Today’s world can be scary place. Crime in this country continues to be an ongoing threat to law-abiding citizens and this nation’s collective peace-of mind. According to the website DisasterCenter.com, 13 million Americans are victims of violent crime a year, that’s 5% of our total population. Violence against women in this country is a sorrowful part of that epidemic we face every day. While a majority of violence is perpetrated by men against men, the staggering numbers of violent attacks against the fairer sex demands attention and answers. In the year 2000 alone, over 90,000 rapes were committed against women. As a passionate supporter of the 2nd Amendment, I felt a calling to share the following information not in any attempt to frighten or shock, or to further any political agenda, but to inform and educate and possibly persuade you to think about a very real and tangible means of fighting crime that millions of women around this country are implementing on a daily basis. Firearms. And, more specifically, the use of concealed weapons. Between 1992 and 1994, the number of violent incidents involving a female victim averaged 4.6 million a year--nearly 14 million crimes during the 3-year period. In 1995, women were about two-thirds as likely as men to be victims of violence. In 1994 females represented 23% of all known homicide victims in the United States. Nine out of 10 female victims were murdered by males. For rape, robbery, and assault in 1992-93, female victims experienced 7 times as many incidents of violence by an intimate (present and former spouses, boyfriends, and girlfriends) as male victims. According to FeministsforFirearms.com, between 1 in 4 and 1 in 6 women will be raped during their lifetimes. For example, in a class this size with 15 ladies, that would be 2 or 3 of you. And, according to a study done by the National Bureau of Justice, 3% of all college women have experienced a completed or attempted rape in the current college year. What a tragedy. We all wish that there was a way to control and decrease these numbers, and we all have our suggestions: stiffer punishment for violent criminals, more police and security on the streets, more jails, and criminal rehabilitation. But as lucrative and well-intended as many of these suggestions might be, they do not put any solid tools in women’s hands with which to protect themselves. If all of these ideas were implemented tomorrow, women across this nation would still be forced to rely on some other entity, the government, a police force, or the campus security staff for their own personal safety. I think it’s time we helped women in this country help themselves by giving them a tangible tool with which to defend themselves against violent attack, guns being that tool. As I mentioned earlier the numbers tell the story. Numbers don’t lie and as much as we’d like to turn and forget about these stats, they are real and these crimes do take place among us on a daily basis. After all anyone with half a brain can tell you that women are both socially and physically more prone to be victims of violent attack than are men. Body build, size and physical constitution put most women at a disadvantage when faced by a male attacker, especially if a weapon is present. In regards to shear force and size, men have the upper hand. And men are responsible for 9 out of 10 of the murders of women along with a majority of the countless rapes and domestic assaults that take place around our nation. So what can women do to even the playing field? Let’s consider a little scenario. Say a 125 lb. woman is walking home from a late night at work and is confronted by a 250 pound man, newly paroled and fresh from pumping iron in one of our fine resorts, I mean prison facilities. Now how many of you would say that that young lady has any chance of overpowering her assailant? Add a weapon such as a knife, club, or gun as happens in 24% of all attacks against women, and she’s really in a fix. Now take the same two people. Only this time the 125 lb. woman has a properly licensed, well-maintained 9 millimeter handgun in her purse and is fresh from the firing range. I dare say the physical inequalities become much less of a factor. A true story brings this scenario to life. Debra Collins became a believer in the Second Amendment the night her abusive husband broke into her mother's house and threatened to kill her. She grabbed no less than a shotgun and held him at bay until the police arrived. She said: "I had been beaten waiting for the police before. “I've learned that a gun is the only thing that will level the playing field for a woman who's being attacked.” A quote on the website for the organization Feminists for Firearms, says it best, “God made men and women, Samuel Colt made them equal.” Those in favor of gun control measures would like you to believe that concealed weapons and gun ownership by both men and women cause crime and violence, creating a wild-west atmosphere complete with shootouts in the streets, when in reality, it’s the opposite. According to the National Self Defense Survey conducted by Florida State University criminologists in 1994, the rate of Defensive Gun Uses can be projected nationwide to approximately 2.5 million per year -- one Defensive Gun Use every 13 seconds. In 83.5% of these successful gun defenses, the attacker either threatened or used force first -- disproving the myth that having a