Chris, thanks for the compliment. As for the "woman" part, I understand what you're saying, but I put that in there deliberately. One general conception, true or not, is that it's mostly men who are interested in guns. Another general conception that follows from it, again true or not, is that men can defend themselves against other men. Women rarely get the attention they are due in this discussion; when it happens, it's usually Sarah Brady or the hundredth-of-a-million moms marchers.
Which leads me to a question that may or may not be useful but which I always find relevant: "Predators in the animal world usually attack prey that is weaker, such as the young, the sick, and the less physically able. They do so logically because the risk to themselves is much smaller. Why would anyone think that human predators would behave differently?" And therein lies the particular vulnerability of women, because most human predators are men, they are almost always stronger than their female victims, and they can commit the especially brutal act of rape upon women.
And one more: "If you don't have both the RIGHT and the MEANS to defend yourself, how will any of your other rights be valid if you're not able or alive to exercise them?"
