I Am a Feminist, and I Support Gun Rights: Ariane B.

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TheGunBlog.ca — “I was assaulted. After the assault, I expected the male figures in my life to protect me (my partner, my father, the police). What I came to realize is that to empower myself I needed to learn how to defend myself.”

Continue reading the letter by Ariane B. of Toronto.

The following letter was sent to TheGunBlog.ca and other media and individuals in response to an article by Heather McGregor on Sept. 14 in the Toronto Star: Gun Control Is a Women’s Issue. The Star published the letter yesterday.

I Am a Feminist, and I Support Gun Rights
By Ariane B.
Toronto, Ontario

I was assaulted. After the assault, I expected the male figures in my life to protect me (my partner, my father, the police). What I came to realize is that to empower myself I needed to learn how to defend myself.

A part of being able to defend myself is having the right to own a gun.

Even though the man who assaulted me did not have a weapon, I did not have the physical strength to defend myself. Owning a gun would have leveled the playing field.

Heather McGregor believes that gun ownership is anti-feminist.

What I would tell Heather is this: the statistics show that domestic abuse in Canada rarely involves guns. I would also tell her that me being able to defend myself and to teach other women how to defend themselves against abusive men is feminist.

I am a feminist, and I support gun rights.

Ariane B.

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Update 30 March 2019: The headline and article were edited on 3o March 2o19 to remove the author’s last name at her request.

The most important part of gun rights isn’t “gun,” it’s “rights.”