[RogueIsland]

So much inanity, so little time.

After taking self-defense courses with simulated attacks at The Empower Program Inc., a Washington non-profit, my younger sister and I felt more confident walking down the street. We were aware that at any time, anywhere, we knew how to fight back.

Yeah, that sense of confidence and empowerment will last long enough to get you in big trouble when you go up against a 250 pound street brawler. Sorry, but I'll go with Sam Colt's "great equalizer" myself.

[RogueIsland]

bang

[goldstategop]

More liberal touchy feeley gestalt in dealing with scum. Any woman who takes this garbage passed off as advice seriously should check herself immediately into the nearest mental asylum.

[Jonx6]

I'm just suprised this is under editorials/opinions and not did not run as a "news" article.

[quack]

"Guns can be taken away, and women can be killed by their own guns."

Well,that doesn't make sense.How can a corpse take away your gun?

Like Jennifer Lopez's character in the 2002 movie Enough,

Sorry.We don't live in Movieland.I saw that movie and Jennifer Lopez would be dead if that fight had happened in real life.

[Destructor]

"We shot at the target silhouettes' heart and lungs before aiming for its head. In real life, our instructor explained, our attackers might wear bulletproof vests."

Yeah,right. Your average street thug will be wearing a bulletproff vest! I can't believe an instructor would teach this to a class.

[NittanyLion]

women who own handguns are more than twice as likely to be murdered with a firearm by their partners than those who do not.

I can see why she chose not to use the raw date; perhaps the numbers in question are .0000001% vs. .0000002%. But that wouldn't have the impact of twice as many.

[Vigilantcitizen]

Check out this load of crap.

[SW6906]

"After taking self-defense courses with simulated attacks at The Empower Program Inc., a Washington non-profit, my younger sister and I felt more confident walking down the street. We were aware that at any time, anywhere, we knew how to fight back."

So, after saying that guns make you dangerously over-confident, she goes on to say that she has more confidence having taken a self-defense course.

Trained gun ownership over-confidence is bad, but a few hours of unarmed "self-defense" training over-confidence is good?

[FourPeas]

Guns seemed uncontrollable objects that could inflict death at any moment; I preferred to avoid them.

Anyone who can make this completely idiotic statement is obviously so ruled by their emotions and what they see on Oprah that anything they say is immediately suspect. BTW, why is it that these liberal whiners always seem to have three names?

[from occupied ga]

"Having a gun gives women a false sense of security," says Naomi Seligman, communications director of the Violence Policy Center, a Washington non-profit that urges stricter gun control. "Guns can be taken away, and women can be killed by their own guns."

Would this Naomi Seligman be the former Naomi Piss whose moronic uttererances on behalf of her insane boss, Sara Brady, gave much unintended humor to the pro gun world? I tell you what, Naomi you moronic sh!t. I'm an old f@rt. Come in person to take my gun away to show that it can be done.

Considering guns as women's only shot at self-defense is like eating fat-free cookies to ward off obesity; they can make the situation even worse. Instead of buying a gun, I'm sticking to basic street smarts that will always be there when I need them most.

Kimberly Shearer Palmer is a graduate student at the University of Chicago

Hey Kimberly baby, can I have your address to sell to someone who specializes in home invasion robberies? I'm sure you have the strength of your convictions and have the sign posted on your lawn that says

GUN FREE HOUSEHOLD
PLEASE DON'T HURT ME

[petuniasevan]

What a loony. First, she thinks that a gun is unsafe because "he might get it away from you". I'll take that chance; the bullet I fire is just as deadly as the one a man fires.

The ninny even thinks that a Hollywood movie (Attention libs! Movies are NOT REAL!) is a guide for women's self-defense. Ha. I guarantee you that there is a BIG difference between the controlled atmosphere of your local judo or karate club, and a raging maniac (bigger than the woman 95% of the time, stronger 99.9% of the time) bent on assaulting or killing the woman. Most women will react with disbelief and panic to a real blow - that is, if they are still conscious afterward.

Don't forget; a LOT of tough guys, cons, pimps, and assorted dregs are familiar with martial arts.

Give me a gun over those so-called self-defense courses.

[dhuffman@awod.com]

Typical of touchy-feely lieberal non-thought, she learned 'how' to shoot but not what and to shoot. She went to 'school', learned what she wanted and 'graduated'. Now she airs her ignorance.

[skunkytown]

Ha !

[wita]

Most enjoyable thread and comments. No one has taken the so-called non-profits to task yet, but I have a real problem with the name and the agenda. A non-profit they ain't, and in my world, they would not be able to use that misnomer to enrich themselves at the expense of honesty, honor, truth, and every other virtue they shame, in the eternal quest to change the world into a leftist utopia. OXYMORON ALERT!

[Leisler]

Check out this google search on Kimy. Gag. Do the links,she get worse. Here.

[dansangel]

In fact, a wide range of self-defense options, from chemical sprays to street fighting, gives women the tools to fight back.

*This* advice will get more women killed in the long run. I don't care how agile, trained, crafty, etc, etc, ad nauseum that a woman is, she is no match for a 250-lb enraged male. Period.

Ms. Palmer needs to get her butt out of school and into the real world before launching lofty, laughable theses such as this.

[Kenton]

Before I held a revolver, I thought only police officers and psychopaths shot guns. Guns seemed uncontrollable objects that could inflict death at any moment; I preferred to avoid them.

Well, that tells us where you're coming from, anyway. Now you know that regular people also shoot guns, and that guns are not self-animated evil objects that jump up and spew death.

You still prefer to avoid them.

That's OK, it's a personal choice, and you are responsible for yourself, after all. Guns aren't a "magic wand" that will immunize you from harm, they are a tool you can use to protect yourself. If you prefer to deal with a gang of street punks [for example] by yelling "EEEEEYAAAAAAHHH!" and striking one of those cool kung fu poses, good luck. That might work too.

[Ditter]

Who is this woman afraid of? She talks about fighting off men on the street but says if you own a gun you are more likely to be shot by your partner. I am not going to stay with someone who might shoot me any longer than it takes to pack a small bag. I'll be taking my gun in case I run into a street mugger on the way to the car.

[Lazamataz]

Considering guns as women's only shot at self-defense is like eating fat-free cookies to ward off obesity

This is actually accurate. I am an NRA certified instructor in Personal Protection, and one of the first things I teach is that a firearm is only one component of a Personal Safety Plan. You should have as many layers of protection around you as is reasonable, and your most formidable Personal Protection devices are your eyes. Observe your surroundings.

[tje]

Brakes on cars give people a false sense of security. Studies have shown that people driving cars with brakes still die in car accidents.