A Deadly Myth - Women, Handguns, and Self-Defense

The Violence Policy Center ^ | FR Post 10-27-2002 | Editorial Staff

[SpinyNorman]

Wow, what an egregious misuse of statistics!!

Bottom line (reiterating some of the above arguments):

1) The stats only cite women with guns that have killed their assailant. No mention of simply scaring them off, winging them, and women that simply wouldn't want to go through the hassle of reporting such a confrontation to the police.

2) The stats presented show women killed with guns, but the implication seems to be that these women were killed because they had no gun, i.e. were defenseless, and therefore died as a result. How many would have died if they could not defend themselves with a firearm?

The level of dishonesty in this article would prevent it from publication in a decent peer reviewed journal, but is probably just fine for our esteemed press!

[Pinetop]

Your nom de plum is one of my favorite Muddy Waters' records.

But, on point, I think women do need training in threat assessment and self defense. Obviously many are unable to recognize the threat posed by their spouse, ex, boyfriend or Ted Bundy predator. If she should get a gun, her intimate partner knows where it is kept or wrestles it away from them and ka-pow.

I remember for awhile there was this cool mag "Women and Guns". One particularly striking cover was of this brunette in a bright blue evening gown, bending over to hike up her skirt to draw her revolver from the ankle holster. Unfortunately for most women, she would never have gotten this far unless her assailant was asleep.

Talkin' 'bout my generation.

[xzins]

NORC is survey data.

They compare killings in self defense by women who have handguns with killings of all women by handguns!!! Is that slanted or what?

Properly, they'd be comparing killings by women who do own handguns against murders of women who do have handguns. (Women who do have handguns will effectively protect themselves at X rate.) Then they'd compare that with killings by women who don't have handguns with murders of women who don't have handguns.(Women who don't have handguns effectively protect themselves at X rate.)

I believe they'll discover that women who do have handguns protect themselves at a much greater rate than those women who do not have handguns.

[inquest]

I think we can rightfully assume that the "study" presented is the worst shot they could fire at us. Therefore, anything they don't attempt to refute can be regarded has having been conceded by them. They don't attempt to refute the fact that women (people in general, acutally) are safer with a gun than without; that there's no truth whatever to the myth that having a gun will put a person in significantly greater danger because the assailant might grab it from him (unless the intended victim has an IQ of under 70); and that guns pose no sigificant risk to life or limb from being fired "accidentally" (again, unless we're talking about someone with a low IQ or a high BAL).

[Anitius Severinus Boethius]

So let me get this logic down.

1) Only 6.6 percent of women own handguns.
2) Only 12 people were killed by women using handguns in self-defense.
3) 1209 women were killed with handguns.

What can we conclude from these facts? Nothing logically.

The conclusion that women are better off without handguns is ludicrous.

Would the 12 women who killed attackers have been better off if they had not had a handgun?

Would the 1209 women murdered with handguns have been worse off if they had a handgun?

Obviously not in both those cases.

What about instances where the attacker was merely wounded by a woman with a handgun in self-defense? No statistics presented.

What about the instances where the attacker fled after the woman made the gun's presence known by revealing it? No statistics presented.

This is akin to stating that:

1) 16 Hospitals in Arizona have rattlesnake anti-venom
2) 4 cases of rattlesnake bites were treated with Anti-venom in Arizona last year
3) 300 people a year die of poison snake bites worldwide

and concluding that rattlesnake anti-venom is useless in fighting the scourge of poisonous snake bites and should be done away with.

[aeronca]

"Then my daughter and I will be part of those 12 women. We're keeping our weapons!

We are keeping ours too--practice with them every weekend that weather permits!

3 women--one Glock, one Mossberg, one Ruger: any questions?

Here is a link for some great reading for and by women with guns--be sure to catch "Lessons in Reality: Bitches With Guns" http://www.gunowners.org/womensvoice.htm

(sorry, you'll have to copy and paste URL)

[mvpel]

The true intentions of the VPC are revealed - they've recently launched the

website. You hear that everyone? The VPC would rather see you strangled to death in a dark alley than standing with a smoking handgun over the bleeding corpse of your would-be murderer. Any rational person should find this intensely offensive.

[Aracelis]

Thank you for the link!

[Monty22]

*spppewwww*

Had to do a spit take at that!

