A Peaceful Woman Explains Why she Carries a Gun

In the article “Why One Women Carries a Pistol” by Linda M. Hasselstrom, Hasselstrom is a woman on a mission. She strongly believes women should carry pistols to defend themselves from being attacked or raped. Hasselstrom learned that any female around the age of twelve can expect to be criminally assaulted, and women around the age of thirty have a fifty-fifty chance of being raped, robbed or attacked. The percentage in guns purchased by women went up and they even modified the weapons to be lighter and smaller so women can

Women need to give up the notion that they are inherently vulnerable and passive victims of attacks by strangers and instead assume primary responsibility for their safety by becoming strong and potentially lethal. This is Leslie Marmon Silko’s dominant idea in her essay “In the Combat Zone.” The author draws attention to the vulnerability felt by the majority of women and goes on to make a case for guns and how it provides women with confidence and the power to fend off attackers or would-be attackers. The author’s stance on this subject is quite predictable considering her background and upbringing. She was raised in an environment where children were given responsibilities at an early age. Therefore, it is no surprise that at age seven her father armed and trained her on how to safely handle guns and she was equally saddled with the responsibility of her safety. Her upbringing is however not reflective of the larger population of women in the United States. While the use of guns for self-defence might come across as a fair argument at first glance, a critical examination of the author’s suggestion would expose some short-comings to her argument.

In the article “A peaceful Woman Explains Why She Carriers a Gun,” the author Linda M. Hasselstrom has a credible argument for carrying a gun. Hasselstrom has a solid ethical appeal and her argument had logic based on her many dangerous personal experiences. Although her article is credible, she uses many fallacies to make it seem that if women have a gun they can protect themselves from men.

Growing up I have always been told that my grades are important. School is my first priority and I believe that my grades along with other factors determine my future. Although my grades are not perfect, the mistakes that I have made on tests and in class have taught me to push myself to new heights because I am capable of achieving whatever challenges are thrown at me. If my friends invited me to go out on a school night, I wouldn’t go because I know that if I stay up late it would affect my ability to learn. Instead of going out, I would complete my homework and study for any upcoming tests. Besides grades, the SAT and the ACT are major contributors to my future. When I took the PSAT, I made sure that I went to bed early and was on time for the test because even though it was a practice exam, it showed what I needed to improve on for the real test. When I received my results I began preparing for the SAT that I’m taking in October. I purchased books that are full of practice exams and I have been tutored because I was not completely satisfied with my scores from the PSAT. Scholarship is extremely crucial because it shows not only how smart a person is, but also their work ethic.

Now days world is not safe. According to the CDC, “non-contact unwanted sexual experiences” are the most prevalent form of sexual violence in the Unites States. Every 2 minutes, someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted. According to the online studies by Stop Street Harassment, 99% of respondents said that they had been harassed at least a few times. “A Peaceful Woman Explains Why She Carries a Gun” by Linda Hasselstrom exemplifies a use of having a gun for protection as a last resort. Hasselstrom was justified for her need to own a gun as she wanted to be protected, safe and have a peace of mind.

Everyone has to make choices in their life. Some are everyday choices, like what to eat or drink. Others are more critical, like choosing a job. Important decisions take time to comprehend. Like with me, the decision to go to college was the most critical choice in my life and for my future, and I will never regret it. Going to college is important because it helps me find a job, it expands my knowledge, and it is a wonderful experience.

The most common reason why people argue that they need to have a gun is for safety, so they can protect themselves against burglars. If a burglar would come into your house, you would have a better chance defending yourself and your family with a gun, than if you did not have a gun. The number of concealed weapon owners is at an all time high. In comparison the number of homicides had drastically decreased alongside the growing rate of legal concealed weapons. This number had been nearly cut in half in the past 20 years(Goldberg).

Everyday, the biased news media reports another mass shooting. The media reports the cases of “police brutality” and the media reports the tragic accidents. The media doesn’t report the research by David Burnett and Clayton Cramer who track incidents of defensive gun use. The stories include women fighting off would be rapists and senior citizens protecting themselves from robbers. They are stories that prevent violent crimes from occurring, for they are stories that save lives.

Dr. Roth also notes that “there may be some self-defense benefit: Victims who defended themselves with guns were less likely to report being injured than those who either defended themselves by other means or took no self-protective measures at all.” It is understandable that when one uses firearms against an intruder or a robber, they are afraid to report their injuries to the police even though it was used for self-defense. Dr. Roth also proves his statements by giving statistics, “While 33 percent of all surviving robbery victims were injured, only 25 percent of those who offered no resistance and 17 percent of those who defended themselves with guns were injured. For surviving assault victims, the corresponding injury rates were, respectively, 30 percent, 27 percent, and 12 percent.”

“Mental Health Reporting.” Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence,

To suggest guns as a means of self-defense is sometimes criticized as playing unfairly on emotions, and indeed for many there may never come a time that they would imagine using one. But then, it is largely because of

With Hasselstroms pathos writing she uses dramatic word choice and heartfelt analogies that drive home the idea of how wrong these situations, that happen too often, are. Hasselstrom opens with explaining how where she lives “is often too exposed to offer hiding places” (354) to show how she, and others have to hide to stay safe and there's just no room for that. By opening with her setting it gives a sense of humanity to Hasselstroms writing that makes her seem more like the average folk and easier to connect to and relate to. Also, connecting the childish anecdote of “hiding places” with a strong connotation of being attacked, her play on words helps the reader fully divulge themselves into this piece of writing. Hasselstrom continues to explain that after she got her gun that “the pistol just changed the balance of power” creating wonderful imagery of the tables being turned and Hasselstrom finally feeling safe in her own town, home and shoes. This further relates to pathos in her writing in the sense that everyone can clearly paint the picture in their minds of the power only being shifted when a deadly weapon is in place. Hasselstrom concludes her passage and her pathos with saying, “the pacifist inside me will be saddened if the only way women can achieve equality is by carrying weapons” (358). With this comment not only is Hasselstrom pointing out her personal views, gaining wide support, she is also pointing out her own controversy relating this subject to every person to gain full coverage and support. By doing this, she continues to strive using pathos to grasp the heartstrings of every person who believes in a world where equality is actually

They begin by trying to refute the idea of the prevention of sexual assault due to concealed carry; they provide data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), which reveals that “women almost never successfully fend off a would-be rapist with a firearm” (Defilippis & Hughes). Further data shows that since the passing of concealed carry legislation, in some states, the rate of rape increased, whereas nationwide assaults have been decreasing each year. The authors admit that although this doesn’t prove that concealed carry increases rape crimes, it does however refute the idea that concealed carry prevent sexual

More gun control laws are needed to protect women from domestic abusers and stalkers. Five women are killed with firearms consistently in the United States. A lady 's danger of being killed increments 500% if a weapon is available amid a local question. Amid the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, 5,364 US warriors were murdered in real life between Oct. 7, 2001 and Jan. 28, 2015; somewhere around 2001 and 2012 6,410 ladies were slaughtered with a firearm by a close accomplice in the United States. A 2003 investigation of 23 crowded high-pay nations found that 86% of ladies killed by guns were in the United States and American ladies are 11.4 times more inclined to be the casualties of firearm crimes 57% of mass shootings included aggressive behavior at home. For instance, the 2011 mass shooting at a Seal Beach, CA hair salon supposedly started in view of the shooter 's guardianship fight with his ex who was a hairdresser at the salon. 31 states don 't forbid indicted offense stalkers from owning weapons and 41 states don 't compel sentenced local abusers from surrendering firearms they as of now own.76% of ladies killed and 85% of ladies who survived a murder endeavor by a private accomplice were stalked in the year prior to the murder or murder endeavor.

Second amendment rights are a controversial subject, but in her article, “A Peaceful Woman Explains Why She Carries a Gun,” Linda M. Hasselstrom explains why those rights are important to her. Hasselstrom uses logos, pathos, and ethos to entertain readers and to inform them of why she carries a gun.