The right to bare arms.....for women only

Guns don't prevent violence they cause it.

Americans always suggest the solution to violence is more violence...

I thought this was going to be about vest tops and shaving ones pits. That might have produced a less one sided discussion.

More guns makes everyone less safe.

Maybe, as male violence is the problem, we should have some male curfew nights?

It might make them feel safer but they are not safer with a gun - far from it. We shouldn't make policies based on what people "feel" but on facts.

I thought your title was referring to this story: www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/14/india-college-cut-womens-sleeves-before-exam-cheating

Perceiving yourself to be safe is not the same as being safe.

Someone,somewhere,on MN linked to a documentary made in the US.They selected a variety of people and trained them,then put them in a mock gun attack situation.They were all hopeless - despite the training once they were scared they couldn't aim,or think strategically,or keep themselves safe while dealing with the threat.(even the guy who was keen and did target shooting)
The police who took part said they had to constantly reinforce and practice the skills or they lost the muscle memory and reflexes that meant they could react in a threat situation.
So,no - I wouldn't feel safer with a gun.

Can safety not also be a perception

Yes it can. But having guns IME makes people feel less safe.

They have a gun so their perception is based on the fact that everyone has a gun and everyone is likely to attack them.

I live in a really naice area, very low crime but people here panic if a stranger rings their door bell in a way they just don’t in the U.K.

I don’t have a gun but happily open my door and politely get rid of the cold caller.

My friend who does have a gun hides in her house behind the CCTV. (And her attitude is common)

Regardless of perception, American gun death stats prove categorically that having guns doesn’t make anyone safer.

but the 'feeling safer' is a dangerous illusion- not one that should be indulged

I hated 'The Power'!

But what about the trans women?!!!

Giving myself a

Definitely no guns. That would be as regressive a step as this whole GRA horror is proving to be.

However, I am glad that you have realised how frightening we can find men. Is it really such a surprise to you? Do you see why we don't want men in our spaces? Or why we don't want the great fat cuckoo that is transgender sitting in our nest?

I refuse to bear arms or bare my arms, cardigans all the way for me. And no guns.

You know how abusers ignore restraining orders telling them they must stay at least 100 metres away from their victims? I have this brilliant idea that they should be fitted with electric shock collars (like ankle monitors, but round the neck, and with the ability to give high voltage shocks) that would begin to give a light warning tingle when they reached the 100 metre limit, gradually increasing in strength until it would leave them convulsing on the ground if they came within touching distance of the person they have been ordered to stay away from.

The original idea was that victims would be given wrist units with big red buttons they could press to administer shocks to abusers who got too close, but on further consideration I thought it might be unedifying to see lots of blokes being chased down the street by chortling women gleefully poking away at red buttons, so the idea was updated to an automatic system.

If the legal system had been designed by women solutions like this would already be in use.

Thankfully I always seemed to live in parts of the Bible Belt and Midwest where guns were pretty rarely. I didn't know anyone who owned one until I was in high school and it was a friend's dad who was a police officer. One of my biggest fears growing up in the States was my mother getting a gun. It's still quite a scary idea to me.

I've never viewed guns as a source of personal safety. I mean, even though I sometimes joke that the heat spray I carry in my bag to deal with joint issues would really mess up anyone who tried to attack me - and make them smell for days - I don't think in an attack situation I'd be able to use it like that that well. It takes a lot of training and practice to use a weapon and/or tactic under that kind of pressure. I don't think guns are a good solution for most people.

I do think an open conversation on percieved and actual physical safety issues and how to work on helping to improve both.

Go look at countries that have low crime rates, especially for violent crime. For example, Monte Carlo, Japan and Singapore.

The USA legal system, their health care system, their education and culture, their economy - they dont work. there are better ways of managing all of those systems but they require a completely different culture and mind set.

Really, really stupid idea.

1. The US women's murder rate is above UK men's murder rate (because guns).

2. If all women can legally get guns, men can really easily get illegal guns if they get angry.

If the aim is to reduce violence a better idea would be to ban guns in the US

Bloody hell thats the last time I buy anything off Facebook.

Great to live with a man who insists on me not leaving him so that he can have continued access to a gun. No possible issues there.

Either the gun is loaded and accessible and therefore likely to be used against me accidentally or intentionally, or it's safely stored and not much use.

[Sits on hands not to mention 'who decides who's a woman'. Oopsy. ]

Pratchet Mon 14-May-18 18:17:17
Has anyone read the Power. Such a good book.

Was just about to post the same thing.

whatnow123 Strongly recommend you read the novel The Power by Naomi Alderton.

whatnow I live in Texas. I don’t feel safer knowing that half the women I know have guns in their handbags.

I don’t feel my children are safer than knowing there’s an armed policeman in their school.

IME the women with guns in their handbags don’t feel any safer than I do and I’m unarmed.

I’d go as far as to say that people with weapons actually feel less safe.

Do gun owning women in America feel safer? They probably do.

Yes I do, and I do not believe that’s misplaced.

If they do, it's a seriously misplaced feeling. They're simply more likely to get shot.

Do gun owning women in America feel safer? They probably do.

Whether they feel safer is irrelevant. Are they actually safer?

Women are still being raped and murdered in America, regardless of how safe they feel.