Pistol Packin' Mamas

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

A young woman I know who lives in an urban setting, at least a community that is more urban than where I live, came home from work after dark a couple of years ago, parked her car in her enclosed garage, and went into the house where she encountered a pair of thieves who had been patiently awaiting her arrival.  The woman, who was known for being fairly self-reliant, nevertheless acted extremely shook-up in front of the home invaders and undoubtedly shed some tears.  She had no money in the house, she told them, but she had cashed her pay check and left her money in the car.  The desperadoes followed her into the garage and then stood by as she climbed into her vehicle to get her wages which she would then politely hand over.

The potential crime victim reached under the seat, or into the glove box, or somewhere in the car where she had supposedly stashed her money, but instead of coming up with an envelope of currency, she produced a pistol and began firing.  As the panicked thieves bolted for the door and fled into the night, one yelled in absolute panic, "The bitch has a gun!"

A few evenings later the young woman's friends threw a party in her honor.  The theme was "The bitch has a gun!"

The point of that story, and it is a true one, btw, or at least the point in my telling it here is to illustrate the new reality that women in America are becoming serious about arming themselves.   Gun ownership is no longer a primarily white male domain, and other groups are getting in on the action - especially women.

In a recently accelerating trend, nearly half of all new gun owners in America since 2019 have been women,   A national firearms survey conducted in 2021 reveals that 4 million men became gun owners between 2019 and 2021, and 3.5 million women also became gun owners during that same period of time, and 21% of those were Black women, a fact which made them the fastest growing segment of new gun owners in the country.

The times, it would seem, are definitely changing.

A primary reason that women are choosing to arm themselves is for self-defense.  Women have long suffered the wrath and violence of self-absorbed, dangerous men, and many believe it's time to fight back.  Women are also choosing to own firearms for a sense of empowerment and independence.  They want to feel the self-assurance that comes from knowing that they have a deadly weapon within reach.

Certain women, like certain men, would no doubt enjoy exercising their blood lust in the killing of God's creatures, and others would get a kick out of going to the range and shooting paper targets.

Some women also see the possession of a firearm as an equalizer against the size and physical power advantage that most men possess.  A bullet delivered with exacting precision can stop a raging bull, or a raging man, in his tracks.  Others want to have a gun available for a sense of protection at home.

(There are, of course, strong arguments that having a gun in the home poses increased risks to the people who live there, especially if there is already a history of violence in the home, and guns also put curious children at risk.   Some argue that guns in the home serve to attract thieves rather than repulse them because they are easy to fence and turn into quick cash.)

But, putting those arguments aside, the reality is that more women, and particularly women of color, are buying guns than ever before, and men with a history of violence need to beware that their crimes may result in quicker and more deadly retribution.

Having more guns in society is not a good thing, and the National Rifle Association's long-standing claim that more guns make us safer, is, of course, bullshit.  But if society is going to be awash in guns anyway, maybe it's for the best that all quarters are armed.    Perhaps then the craziness will take care of itself.

But until that happens, it would be prudent to think long and hard before dragging some unwilling woman into a dressing room of a high-end department store, whether she's your type or not, for purposes of sexual assault.  She might damned well be packing!