TX:Guns, Women, and How We Protect Ourselves From Violence

As you probably know by now, Kansas City Chiefs player Jovan Belcher used a gun to kill his girlfriend Kasandra Perkins and himself, leaving behind a 3 month old daughter. Anti gun advocates are always quick to jump on these kind of tragedies to make their case against gun ownership. Bob Costa took time at the halftime of the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys game last night to pontificate using the same boring nonsensical arguments, the most ridiculous being that if guns were just restricted, and if Jovan had not had a gun that morning, he and his girlfriend would still be alive. A completely absurd notion. People who want to kill other people rarely obey gun laws. See the city of Washington D.C. or the city of Chicago. Strict gun laws only keep guns from law abiding citizens.

I think what makes me frustrated by the discussion that is happening now is that we are ignoring what was probably escalating domestic violence and/or mental illness. Instead people like Costa are focusing on the weapon Jovan used to kill his girlfriend. It could have easily been his fists, or a knife (Ask O.J. Simpson about that). A gun is not necessary to kill. But many many times a gun is necessary to save one’s life. Especially when you are woman being attacked by a much stronger man.

Let me take you on a journey. As many of you know, I used to be a Democrat. I was raised in a political home of Democrats. I was fairly liberal when I was young. My father and brothers hunted, and my Dad took me on a couple of hunts, but I hated them. I was (and still am) an animal lover. I had no desire to kill animals. So, my Dad took me out to the country to shoot cans off fences, so I could learn to shoot. But as soon as I left home to go to college, I never saw another gun. I disliked the idea of guns. Fast forward many years and I am a young mother. One of the biggest fights my husband and I ever had was when he brought to our house his hunting guns from his childhood home. He had hidden them in the back of a closet, and I found them. I had a fit. I didn’t want guns in the house. We had small children. We compromised with him buying a gun safe. But I still wasn’t happy.

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