I can't believe they have gone this far. Now is a poor time for them to be pulling this crap, it's just going to cost more democrat votes (like what killed gore).

[inquest]

Now is a poor time for them to be pulling this crap, it's just going to cost more democrat votes (like what killed gore).

They can't afford to let up, though. If they even allow a hint that our side may actually have some legitimacy, that might start the public thinking. And they can't have that.

[dmband256]

actually, in a study done by Gary Kleck, a professor from the School of Criminology, Florida State Univerity, he found that handguns are used over 2 million times per year for self-defense.

if anyone wants good information on anti-gun control, go to www.guntruths.com or www.keepandbeararms.com.

as for myself, i'm a 19 year old female, and fully intend to carry a weapon as soon as i'm old enough. my mother, my sister, and I have all taken classes on gun safety and usage. my dad insisted. and all of us were certainly willing to do so.

[vannrox]

Thanks for the note.

My ex-wife used to carry a S&W "Lady-Smith" .38 SPECIAL 6-round revolver on her. It was a beautiful gun. Brushed Nickel pated. She fired it a number of times, but DID not practice on real and true aim and marksmanship with it.

The idea was that she would only pull it out to use it. And if it got to the point of pulling it out, she was to point it in the attackers chest and pull the trigger.

In 1994 we lived in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. There were reports of women missing. Their cars found at the side of the road empty. Police started to suspect that there was someone pretending to be a Police Officer and pulling over attractive young women.

I worked late at nite and both of us traveled around a bit. Mississippi is a beautiful state, but it is mostly wooded forests and isolated stretches that go for miles and miles.

One day, my ex-wife was driving alone. It wasn't that late at nite. Maybe 8:00 PM. The road wasn't that deserted either. But a car started to follow her. It began to flash it's lights. Not the way a "trucker" would flash his lights... but rather like that of a Police car with alternating lights. You know, left then right then left then right. The car was a plain blue car. It didn't look like an unmarked police car or anything.

My ex-wife refused to pull over. For a number of reasons, but we have had some rough and tumble times so she knew better. Especially since the radio was all talking about the string of missing women.

This guy kept on following her. OVER 25 miles! Along a deserted stretch he pulled up to her side and trided to force her to the ditch in the side of the road.

I don't know how she did it, but she pulled around and floored it to a closed "Dairy Queen" resturant and tried to hide. But he came in, spun gravel and blocked her way out.

He got out. The whole time he had a smile on his face. Like he was thinking something funny. She said that he was a kind of good looking guy. About 14 or 27. White with long blonde hair that was really greasy. He had a scraggly gotee. And a dirty tee shit with some stupid logo.

When he got out of the car he walked right up to her car. The entire time with his hand behind his back (right hand). His left hand was free.

Even though her window was rolled up. And her doors were locked. She pulled the 38 Special out of her Carry Box. (It came in a carry box. And that is the way she was carrying it at the time. She did not like the belt holster that I got for her, nor did she like the ankle holster either.

She aimed it right for him and shouted "What do you want?"

We, still with a smile on his face, and still facing her, and with his right hand behind his back, he backed up and got in his car and drove away. The car had no plates.

Her life was saved. You never know what may happen. Take no chances and don't believe those who say that it will never ever happen. You will never know. We still are great friends and she is a lovely girl. But we both get so angry when we are told that we are wrong to defend ourselves. Don't let anyone disarm you and make you into a weak and defensiveless female target.

[dmband256]

I'm glad to hear your ex-wife was okay. My mother used to have to walk alone downtown in the city very late at night, and she always carried a S&W Lady Smith .38 Special 6-round revolver too. Thankfully she never needed to use it.

[Straight Vermonter]

The 1996 study Guns in America found that only 6.6 percent of adult American women owned a handgun—less than one out of every 10 women. < snip>In 1998, for every time a woman used a handgun to kill a stranger in self-defense, 302 woman were murdered with a handgun.

First they say how few women own handguns and then they say how seldom women are able to defend themselves with handguns. Sounds like their conclusions from these statistics are 180 degress from my own.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

It's like saying seat belts only saved a life if your non-belted passenger dies in the accident.

Bingo! The logical inconsistency of their arguments just shines through. It also excludes all the women whose lives were saved by displaying a handgun, all the women who were not assaulted for fear thereof. It also assumes that all the women killed by handguns would not have been killed otherwise. Many would have died from beatings and stabbings otherwise.