Guns: The 'Great Equalizer' for Women

In a March article (which PJ Media covered here), Rolling Stone’s Tim Dickinson claimed:

To target urban and suburban women, gunmakers have adopted a two-pronged marketing strategy. One: Feminizing the weapons by dressing them up in hot pink. Two: Marketing powerful guns to women as the only surefire protection against sexual and violent predators. Shooting Industry Magazine publishes a column called “Arms and the Woman,” which advises that “every gun store should have at least one pink gun on display.” This is a crowded field: Sig Sauer offers a ladies’ version of its conceal-carry “Mosquito” pistol with a “pink-coated polymer frame” that it calls “the ideal choice for hours of shooting fun.” In a similar vein, GunGoddess.com sells a kit to trick out an assault weapon with a pink hand guard, pistol grip and butt stock — transforming an AR-15 into something that looks like it belongs at a Hello Kitty convention.

The implication was that women are such fickle, emotional creatures that something as simple as a pink frame is all it takes to woo female shooters, and further, that anyone so easily manipulated should never own one. Had any conservative made such a statement, he — or she — would have been harshly denounced as a misogynist.

Fifteen-year-old Morrigan Sanders, who was pictured in the Rolling Stone article — she was never contacted by Dickinson — said:

The Second Amendment is a way to defend ourselves personally as well as against an oppressive government.

PJ Media contacted two other female shooters to discuss the issue: Gail Sanders, mother of Morrigan and wife of Baen author Michael Z. Williamson; and Regis Giles, owner and creator of Girls Just Wanna Have Guns, a blog devoted to the Second Amendment and women.

Sanders described gun rights as being central to freedom:

The Second Amendment represents our ability to protect ourselves from our government. I’m not personally worried about foreign invaders because other countries know that Americans are armed.

Giles:

In short, the Second Amendment is important because it serves as a reminder for the government. All government officials know that if they have an armed society to deal with, those are people not easily controlled.

During the recent debates in Colorado regarding magazine and “assault weapons” bans, state legislator Evie Hudak (D) told a rape victim that because she was overpowered by her attacker and was unable to defend herself with her martial arts skills, the attacker would have likely taken her gun from her if she had one (watch video here). The victim, Amanda Collins, noted she was there and Hudak was not — and said she was absolutely sure she could have defended herself with a concealed weapon.

Giles says such cases demonstrate that carrying a weapon is as important, if not more so, for a woman as it is for a man:

Guns become the great equalizer, in an attack scenario, for a woman who shoots. … A woman’s attacker is most likely going to be bigger and stronger. Having a gun will at least send a woman’s attacker running with his pants soiled, if she didn’t get a chance to fire off a few rounds.

Sanders agrees, saying physical size is the top reason for a woman to learn to shoot:

We’re generally not six feet tall, 195 pounds.

With approximately two million defensive gun uses a year — mostly without a shot having to be fired — it’s reasonable to presume that the presence of a gun has saved many women from rape or worse, and that the absence has condemned many more. Sanders:

Personally, it gives me the self-confidence to know that I can protect my children and myself. My husband often travels and is not always around or available. I’ve both been a rape and a burglary victim and I’ve resolved that I’m not going to be a victim if I can do something about it ever again.

I’ve always been a firm believer in “put up, or shut up.” I expect to be able to protect my children. I expect to be an example to them in doing so. I expect my children to behave with the maturity and responsibility that I’ve taught them both in regards to other people and in regards to firearm safety. Pretending firearms, and situations where firearms are necessary, do not exist is worse than living with your head in the sand. Doing so could get both me and my family killed. I refuse to be herded like a sheep, or to accept what others think is best for me. I know what is best for me after due research and consideration.

Giles:

It’s an awesome feeling being a concealed carrier, walking down the street knowing I can take care of myself or loved ones if need be. I feel this is the same for women in general.

Both felt the current debates in Washington, D.C., over gun control border on the absurd. Giles:

I find it absurd that our elected representatives feel that they can take away our inalienable right to defend our lives and liberty. Hello, it’s called “inalienable” for a reason. Maybe they need to read the Second Amendment again … over and over, until they get the point.

Sanders said the problem is that the pro-gun control factions simply don’t know what they’re talking about:

You can only have a debate when all parties are knowledgeable and are willing to discuss options. Congress is neither. They don’t even read the Constitution or the bills that they are voting on. … They want to appear as if they care and are trying to do something, anything, about the various situations that have appeared in the news. The truth is, there are already provisions in place, but if they aren’t enforced then they mean precisely nothing.