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Monday, November 16, 2009
Guns Discriminate Against Women
I remember that day, some years back, when Darcey came over to Toronto. We were all at some dive, whose name I've mercifully forgotten, and Antonia Zerbisias showed up. She was a good sport and all. Completely out to lunch though.
Poll after poll has shown that women, including rural women, overwhelmingly supported the long-gun registry.
Since it was introduced in the mid-'90s, the number of women killed by their rifle-wielding partners has dropped. But, even with the registry, one out of three femicide victims is still killed by a rifle, with country women the most vulnerable, according to Statistics Canada.
Who knows how many women are intimidated by the shotguns and rifles – 91 per cent of the (registered) non-restricted firearms in Canada – sitting in the gun rack?
Which is why, if a person is arrested for abusing his or her partner, police can search the domicile, seize weapons and ban the suspect from owning guns, at least until acquittal – although this is not always enforced, to sometimes tragic consequences.
Still, Parliament, dominated by men although the majority of Canada's citizens are female, shot down women in order to satisfy the gun lobby.
Oh, Zerb. You need to get out of Toronto. See the country. Meet some farmers. Them rednecks you read so much about. Perhaps also study some biology. An abusive husband doesn't need a rifle to terrorize his spouse, his fists work perfectly fine. Firearms are the great equalizer. An armed hundred pound woman is the equal of any brute twice her size. If you really want to help women who feel vulnerable, teach them how to defend themselves, and allow them tools to do so.
Posted by Richard Anderson on November 16, 2009 | Permalink
Comments
Pubis,
Didn't you read the passage you quoted? It says that since the registry "was introduced in the mid-'90s, the number of women killed by their rifle-wielding partners has dropped". You can huff all you want about the fact that murderous husbands could use any weapon they want and that women could use guns to protect themselves against these men, but the facts are that they don't. Without the guns handy, more women are alive. Maybe you are content to blame the dead women for not getting the gun out first. That would not be a surprise. But if the registry has saved lives, as you point out it has, then you are making the case for keeping it stronger.
Posted by: Fact Check | 2009-11-16 8:27:19 AM
PUBLIUS, good post. If more women knew how to use guns, even more lives would likely be saved than the gun registry is claimed to have saved.
Posted by: TM | 2009-11-16 10:09:56 AM
Fact Check said, "Without the guns handy, more women are alive." How do you know that these guns were not handy? Do you know that as a result of the registry guns have left the homes of gun owners? Is ownership up or down? What are the more complete statistics, I.E. ethnic breakdown, geographic breakdown, victim demographics,etc. As with most gun control discussions, proof of causality is impossible and left to speculation or intuition.
Posted by: John Chittick | 2009-11-16 10:39:46 AM
Right you are, John Chittick. Only the supporters of hard core feminism can claim this as fact without batting an eye. The Montreal shooting was a prime example in that the rabid feminists covered up the fact that the guy just happened to belong to a specific imported group that hated women. It had nothing to do with Canadian males but everything to do with Islamo-fascism. Of course they have never ceased milking the big lie for all it is worth.
I also question the so-called poll. I live in a rural area and have yet to meet a local woman supporting the registry. Furthermore, some of these women also belong to gun clubs and enjoy target shooting, something they do as well as any man.
Posted by: Alain | 2009-11-16 12:13:58 PM
The following is a joke:
I know when I plan to shoot my wife I stop because of a registration certificate! It's not the potential for a lifetime ban on firearms or life in prison. Certainly not. Of course the reduction couldn't be to the safety course and licensing program, it's clearly the registration certificate. In fact when I'm wielding my shotgun around the house, all she has to do is hold up the registration certificate and I stop.
End joke
In reality I would never threaten my wife, fists or firearms, and in reality she probably likes guns more than I do, and certainly hates the registry more than I do.
Posted by: Pete | 2009-11-16 2:28:28 PM
Fighting facts with a rant. Good job.
Posted by: hysperia | 2009-11-16 6:52:07 PM
Fact Check: those declining murder rates you and Zerbisias cite have actually been declining since the mid-1970's, nearly two decades before the registry came online. They are not due to the registry, which has had no detectable impact on crime rates whatsoever.
Posted by: rdelliott | 2009-11-16 6:59:35 PM
Every man, woman and child should be thoroughly educated, competent and confident with guns (and saws :). Lack of confidence and knowledge is not blissfull. Telling kids "no guns" only makes them uneducated and curious. I used to be scared of chainsaws until someone showed me there was nothing to be afraid of when used properly, and made me use it, ditto guns. What you don't know is what kills.
Posted by: Miss Necessity | 2009-11-17 8:42:15 PM
Why does Toronto have a gun violence problem?
Because it deserves it.
Posted by: Zebulon Pike | 2009-11-17 9:12:42 PM
I actually knew an abusive SOB, whose wife ended that abuse, with a rifle. He'd been an absolute monster for his entire life. She finally had enough, and was lucky enough to have a long gun handy.
I can't use his real name, so let's just call him Freddy Scott. His sisters convinced the police not to charge his widow with murder.
The flip side of the story is, if she hadn't killed him, he may have used the gun on her.
I think women feel uncomfortable, because men own the vast majority of firearms. Since not many women actually own firearms, they have little to lose from more gun control. They need to be reminded that men are still expected to defend them, when the chips are down.
Posted by: dp | 2009-11-17 10:06:40 PM
Factcheck
"Without the guns handy, more women are alive. "
Correlation does not equal causation. That's a fact you may want to re-check.
Posted by: h2o273kk9 | 2009-11-18 4:12:04 PM
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