Todd Aiken has successfully been out done, but not by a Republican. This week, Coloradoan Democrat Joe Salazar said that women on college campuses do not need guns. Why? Because women could accidentally shoot someone they “feel” is going to rape them:
There are some gender inequities on college campuses. This is true. And universities have been faced with that situation for a long time. That’s why we have call boxes. It’s why we have safe zones. That’s why we have the whistles. Because you just don’t know who you’re gonna be shooting at. And you don’t know if you feel like you’re gonna be raped, or if you feel like someone’s been following you around, or if you feel like you’re in trouble, and when you may actually not be, that you pop out that gun and you pop… pop around at somebody.
Excuse me for being offended, but who is Joe Salazar to tell women that they don’t need more than a whistle to stop a rape? Dana Loesch with the Daily Caller parodied Joe Salazar’s comments perfectly:
You silly girls can’t be trusted to defend yourselves. Because, well, you know how you are. You can’t just go pop-popping around with your little guns because of your feelings.
Salazar seems to be buying into a 1950’s stereotype of womanhood in which ignorance and emotion rule a woman’s decisions. I know a lot of women who pack and carry, and they know that it is a serious responsibility.
Since his offensive statements garnered press attention, Salazar issued an inadequate apology:
“I’m sorry if I offended anyone. That was absolutely not my intention. We were having a public policy debate on whether or not guns make people safer on campus. I don’t believe they do. That was the point I was trying to make. If anyone thinks I’m not sensitive to the dangers women face, they’re wrong. I am a husband and father of two beautiful girls, and I’ve spent the last decade defending women’s rights as a civil rights attorney. Again, I’m deeply sorry if I offended anyone with my comments.”
I could care less if Salazar offends anyone, but I do care that he is trying to limit women’s ability to defend themselves to whistles and distant call boxes.