EWR Reprint: Stop the war on women

Women tell me their secrets. Why, I don’t know, but many do, so I understand a bit more about them than some men might.

This article is written for women, but the recommendations apply equally to men.

One thing I know is, the statistics on crimes against women are understatements.

Last month I mentioned that, according to the Bureau of Justice,¹ each year five million American women are victims of violent crime including rape, beatings and murder.²

The reason I think five million is an understatement is that eight of my close female friends and relatives have been victims of sexual assault, and I’ve also had three female acquaintances who were.

I’m not talking “sexual harassment.” These eleven women in my life were subjected to violent felony attacks, which some were able to repel, and others were not; four were raped.

I’m also not referring to non-sexual crimes, for instance home invasion robberies.

And, these are only the women friends who have told me their stories. Who knows how many have not.

Affluence is not protection. At the times of the attacks, all but one of the eleven women were middle class or wealthy.

None of the incidents were interrupted by the police. In cases where the police could be called, they arrived too late.

…held in place by police departments that are mostly bluff: officers rarely arrive in time, except in TV shows.

Don’t believe it? Ask a cop. Most crimes happen much faster than police can drive.

I’ve known so many women who have been seriously hurt that if anyone ever proves that at one time or another every women is violently, criminally attacked, I won’t have any trouble believing it.

In fact, the rate of violent crime on women is reported at 17 per 1,000 per year. Do the math. In 50 years of adulthood, a woman’s probability of being attacked is 85%. (That’s on average. Some women are never hurt, and others suffer repeatedly.)

These data are based only on crimes that have been reported to the Bureau of Justice. Any trauma counselor will tell you most sex crimes are kept secret. So — my key point — the true statistical probability of a woman being brutally attacked may be just an inch short of 100%.

Second, the victims do not talk about what happened to them, which means they do not encourage other women to learn to defend themselves, so all women are seen as easy prey.

The biggest problem is the silence. The women are too embarrassed, they just want to forget. If you ever meet the ones I know, you won’t notice anything unusual.

In many cases I think even the husbands don’t know. They eventually figure out that something is wrong, but they rarely find out what it is.

Also, many women have bought into the leftist gun control mindset, which says, if we can just confiscate all the guns and other weapons, then we will be safe; the way to achieve security is to make everyone helpless.

Personally, my idea of a reasonable gun control law is one that requires every woman to carry a bazooka.

Thanks to women activists such as Paxton Quigley, who wrote armed and female, women across the country have begun to protect themselves and their daughters, and I hope you will join them.

Please revisit my April 1, 2009 special bulletin “Prepare for the coming riots” on the Subscriber Access part of our website www.chaostan.com. I have not changed my mind about any of it. Here is additional information.

My wife and I have been searching for an equalizer we can recommend to women, one that is formidable, easy to learn and control, a good home-defense gun but small enough to be carried comfortably in a purse. It’s a tall order.

At the urging of Jim Powell of global changes and oportunities report, my wife began dating the 9mm Glock 26, and now she’s fallen in love with it, so that’s our choice.

Loaded, the Glock 26 weighs 26 oz. and gives you 11 shots. It’s not a master-blaster like a shotgun, but in trained hands it’s a fine household appliance, your handy dandy varmint puncher.

Guns are nowhere near as dangerous as cars,³ but they do require some safety training. Ask at a gun shop, or call the local chapter of the National Rifle Association for a list of NRA certified instructors.

Too many people buy guns, then allow their friends’ political opinions to embarrass them into going no further, so they don’t get trained. I’m convinced this intimidation is the cause of most gun accidents. Get trained.

Remember what handling a car was like when you were new at it? If you had driven through Yosemite Valley the day after you received your learner’s permit, how much of the valley would you have seen?

Today the car is an extension of your body. In an emergency, you operate the accelerator, brake and wheel automatically. Your attention is focused entirely on the situation, not the car.

You need for the gun to be equally familiar to you, so that in an emergency, you can think about the situation, not the gun.

Punch holes in targets until the gun is an extension of your body, exactly as your car is.

This means, unless you are a natural at marksmanship, you will need to fire thousands of rounds over a period of months. Then go to the range every two months or so to stay proficient. The more the better. Besides, it’s a fun sport, you’ll be surprised.

My wife and I strongly suggest you get the .22 conversion kit by Advantage Arms. www.advantagearms.com. In a few seconds, the kit enables you to switch the Glock from 9mm to .22.

A .22 also produces less recoil, so you can shoot many more rounds without getting tired. In any given session, fire two hundred .22, then twenty 9mm. That way, total cost per session, including range fee, shouldn’t be more than about $30.

So, after you have all the hardware and initial training, if you go to the range six times a year, your annual cost should not exceed $200.

My wife likes her chic leather quick-draw purse. When walking through a dark parking lot, it enables her to keep her hand on the weapon without anyone noticing. http://mygunpurses.com.

The gun, nightstand gun safe, purse, training, ear and eye protectors, conversion kit, cleaning kit, and enough ammo for the practice necessary to become responsible and effective — say, 2,000 rounds of .22 Remington Golden Bullet LRHP ammo (recommended for the conversion kit), and 200 rounds of 9mm — will cost perhaps $1,700, depending on what kind of package deal you can arrange with the seller. Shop around.

Thirty-nine states allow you to carry a concealed weapon, which is to say, 39 allow a woman to defend herself. Know your local laws, it should be part of your training.

Gun shops come in two types. The older kind is dark, dank, dirty and macho. It shouts, Men only!, preferably Neanderthals who haven’t bathed recently.

The newer kind is a cross between a high-end sporting goods store and a jewelry boutique, and may have a woman behind the counter. I haven’t noticed a difference in prices, and you will receive more help at type two. You also won’t need a special shampoo to wash the gun oil out of your hair.

For maximum effectiveness in an emergency, keep the gun loaded with Hornady Critical Defense, Winchester Supreme Elite, or Speer Gold Dot.

A final consideration. Studies reveal that in most cases, the defender’s life is saved…

The mere act of showing the gun is usually enough to frighten the attacker away.

But, in my opinion, body language is crucial. There is no substitute for confidence. A trembling hand, and a stance and facial expression that beg, Oh please don’t hurt me, are not as likely to yield a good outcome as those that growl, Believe it you piece of slime, I’m Annie Oakley, I know how to use this cannon and if you come any closer I will use it on you.

So, if you don’t want to be defenseless but you also don’t want to be forced to pull the trigger, the answer is training and practice — and practice and practice.

It’s better to live as a lion than a rabbit, and once a woman achieves the lion’s level of confidence, the self-esteem will suffuse all the rest of her life, from schoolroom to boardroom.

What would the world be like if a miracle happened and suddenly, overnight, all women were well trained and armed?

I think we’d see three months of carnage, then all the smart criminals would be reformed, the stupid ones would be dead, and for the rest of our lives violence against women would be almost unknown.

To end the war on women we must end the silence about it. This article is posted on the Public Access part of our web site. I hope you will pass it along. And please, learn to defend yourself, and encourage others to. You are priceless, and someone loves you very much.

[1] BOJ is an agency of the Department of Justice.

[2] Bureau of Justice web site, http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm

[3] A typical pistol bullet produces about 300 foot-pounds of force, while a 60 mph car produces about 400,000 foot-pounds.