The NRA is Dead Wrong about Women and Guns

[niyad]

The NRA is Dead Wrong about Women and Guns


Feminists across the country can finally breathe a sigh of relief, because the NRA is here and ready to arm women against the evils of the world—or at least that’s what the notorious guns rights organization claims in its “Real Empowerment” ad, one in a series of clips created under its “Freedom’s Safest Place” campaign.

The minute-long video features Dana Loesch, a conservative radio host, outspoken gun owner and “feminist,” warning “every rapist, domestic abuser, violent criminal thug, and every other monster who preys upon women” that their “next target will be armed, trained, and ready to exercise her right to choose her life over [theirs].” Loesch’s words are provocatively direct and threatening, but it’s unclear as to who the video is really trying to scare. On the surface, she seems to be actively discouraging cruel predators and criminals from attacking potentially armed women. However, the video’s ominous tone proves to be more effective at exploiting the valid concerns of those who fear for their lives and safety on a daily basis.

For instance, intercut with clips of Loesch are black and white scenes of public spaces buzzing with rapidly moving pedestrians and cars. Though aesthetically interesting, they never quite connect with Loesch’s words. Wouldn’t the video’s message have been better conveyed by displaying a diverse range of women proudly wielding a weapon or visiting a gun store? Yet, instead of doing just that, the NRA chooses to stick with a series of images that seem to communicate two very polarizing messages; either it teaches men to fear—not respect—women for the weapon they may be carrying, or it reminds women of how often violent aggressors stay hidden in the crowds, ready to attack.

Loesch’s message also doesn’t stand up to statistical fact: Women aren’t really “flocking to gun stores.” According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), 73 percent of gun dealers had noted an increase of female customers in 2011. This was even the number many media outlets used when reporting on this alleged phenomenon. But The Trace, a non-profit that describes itself as a “news organization dedicated to expanding coverage of guns in the United States” vehemently dismisses the methodology and “anecdotal” evidence used in the NSSF study. The General Social Survey (GSS), on the other hand, tells a different story. It found that between 1980 and 2014,”personal ownership of firearms has not appreciably changed for women.”
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As Ms. has noted previously, women in the U.S. are 11 times more likely to be murdered with guns than women in our peer nations. Two-thirds of intimate partner homicides involve guns. One in three women who are murdered are killed by their partners, and if there’s a gun in an abusive household their risk of dying shoots up 500 percent. An analysis published by the Annals of Internal Medicine found that in areas with less gun restriction, women were more often victims of homicide; a fact Christy Salters Martin, an accomplished boxer, learned when the gun she had legally purchased for her own protection was used against her by her own husband.
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http://msmagazine.com/blog/2016/08/09/the-nra-is-dead-wrong-about-women-and-guns/

[flamin lib]

1. A woman dies by gun from a domestic partner every 16 hours.

If a woman has a weapon and a "significant other" that person knows where the weapon is stored and has equal access to it. Don't be stupid and provide an abuser with the means to kill you.

[Scruffy Rumbler]

2. You want guns to take a life, but no abortion for you!

Fuck 'um!

[SunSeeker]

3. Bringing a gun in the home just makes it easier for an abuser to kill you.

[niyad]

4. thank you for that graphic. says it all.

[nomorenomore08]

6. "22 times more likely to be used in a suicide, homicide or accident..."

That alone is a rather eye-opening statistic. Really puts things in perspective.

[SunSeeker]

7. Yep. You're FAR more likely to shoot yourself with your own gun than anyone else.

Having a gun in the house makes depression--or simple drunkeness-- much deadlier. Depression or drunkeness is far more likely to happen to you than a home invader. And don't even get me started about the idiocy of having a gun in the house when you have kids...

[nomorenomore08]

5. Two different things here... One, women certainly do have the right to buy a gun for self-protection

if they so choose. Two, on the other hand, the benefits of firearm ownership have been greatly exaggerated by the NRA among others. Like I said, buy yourself a gun if you wish, but most of the stats are not on your side.