bring women and girls from each state to our Nation’s Capital to dispel common myths and garner support for gun rights.
Carry Girl: What impact have guns had on your life?
Cheryl: Guns have had an incredible and positive impact on my life. Because of the tremendously emotional and illogical push from some in this country to dis-arm law-abiding American Citizens I have been made aware in ways I otherwise would not have of the importance of the sacrifice of our Founding Fathers. Also the purpose and need of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the enumerated Amendments therein. By becoming connected to the unique and sometimes difficult past of our nation, I realized the part I play in passing along the baton of liberty and freedom to my daughter and granddaughter. Whatever I do or don’t do in my lifetime will have ripple effects into the future. And I choose to be on the side of those who fought, bled, starved and died to secure the Legacy of the Second Amendment which is the legal protection of our God-given rights to self-protection.
This is a responsibility I take very seriously, but I might have missed it entirely had I not been in the business of selling the tools of self-defense that American citizens use to save lives 2.5 million times each year. And that women use 200,000 times each year to defend themselves from sexual assault.
Isn’t it interesting that the Rights-Restrictors who seek to confuse American voters and disarm law-abiding American citizens are the very reason I had to wake up and speak up. I might have stayed disconnected and silent about my Rights, and therefore not have instilled these values in the next generations, had these Rights not been threatened. I believe there is truth in the statement, you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone (or endangered).
The encouraging news is that I am not alone or unique in these things. I have met thousands of other fellow Patriots that I like to call “Ordinary Warriors.” Men and women alike, who see themselves as part of the almost secret society of 2A Warriors. I even began using a hashtag and created a lapel pin to help connect these Patriots. The hashtag is #PolkaDotsAreMyCamo and is a nod to the millions of ordinary everyday warrior patriots, skilled and prepared to be their own First Responder and protect those around them.
To follow Cheryl Todd:
FB: Cheryl_Todd GFR: https://www.facebook.com/CherylToddAZF/
IGram: https://www.instagram.com/cheryltoddgfr/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GunFreedomRadio
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