Got a Gun? - NY Ladies Packing Heat

NY Post ^ | Aug 18, 2002 | Abby Ellin

[xsrdx]

Though the city keeps no statistics on the number of women here who own guns, anecdotal evidence strongly suggests that they are arming themselves like never before - taking classes at shooting ranges, organizing weapons seminars and applying for permits to carry pistols and rifles

"I truly believe that we all need a piece of our lives back," she said. "This gives me back power."

Rest of Article..

[xsrdx]

An balanced gun article from the NY Post?

[xsrdx]

Previously posted under different title...worth a look.

[phasma proeliator]

They were doing pretty good - till they threw this in at the end.

"And the fact that all those weapons often wind up hurting their owners - a gun kept in the house is 43 times more likely to kill a family member or friend than an intruder - hasn't slowed the fascination. "

[serinde]

Though the city keeps no statistics on the number of women here who own guns...

The NYPD says it doesn't know the male-female ratio of applicants, despite gender being a question on the form...

Not a bad article, but the quotes above are ridiculous. Of course they know. Not a chance they aren't keeping all that info and keeping track of every last detail.

[Gritty]

A few weeks after Sept. 11, she was visiting a cousin in Oregon and shot her first round. Much to her surprise, she loved the feeling.

"All that power! It was amazing," she said. Now Schaeffer wants to pack heat.

Everybody ought to search out and take shooting somebody who has not shot before, or hasn't shot since they were a kid. It is amazing what a sea change can take place in their attitude toward firearms once they see their fears are based on misconceptions and they aren't intimidated by them any more!

[Saundra Duffy]

What is the rapist's worst nightmare? A woman with a gun!

[Saundra Duffy]

I'd rather break the law and pack THAN BE RAPED, TORTURED, MURDERED, ETC. (I'm funny that way.)

[agitator]

The application process takes up to 6 months and requires a full FBI background check, fingerprinting, an OK from the state's Mental Hygiene and Motor Vehicles departments, plus pay stubs and references from an employer and friends.

Exactly what does the NY DMV have to do with gun permits? hmmmmmm...

[Chemist_Geek]

Take people to the range! Let them shoot .22LRs so their first experience with firearms isn't loud and forceful. If you're near Detroit, click here!

[Redbob]

Agreed.
Take someone shooting this weekend.
My five-year-old shot his first .22 just last week. He loved it, and he paid very careful attention to everything I told him.
Take THAT, Sarah Brady!

[MissAmericanPie]

Yeah, pretty fasinating the fact that they don't have the statistics on female gun ownership has never prevented the news media from making up statistics before. This 43% likelihood of hurting a family member sounds like a number they pulled out of their hind ends.

[Skibane]

The June 12, 1986 New England Joural Of Medicine reported that a gun in the home is 43 times more likely to kill a family member than kill a criminal . However, this same data, analyzed in the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology in 1995, concludes that a firearm kept in a home is at least 167 times more likely to deter criminal attack than to harm a person in the home.

Guess which statistic gets ignored?