Sharing tips and tricks for running isn’t uncommon, but one woman has shocked even the most avid of joggers after revealing she runs with a gun.
Mikaela Dieppa, a mother with one child, caused a stir on social media by discussing how she practices ‘open carry’ while out for runs, meaning she openly carries a firearm in public.
‘Protect yourself ladies,’ the mom warned in a clip posted to TikTok, before sharing details of her outfit.
‘OOTD,’ she said cheerfully as she talked viewers through what she wears on a run. ‘I’m open carrying and my holster is from Amazon.’
Dieppa, who did not disclose her specific location but mentioned living in the South, shared that she carries a small gun with her as she often notices men slowing down and observing her during her runs.
She stated, ‘From a psychological and statistical standpoint, having a gun not only increases your sense of security but also reduces the likelihood of becoming an easy target.’
Dieppa then claimed that if you’re visibly carrying a gun – even if it’s not loaded – you’re less likely to be attacked.
‘You’re less likely to look like an easy target and you will sure as heck look like you can put up a good fight,’ she insisted.
Mikaela Dieppa, a mother-of-one, shocked social media users when sharing she ‘open carries’ with her whilst running, meaning she carries a firearm openly in public (stock image)
‘I’m more nervous if I don’t have it on me on my runs and it took me a while to be comfortable with it before I started carrying,’ she added in a comment.
The stay-at-home mom added she feels like there is ‘so much less’ crime in her state because people open carry.
Dieppa also assured viewers she ‘always’ stores her guns properly at home.
But users were left bitterly divided in the comments – some commended the mom for her decision to run with a gun, while many others were in disbelief over the need she feels to carry a weapon.
‘Everybody should open carry… I think everybody should have a gun on them in public. They’d be no more crime crime would go away,’ one user cheered.
Others were horrified by Dieppa admission.
‘Wait, is this real?’ one user exclaimed. ‘Do people CARRY GUNS WHEN RUNNING?? Holy hell.’
‘Imagine thinking America is the greatest country in the world, but you have to open carry a pew pew to go for a run,’ chimed in another.
The stay-at-home mom added she feels like there is ‘so much less’ crime in her state because people open carry (stock image)
‘Open carrying in suburbia is insane,’ declared someone else.
Another user slammed the runner for trying to ‘normalize carrying firearms on a run,’ while another jokingly asked her ‘how many enemies’ she has.
Currently, 29 states have constitutional carry laws on the books, meaning state issued IDs, in many cases, are the only permits needed to carry concealed.
According to 2020 data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the top states by gun death rates (per 100,000 total population) are: Mississippi, 28.6, Louisiana, 26.3, Wyoming, 25.9, Missouri, 23.9, Alabama, 23.6, and Alaska, 23.5.
A 2024 study published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons (JACS) found suicide by firearm rates increased 18 percent in nine years, in states that allow firearm owners to openly carry a firearm without a permit.
U.S. rates of firearm-related suicide rose from 21,175 in 2013 to 26,328 in 2021, with the study suggested that the increase that may be related to more permissive open carry laws.
