This is so offensive in so many ways, I don't know where to begin. During Houston's NRA Conference last week, a vendor was promoting shooting targets. One target looked so much like President Obama, it had to be taken off display. However the one 'token' female target called 'Ex', to represent an ex-girlfriend or ex-wife, that bleeds when you shoot her, was allowed to stay. It apparently met the NRA decency guidelines.
Elisabeth Plank from Policymic shares her views and very good research information:
"I'm not even sure how to begin unpacking this, so let me start with some stats. Men's violence against women is not a small pickle, it's a huge problem. Not just all over the world and in every society, but particularly here in the United States where" domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women — more than car accidents, muggings, and rapes combined." One third of female murder victims are killed by an intimate partner.
Gun violence is a gendered issue since it impacts women and men in very different ways. Because women are more vulnerable to violence within the home than men (and men are most often the perpetrators of violence against women), the presence of a gun makes females less safe, not more. How do we know? A woman's likelihood of a violent death within the home actually increases by 270% when a gun is kept inside the house. Homicide figures don't lie. Having a gun within their possession didn't protect women from murder. In fact, it accurately predicted their higher likelihood of death.
against women. Let's show how guns can be used for revenge, for humor, for sport and let's show how guns can be used for murder against women."
Every day, at least three women are killed by an intimate partner in the US alone.
Thank you, Elizabeth. You said it better than I would. If I were to write more now, given my state of anger and outrage, I doubt my choice of words would get past this, or most site's obscenity 'guidelines' --and I wanted to get the story out.
I am grateful the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was signed into law. There are women's right's organizations like UniteWomen.org who have campaigns protesting violence against women and who recently began a campaign called, Unite Against Rape. And I'm grateful for sites like Women's Health.gov that give information links and helplines for women who need help and don't know where to find it. Through these groups and articles, we build awareness and together find ways to combat violence against women.
If you feel you're in danger, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline and get help: 1-800-799-SAFE