I ran across a story talking about  women who use guns to defend themselves, it was written by a woman. She seemed to be no big fan of the notion. Her complaints are that women are at greater risk from former partners and spouses than they are strangers. She feels gun rights groups only get the “Stand Your Ground” laws passed by emphasizing “strangers lurking in bushes”, and that since most of the attacks against women are from known people this is a false argument. She quotes Mary Ann Franks, the anti-gun law professor who wants you to take her karate classes instead, if this give you any idea about the author. She says guns are the weapons of choice for batterers, so she wants women armed with what? Hairspray? The website the story is on has helpfully placed a related story on the sidebar about “12 Facts That Show How Guns Make Domestic Violence Even Deadlier”. I’m thinking this web site reeks.

She does however, rightly point out that women have gone to prison for defending themselves against a violent attacker. I did an interview with one many years ago. It was when the case for Castle Doctrine was being heard in several states. One of the legislators said if anyone had ever gone to prison for defending themselves with a gun it was an “anomaly”. I heard this story from attorney and author Kevin Jamison who said he informed the legislator he called them “people”. This story got me to thinking about a case I had read about a woman who had gone to jail for defending herself with a gun. I wondered if I could find her, by now the Internet had come along. For some reason I remembered her name, and with some help and passed on messages got in touch with her. I won’t republish the whole interview but heres the Sheila’s Notes version, like Cliff’s Notes, only provided free here.

This was a woman who had a profession that was all about saving lives and intervening in a medical crisis. She attracted a stalker without even knowing it. He stalked her for a while before she even met him. He would break into her house, move things, move things in her yard, and she raised dogs. He killed twenty-one of them, twenty-one innocent dogs killed because this ass-wipe wanted to scare her. And he did. She did all the right things, called the sheriff, reported everything. They would come out and take pictures and that would be the end of it. One day he left her a note telling her he was coming that night. She called the Sheriff’s Department to let them know, to ask for help. They said they would have two deputies right up the street, so when he came, they could arrest him, or remove him. The stalker came, the deputies didn’t. He forced his way into her home, she RETREATED, she RETREATED the length of her house, 60 feet I believe she said. She RETREATED to the last room in her house, the bedroom, where she had an old shotgun. He followed her, he followed her the whole length, and when he had her corned in her bedroom, he pulled a knife on her. She had followed all the rules, she had called the Sheriff, she asked for help ahead of time, for a year and a half this man had been terrorizing her without consequences, and now he threatened her life. She was all alone. She grabbed an old shotgun and took aim, the first round was a misfire. He LAUGHED at her and advanced, he said “What are you going to do? Shoot me?” She tried again, at first she didn’t think the second shell was going to fire, but it did. She thought she missed him, he turned around and left, going toward the end of the hall, where he knelt down, and dropped the knife. Then he continued on out of the house, with her following at a distance. She was telling him to lay down & curl up in a ball. He finally collapsed and she immediately called the Sheriff’s Department and THEN the deputies came.

From there it’s a tale of corruption, evidence disappeared, people that knew what was going on wouldn’t talk. Why? Oh, did I forget to mention the stalker was the sheriff’s nephew? Sorry, is that germane? She went to prison, for six years. Six long years for a woman who had dedicated her life to saving lives. The author of the story would say this is a failure of stand your ground laws, and that women having guns isn’t helpful because she went to jail. I think it is too, because she should never have gone to jail, though perhaps the sheriff that covered for his nephew should have.

We’ve heard of the Colorado Demoncratic state Senator Evie Hudak who told a rape victim, Amanda Collins:

that a gun would be useless in her defense because “statistics are not on your side, even if you had a gun.” Senator Hudak tells Ms. Collins in so many words that there is nothing a female can do during a rape except be a victim. She even states that martial arts are a useless pursuit as a women are likely to be overpowered anyway.

So there Mary Ann Franks, your class is always useless as well. Katie Pavlich wrote about the victim, Amanda Collins who had a concealed carry license when she was raped. She of course wasn’t carrying when it happened because she was in a “gun free zone” a campus. She was within 50 feet of the campus police department. She had left with a large group of people, and was a second degree black belt and was in a “safe zone” whatever the heck that means. She was raped.

At the hearing another Colorado Demoncrat, Rep. Joe Salazar’s helpfully commented about call boxes and rape whistles being sufficient self defense for women on campus, while another Demoncratic Rep. offered ballpoint pens should be used to defend against a attacker with a gun. The Colorado legislature passed four more gun control bills to disarm victims.

Amanda followed all the rules too.

So I was thinking about this story, and the women who have gone to jail for using a gun to defend themselves, legislators that condemn women to being defenseless victims, the media who lie regularly about self defense stories and writers who twist facts to suit their agenda and I’ve had a glorious idea. I had lunch with a good friend today and while we were talking she commented about someone having to walk a mile in someone else’s moccasins. BINGO.

I have an innovative plan to help sort these thorny issues out. For every legislator that wants to legislate women into defenselessness, for ever media moron, for ever prosecutor that dislikes guns and so goes after someone who uses one to defend herself, they get a minimum one hour virtual reality experience. At some point, they are taken to the best virtual reality technology center and given a one hour experience to allow them to experience what they have legislated others to, what they have presented to the public as truth, knowing it was a twisted lie. For ever celebrity that has sanctimoniously lectured how evil guns are while making money in action movies, virtual reality gets to slap them upside the head. Now if I was really evil? I would figure out a way to do it without them knowing they were dealing with virtual reality. Then the terror, the helplessness, the consequences really will have the impact on the elite decision makers and those that have paid protection. But that would be mean wouldn’t it? Almost as mean as telling women rape whistles, call boxes and telling your attacker you have a disease or are menstruating will keep you safe.

Pick one, your call.