Gun Control: A Real War on Women

Just as the passage of concealed carry laws benefit women immensely, so too the reverse is true–the passage of more gun control hurts women especially. 

Gun control makes the vulnerable more vulnerable, and those who are already prone to attack are rendered prone to more attacks. 

In the book More Guns, Less Crime, scholar John Lott showed that women were among the top beneficiaries from concealed carry laws. Conversely, where gun control is stringent, crimes against women rise. 

Take Chicago for example, the gun control capital of America, where the NYT reported approximately 1,400 sexual assaults in 2010 alone. Or consider Chicago’s murder numbers–approximately 441 persons murdered in 2011. And according to Chicago Police Department, roughly 10 percent of these murder victims were women.

That means over 40 women were murdered in 2011, and if the 10 percent rule applies to 2012 as well, it means over 50 may have been killed in 2012, as the number of murders in Chicago during 2012 was approximately 512.

Might not many of these women be alive now had they not been denied the right to keep and bear arms?

For a hint at the answer to this question, contrast the experience of women in Chicago with that of Melinda Herman in Loganville, GA. 

In January 2013, Mrs. Herman grabbed her kids and hid in the attic of her home as an intruder pushed through the front door of the house and eventually began trying to come through the door to the attic. Huddled behind that door with her children, Mrs. Herman unloaded a .38 Special revolver on the intruder, ending the attack. 

The ability to exercise her 2nd Amendment rights saved Mrs. Herman and her children.

Why should women be denied the ability to protect themselves in this fashion? 

As I told CNN’s Piers Morgan on August 13, gun control is a real war on women. In denying women the right to keep and bear arms, governments at all levels force them into an attic like Mrs. Herman crawled into, but without the benefit of a gun. Instead of shooting their would-be killer or attacker, they must sit behind a locked door and hope the hinges hold until the police arrive. 

Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins.