VPC's Misconstrued Thoughts
Fact vs. Fiction:
The Violence Policy Center's Misconstrued Thoughts
(from NRA-ILA FAX ALERT dated 10/7/98)
They suggest NRA misrepresents crime against
women.
Nonsense. The NRA has always been an effective leader when it
comes to the issue of women and crime. Programs like Refuse to be a
Victim demonstrate the NRA's seriousness on the issue. The NRA has
also supported key pieces of legislation that specifically aid battered
women by providing spending for womenís shelters. Crimestrike -- a
division of the NRA has also aided in the prosecutions of domestic
violence offenders and has had a perfect record. The NRA has never
and will never belittle the tragic reality that is domestic
violence.
They say: Women are more often killed by men they know.
Actually, according to the FBI, among all female murder victims, 30%
were slain by husbands or boyfriends.
Also, it is a proven fact that domestic violence is a crime of
predictability -- not passion. In most situations where a woman is
killed by her husband or boyfriend, it usually is an escalation of
violence. In fact, more than half of spousal murderers have at
least one prior criminal conviction, and 70% of those convicted of other
violence against intimates have at least one prior criminal
conviction.
They suggest women are incapable of protecting themselves.
Fact: 2.5 million times a year, Americans use firearms to protect
themselves from violent crime. That is 3-5 times more often than
they are misused, and women constitute 46% of those who use firearms
defensively. In the vast majority of these cases a shot isn't even
fired. The mere presence of a firearm in the hands of potential
victim is usually enough to deter an attacker.
We also know that, according to Professor Gary Kleck (Point Blank,
1993), when compared to other means of self-defense against attack
including physical force, a knife, or even evasion, firearms result in
the lowest percentage of victim injuries. Hence, those who protect
themselves using a gun over any other form of defense are injured less
frequently in criminal attacks.