As the pendulum swings, we see a glimpse of sanity on the horizon

[iverglas]

158. actually, no indication at all that one needs to carry a gun

Most women who are sexually assaulted are victimized by people known to them: husband or partner or boyfriend (estranged or otherwise), other family member, employer or coworker, friend, date, etc. And most women simply are not going to shoot/kill a person known to them in order to avoid a sexual assault that almost certainly involves no likelihood of serious injury/death to themself.

Women who are sexually assaulted by strangers in public places are not likely to be in a position to use a firearm against the assailant. The assault itself will ikely begin with overwhelming the woman's resistance and controlling her actions.

A woman who has been a victim of a violent sexual assault by a stranger (and I speak as such a woman) is very likely one of the poorest candidates for carrying a firearm in public, in view of the way the trauma of the assault colours future perceptions of threat and danger, i.e. the feelings of generalized insecurity the woman is left with, the heightened startle and fight-or-flight responses, etc. Post-traumatic stress is a significant contra-indication when it comes to whether a person should be carrying a lethal weapon around in public, particulalry when it is so unlikely to ever do the individual any good anyway.