Late last week, several women, including survivors of domestic violence, spoke in a congressional hearing about how gun control laws rob women of their right to self-defense.
The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance hosted the hearing titled, “Second Amendment Rights Empower Women’s Rights.”
“Female firearm ownership continues to grow in the United States,” committee Chairman Andy Biggs (R-AZ) said. “Women are turning to themselves to be their own first responders.”
Shirley Watral, the state director of the Florida Women For Gun Rights Organization, is a domestic violence survivor and professional firearms instructor. In the hearing, she shared how her views on gun ownership changed after how the man she was in love with kidnapped her and tortured her for 15 hours (via Judiciary.House.gov):
Attempts I made to escape were met with beatings. I was no match for his size and strength. I was forced to stay seated or kneeling on the floor of the master bedroom. As the hours went by, I found no way out. I thought my salvation came when he brought out a gun and set it on the bed. Hours prior to this, no one heard my screams or came to my rescue. I saw the gun as my way to freedom. I could either use it to defend myself or get a shot off that the neighbors would hear.
Lack of knowledge of the fundamentals of a firearm were a disadvantage for me. My only goal was to get to the gun and press the trigger. I lunged for it and pressed the trigger to only hear myself screaming. It was like having the wind knocked out of me. The gun did not go off. I had lost my freedom in the blink of an eye, and now I lost my will to fight to regain it. I was defeated. I told him I give up and will do whatever he wants. He must have believed he had won and had control over me, so he let me go.
After surviving the beating, the biting, the whiplash from being thrown around by my hair, I took actions I believed would keep me safe. The restraining order I got did not stop him from contacting me and stalking me. I moved into a gated community, which did not stop him from gaining access and finding out where I lived. These things did nothing more than give me a false sense of security, just like gun-free zones and gun control laws. They are an illusion of safety.
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"We need to stop penalizing responsible Americans, and punish the killers and criminals that are making our communities dangerous."
— House Judiciary GOP 🎄 (@JudiciaryGOP) December 13, 2023
Watch Shirley Watral, a domestic violence survivor and the State Director for Florida at the Women for Gun Rights Organization, share her story. pic.twitter.com/X6vkF8m34z
Watral added that soft-on-crime policies have allowed repeat offenders to walk free (via Judiciary.House.gov):
I get frustrated when I see prosecutors reduce or drop charges, and judges give minimal sentences and put repeat offenders on the street making communities unsafe. Within the legal system self-defense is shifting in favor of the criminal. We need to hold people accountable for the laws they break, which are already on the books, before passing additional laws effecting responsible Americans. More gun control laws will not stop anyone who has killing and destruction in their heart.
You are protected by men and women armed with firearms every day. What about ordinary Americans who don’t have the luxury of having someone with them carrying a gun to protect us? You enjoy the comfort of being safe when you are surrounded by armed men and women. I have experienced feeling safe and it was nothing more than an illusion. I know the difference between a sense of security versus real security. The difference is me being able to defend myself with a firearm.
Watral added that killers target so-called “gun free zones” to commit violence because they know they will be met with the least amount of resistance. A study from the Crime Research Organization showed that 94 percent of mass public shootings have happened in gun-free zones from 1950 to March 27, 2023.
“If you want to help domestic violence victims, encourage them to prepare to defend themselves. Stop telling them they are not capable of handling a firearm, and scaring them with skewed statistics that only demoralizes them. Fund programs that offer training and arm the women,” Watral said. Gun control groups voice the possibility if a woman has a gun in a violent situation, it will be taken and used against her. That is a possibility. What is more probable is that she will be overpowered by a man based only on his strength. I need a tool to be my equalizer to defend myself, and I choose a firearm. I want it to be my choice, not that of the government. I want to be my own protector.”
Geneva Soloman, a federal firearms licensee and gun store owner, said in the hearing that she was also a survivor of domestic violence.
“Firearm ownership not only armed me with a physical tool but also with a profound sense of empowerment. It turned a woman who had once cowered in fear into someone who stands tall, even in the face of adversity,” Solomon said. “In my role as a firearm owner and educator, I've met countless women with stories like mine. Through education and proper training, they too discovered their inner strength, realizing that firearms, when handled responsibly, can be a tool of empowerment.”
Soloman noted that gun control rules being proposed and enacted in California disproportionately impact women, specifically black women. This includes waiting periods, inconsistent concealed carry laws, and sensitive places rules.
“These rules can have unintended consequences that disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, especially Black women,” she explained. “Firearm education, when coupled with responsibility, can be a potent force for women's empowerment and self-defense.”
Geneva Solomon is a Federal Firearms Licensee and the proprietor of Redstone Firearms in Burbank, CA.
— House Judiciary GOP 🎄 (@JudiciaryGOP) December 13, 2023
Geneva's testimony details her journey from victim to survivor and her work as an advocate for responsible firearms ownership. pic.twitter.com/FEiHalmxeK
Last month, an NBC poll found that more than half of Americans say they or someone in their household owns a gun, the highest recorded in the poll since 1999.
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