A Question For Gabby

Gabby Giffords, the former congresswoman turned gun control advocate, is currently conducting a campaign that she calls the “Protect All Women” tour.

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Former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords sat down with state and national leaders Saturday for a roundtable discussion on solutions to protect women from gun violence.

Giffords’ organization that she created earlier this year, the Protect All Women Leadership Network, hosted the fifth day of her Protect All Women tour in Tempe at the O’Connor House.

Giffords is in the midst of traveling to nine states in nine days, also visiting Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington.

“We can lead the way,” said Giffords in her speech before opening up the discussion. “We stand for common sense. … We stand for responsibility. We can change our laws. We can win elections. Please join your voice with mine.”

Giffords says that she wants to focus on “gun violence” that affects women.

Only “gun violence.” How oddly specific.

She doesn’t seem nearly as concerned about the far more common verbal abuse of women, or the far more common physical violence committed against women committed using hands and feet.

She isn’t campaigning against knife violence against women, or blunt object violence against women, and doesn’t seem concerned at all about the 830,000 cases of domestic violence committed by women against men every year. Guys and girls, if you’re being abused but aren’t being shot at, you aren’t on Gabby’s radar.

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No, Giffords has a laser-like focus on citizen disarmament.

Of course, we can somewhat understand her position of wanting to disarm as many people as possible. Giffords was nearly killed by a young man with severe mental illness who got his hands on a firearm and attempted to assassinate her. The shot fired into her head nearly killed her, did destroy a promising political career, and has diminished her physically and emotionally, leaving her with permanent brain damage and significant physical impairments.  Perhaps, under those conditions, many of us would chose to scapegoat the object used against us instead of the pathetic person responsible for our torment.

But let’s make no mistake: Gabby Giffords isn’t about saving lives.

“Gun violence” is just a fabricated term. Gun violence against women is just a marketing angle, designed to prey upon emotion.

If Giffords actually wanted to save lives, she’d advocate for more women to receive firearms training, for more women to own guns, and for more women to get carry concealed carry permits to defend their lives and the lives of their children.

There are seven dead women in northwestern Indiana who likely would have loved the opportunity to defend themselves against a recently-apprehended and as-yet-unnamed serial killer who strangled them to death.

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The harsh reality is that the average man is taller, heavier, stronger, and has much more muscle mass than the average woman. In a fair fight, the average woman is going to lose to the average man far more times than she will be able to win. When a violent man arms himself—with any weapon—the odds of an average, unarmed woman prevailing becomes almost insurmountable.

A responsible woman will make the choice to arm herself with a firearm for the defense of herself or her children, avail herself of training, and develop the mental attitude that she will not be a victim.

I don’t begrudge Gabby Giffords her newfound love of gun control. I hear it pays well.

But be honest, Gabby, and answer me a simple question: Isn’t a trained and armed woman in much better control of her destiny, and much more likely to survive a violent confrontation with any aggressor than one who simply holds up empty hands and screams in fear?

You know the answer, Gabby.

You just don’t want to admit it.

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