McPherson: The Weaker Sex?

When is it okay to patronize women as the weaker sex? Never. Unless you’re a “progressive” – and especially if done in conjunction with an attack on people’s right to protect themselves.

Speaking before Florida’s Higher Education Committee, University of Miami law professor Mary Anne Franks told legislators that a weapon would be of no use to a potential female victim of a sexual assault “[u]nless [she] is going out on a date with her hand on a gun.”

You know, because women are silly, helpless little creatures that cannot be trusted to act properly or effectively in a stressful situation. Except for this lady and this lady, of course.

Franks says that even well-trained members of the military and police “struggle to use [firearms] effectively and accurately,” so there’s no point in allowing college and university students who have concealed pistol licenses to carry their handguns on Florida campuses so they can defend themselves against sexual attack, physical assault, or a rampaging murderer. Because those “gun free” zones work so well, and this, this, this, this, this, this and numerous other similar events never happened.

Ms. Franks claimed that “guns escalate aggression,” and so have no value in a defensive situation. Which is why this never happened either. Or this. In fact, in the vast majority of defensive gun uses – over 99 percent of them – no shots are fired because good guys packing heat are almost exclusively the polar opposite of the trigger-happy incompetents Franks and her “progressive” allies would have us believe. Award-winning criminological research from Florida State’s Gary Kleck reveals that these types of incidents happen all the time.

Another citizen who testified before the Committee, Shayna Lopez-Rivas, a student at Florida State, said she was sexually assaulted on campus and wants to be able to protect herself in the future. “Don’t allow me to be raped again,” she pleaded. Ms. Franks says Lopez-Rivas needs to stop fooling herself – it’s better to urinate on yourself than resist. Wouldn’t want to cause a fuss now, would we dear?

Fortunately the Committee voted 5-3 in favor of the bill allowing campus carry, which goes now to another committee before a full vote. But Ms. Franks’ testimony is nevertheless quite instructive.

Like slave-owners, modern ”progressives” suffer from a form of plantation-think. Master will take care of everything – including food, clothing, shelter, healthcare, and especially security – and anyone straying from the boundaries of the estate needs to be reminded of their utter helplessness. Nothing so threatens the fragile construction of this sad little fantasy than the image of individuals taking responsibility for themselves; they would rather people suffer degradation – even death – than act with the moral certitude that comes with knowing that we are responsible for ourselves. For them, dead and raped bodies are the necessary price for maintaining the lie that only through the state can salvation and safety be had.