While trying to explain why women in college don’t need firearms for self-defense on campus, Colorado state Rep. Joe Salazar said even if women feel like they might be raped, their suspected attacker might not actually have intent to rape. So please, put the guns away ladies.
“It’s why we have call boxes, it’s why we have safe zones, it’s why we have the whistles. Because you just don’t know who you’re gonna be shooting at,” he said during a legislative hearing. “And you don’t know if you feel like you’re gonna be raped, or if you feel like someone’s been following you around or if you feel like you’re in trouble and when you may actually not be, that you pop out that gun and you pop — pop a round at somebody.”
The flaws in Salazar’s argument are obvious. No gun-free zone has stopped a deranged killer, just like a “safe zone” wouldn’t stop a rapist from assaulting a woman.
Watch the video of Salazar’s remarks,
[youtube]http://youtu.be/jCvng-jSp60[/youtube]
Salazar has since apologized if he offended anyone with his remarks. However, he still maintains that guns don’t make people safer on campus.
“I’m sorry if I offended anyone. That was absolutely not my intention,” Salazar said, according toKDVR-TV. “We were having a public policy debate on whether or not guns makes people safer on campus. I don’t believe they do. That was the point I was trying to make. If anyone thinks I’m not sensitive to the dangers women face, they’re wrong.”
“I am a husband and father of two beautiful girls, and I’ve spent the last decade defending women’s rights as a civil rights attorney. Again, I’m deeply sorry if I offended anyone with my comments,” he added.
The folks over at RedState provide some self-defense statistics that are relevant to the issue:
In the vast majority of those self-defense cases, the citizen will only brandish the gun or fire a warning shot.
In less than 8% of those self-defense cases will the citizen will even wound his attacker.
Over 1.9 million of those self-defense cases involve handguns.
As many as 500,000 of those self-defense cases occur away from home.
Almost 10% of those self-defense cases are women defending themselves against sexual assault or abuse.
In somewhat related news, the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs (the same state that Salazar represents) is offering some advice to students who may get attacked on campus, at home or on the road. You can “tell your attacker that you have a disease or are menstruating,” vomit or urinate or you can kick off your shoes and run away.
Here’s the full list:
1. Be realistic about your ability to protect yourself.
2. Your instinct may be to scream, go ahead! It may startle your attacker and give you an opportunity to run away.
3. Kick off your shoes if you have time and can’t run in them.
4. Don’t take time to look back; just get away.
5. If your life is in danger, passive resistance may be your best defense.
6. Tell your attacker that you have a disease or are menstruating.
7. Vomiting or urinating may also convince the attacker to leave you alone.
8. Yelling, hitting or biting may give you a chance to escape, do it!
9. Understand that some actions on your part might lead to more harm.
10. Remember, every emergency situation is different. Only you can decide which action is most appropriate.
None of the University of Colorado’s advice mentions legally obtaining a firearm and the necessary training, even if just for home defense.