gun available for defense wouldn't make any difference. In 91.7% of these incidents the defensive use of a gun did not wound or kill the criminal attacker. In 73.4% of these gun-defense incidents, the attacker was a stranger to the intended victim. This disproves the myth that a gun kept for defense will most likely be used against a family member or loved-one. In over half of these gun defense incidents, the defender was facing two or more attackers -- and three or more attackers in over a quarter of these cases. (No means of defense other than a firearm -- martial arts, pepper spray, or stun guns -- gives a potential victim a decent chance of getting away uninjured when facing multiple attackers.) In 79.7% of these gun defenses, the defender used a concealable handgun. This data comes from the research of Professor Gary Kleck, a member of the ACLU, Amnesty International, and Common Cause. He is a lifelong Democrat. This man is definitely not a “pro-self defense” promoter, at least not until he did his research. He set out to prove gun control was needed, but after more than 20 years of research came to the conclusion that gun control would endanger the safety of citizens.” So it seems painfully clear to me and hopefully many of you that the responsible ownership and use of a firearm, whether the trigger is pulled or not, is extremely useful in deterring attackers and protecting oneself and loved ones from attack. And for those of you with any doubts, here are a couple of quick stories taken from the website The Armed Citizen: A. D. Parker, 83, shot and killed an armed burglar who pried open the back door of his home in Hunters Point (CA) and tried to enter his bedroom. Intruder Michael Moore, 49, a convicted felon, broke in armed with a crowbar and threatened Parker, who was armed with an old gun that hadn't been oiled or fired for thirty years. He used it. Merlann Bechtel watched the beginning of a robbery on video surveillance in the Pennsylvania jewelry store where she worked. She then engaged in a gun battle with the robbers, finally shooting the ringleader in the stomach. The suspects fled. Stephon Green and several other men invaded the home of Alabama resident, Curtis Williams, who walks with a cane because of a spinal injury. They began beating him, kicking him in the groin and pistol whipping him. They fled when Williams' mother screamed, but later returned. This time Williams was armed and when Green refusing to stop, Williams, fearing for his life-shot him to death. An 83-year-old man, a petite lady jeweler, and a disabled homeowner, all up against hardened criminals who obviously didn’t understand the potent strength found in the use of a firearm. Now I would defy anyone to come up with another option these people had to protect themselves other than the use of deadly force? Maybe Mr. Williams should have used his cane as a weapon or 83 year-old A.D. Parker put some judo moves on his assailant. And this leads me to another point. The blatant futility that is the modern feminist attempt to empower and protect women. I’m sorry, but I’ve read the Vagina Monologues and no-where does it explain to a woman how to stop an actual rape attempt. The book in fact glorifies the rape of a 16-year-old girl by an older woman. And while taking part in empowerment workshops and bonding with other women as sisters is meaningful, it won’t stop an enraged ex-husband. Police officers take precious time to get to the scene and often the emergency lines are backed up with callers, placing the life and safety of women at risk as she waits for the operator to get to her call. And while self-defense classes can be useful, why let your attacker get that close? According to a study by the Independent Women’s Forum, approximately 65 to 80 million American’s own guns. An estimated 17 million are women. It seems that those 17 million are in agreement with me, guns work. The answer to this epidemic we face is simple: Honest, law abiding women being trained in the ownership and use of a legal firearm. We have a precious right found in the 2nd Amendment and, as is the case in over 2 million defensive firearm uses annually, a firearm is the great equalizer, giving power to the powerless, an upper-hand to those in danger and peace of mind in a tight spot. In closing, we’ve looked at the numbers proving the very real threat to women’s safety, the proof that gun ownership and use can and does prevent attack and crime, and seen how, in many situations, a firearm is one’s only way out without injury. There are many who will tell you that more guns on the street mean more crime, when in fact, more guns in the hands of responsible citizens who look out for themselves and others, works to everyone’s benefit, especially if you’re a woman. It all boils down to common sense, criminals will always find a way to secure a weapon, without the proper means of self defense, such as a firearm, the only one’s at risk are those of us who refuse to take the steps necessary to protect ourselves. It is my hope that my comments have evoked some thought from the women in this class, in regards to a very simple, effective way to stop crime from happening to you. The last thing we need in this country is increased crime against our Mothers, sisters, wives and girlfriends. The responsible use of a gun can function as a safety net for women in this country and give peace of mind to the men who care about them.