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Firearms are an excellent force multiplier that allow weaker would-be victims to stave off stronger attackers.
by Savannah Lindquist
October 9, 2017
My college experience didn’t go as planned: I was the victim of rape. It was something I thought could never happen to me. This was something that only happened to other people, something you see on “Law & Order: SVU.” Instead of Detectives Benson and Stabler swooping in to save the day, I was left completely broken – replaying the events of that day over and over again in my mind wondering where I could have gone wrong.
I was raised around guns and was taught about responsible gun ownership at a very young age. When I turned 21 years old and was legally able to carry a gun, I immediately felt safer. Nothing could harm me because my firearm was the great equalizer.
There was one minor issue: my Second Amendment rights didn’t exist on my college campus.
I was naïve and believed what they told me during orientation: that there was no need to worry because campus police are only a phone call away. All was well until that fateful evening when I became another statistic.
The details of that horrific event don’t matter. What does matter is this: Research has shown that women aged 18-24 are three-to-four times more likely to be victims of sexual violence compared to women in general. Given my background, I would be lying if I said my sexual assault turned me from a gun-grabber to a Second Amendment advocate, but I did have one big realization.
My rape made something very clear: My right to self-defense should not be up for debate.
It does not matter if you are a bleeding-heart feminist who actively tries to fight against rape culture. It does not matter if you believe rape culture doesn’t exist. It really doesn’t even matter if you don’t even believe my own account that I’m disclosing to you now.
What does matter is that women deserve the right to choose how to defend themselves.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there are 11.5 million females this fall on colleges and university campuses across the United States, compared to 8.9 million males. Women are clearly the majority of our college campuses, and yet we are not doing everything we can to empower them to defend themselves against possible harm. We must empower women and give them a choice: the choice to take their security into their own hands by legally carrying a concealed firearm on their public university campuses.
I am a law-abiding citizen and have jumped through all the hoops required by the government to get my concealed carry permit. I have proven that I am competent with firearms and have taken the necessary safety class. I allowed for the government to run the mandatory background check on me. I even paid the $50 Virginia application fee. I’m allowed to protect myself in movie theaters, malls, and most other public places, but my right to self-defense is suddenly negated on most public university campuses. Why?
After my rape, I took time off of school to emotionally recover, and after much consideration, I decided the best thing for my mental health would be to withdraw from my previous university and move back home. I currently attend a university in my hometown and am set to graduate in May. While I’ve picked up my life and actively work towards healing myself, the issue remains.
In order to graduate in a timely manner, I have to take night classes. Four nights a week, I leave campus after dark. I can’t even begin to tell you how much safer I would feel if I knew I had a reliable method of self-defense available to me — but on my public university campus, I don’t.
I’m left defenseless.
I still carry with me the emotional scars from my rape, but I have chosen to speak out. I refuse to ever be victimized again, and all I am asking for is to be able to utilize the rights guaranteed to me by the Second Amendment of the Constitution to ensure that I will never again be a victim.
— How Gun-Free Campuses Victimize Women originally appeared at FEE.org.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Please take a minute and also see our 2006 piece, “This Is Julie“.
Rod is one of our nation’s leading minds. He’s smart, original, and very committed—a combination that one rarely finds.
Rod Martin and [former Howard Dean campaign manager] Joe Trippi are America’s two foremost experts on online politics.
Rod Martin is a Reaganite-Thatcherite conservative…[and] a man who has spent much of his life ministering to and working for the benefit of others. I know Rod as an advocate for freedom, a leader who understands the real changes we need in Washington, and who has the drive and ability to make those changes happen.
Rod Martin is the kind of dynamic leader who has the knowledge, ability and experience to lead us successfully into the 21st Century. His vision for America is compelling.
Rod Martin literally wrote the book on excellence. Humble yet brilliant, a man of love and compassion, with penetrating clarity he illuminates the world around us, and we are both stirred and enlightened.
Rod Martin is a born leader and an outstanding political mind. Anyone who takes him on is going to have a serious fight on their hands.
Rod Martin is a man of uncommon vision and character. Ever since I first worked alongside Rod in the early days of PayPal, I’ve been struck by his powerful vision for the future. Rod understands the intersection of technology, politics and culture in a way that few others do.
Rod Martin wears with uncommon grace an uncanny ability to link his vigorous faith to the practical challenges of both the business world and the political arena. Yet the respect he shows for others carries a warmth and modesty that are both too rare among those who are strong advocates of feisty positions.
America badly needs more leaders who really get the future. We need more Rod Martins.
Rod Martin is a modern day philosopher-statesman. He is a capitalist intellectual, a conservative iconoclast, a gentle adversary and a kind prophet. He inspires us towards a fresh national vision built upon the original founding principles.
Rod Martin is not only effective and efficient, but he is also perceptive, wise and gracious. He gets things done. He is a great friend and a great ally.
Rod is one of the sharpest, most gracious men I know, and one of the most gifted political thinkers today. His ability to analyze issues and communicate thoughtful insights on them have earned him the respect of people across the political spectrum.
I am proud to have been Rod Martin’s friend for a quarter century, and I can tell you that he is one of the finest men and most outstanding leaders in our church and in our country today. He has a knack for turning everything he touches to success.
Rod Martin is a cornucopian entrepreneur and eutropic thinker whose influence radiates through an array of companies, institutions, movements and churches. A renaissance American, he is also a prolific friend of freedom and faith around the globe.
If Rod Martin represents the next generation of leaders, America has nothing to worry about.
A leader and a servant, in public life and in private, Rod Martin strides at the top of his profession, and has nowhere to go but up. He is in the truest sense of the word ‘outstanding’.
Rod Martin is undoubtedly one of the most accomplished thought leaders today. He is a wonderful mentor, a humble role model, and a deep inspiration for the next generation of scientific innovators and entrepreneurs.
Rod’s achievements pale beside his character and his brilliance. He sees what others can’t. He leads when others won’t.
Rod Martin is one of America’s finest young minds.
