"The Maine legislator who sponsored the bill, Sen. Eric Brakey, said, “All it does is say if you are someone who is already legally able to open carry a handgun that you can also put on a jacket without being a criminal.”
Maine will become the eighth state with
this gun policy, and experiences in other states indicate that the
loosening of gun permit laws has not had a significant negative impact.
Here in New Hampshire, it is a totally different picture.
Senate Bill 116, allowing concealed carry
without a permit, passed the Senate along party lines, with a 14-9 vote.
The House put its stamp of approval, 212 to 150. In the House, there
was party crossover, with 11 Democrats voting for the bill and 14
Republicans voting against it. While slim, it is arguable that this
passed with bipartisan support."
"Why is it different here? Gov. Hassan has
threatened a veto, and it now sits on her desk. At a time that more
women are buying guns and attending training classes, it seems odd that a
female governor would take a stance against women being able to carry
guns in their purses, glove compartments or briefcases. Men often wear
suits and use the convenience of a holster, but while many women do wear
suits, most do not on a daily basis.
Having a firearm and knowing how to use it
is empowering to women. Talk about equal rights: Owning a firearm with
proper training and skill is the No. 1 equalizer between the
biological-physical disparity of most men and women. Long gone are the
days when we “wimminfolk” had men in our households to protect us. Many
women today live alone either by choice or circumstance. Relying on 911
is just not reliable enough, particularly in rural areas. How many young
women have we heard about recently in the press who were abducted and
killed? With a firearm, they would at least have had a chance.
I remember a few years back when an
elderly woman way up in the North Country had a drunk man break into her
home late at night. Her community did not have a local police force at
night and relied on the state police. She was told when she called 911
that the soonest they could get there was a couple of hours. What if it
had not been a drunk man but a violent one? The sound of pumping a
shotgun is enough to stop intruders in their tracks and often results in
a quick retreat.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation
did a survey on women and guns in early 2015. The findings show that
half of the women intended to buy a gun in the next year. The women in
the study owned both semiautomatic pistols (56 percent) and shotguns (50
percent). Of the women in the survey, 73 percent had taken training
classes. Here in New Hampshire, there are a number of training courses
specializing in women’s shooting both for protection and for sport – and
they fill quickly. The study showed a 60 percent increase in women who
are target shooting. This has grown from 3.3 million women in 2001 to
5.4 million women in 2013. I personally know a female member of the
press here in New Hampshire, a liberal Democrat, who regularly goes clay
shooting. A report on CBS News in August 2014 pegged the number at more
than 6 million – almost a 70 percent increase in a decade. Firearm
retailers estimate women made up 20 percent of their sales in 2013.
Since 23 percent of women say they personally own a gun, that puts the
estimate at 28.1 million women. Ladies, guns aren’t just for men
anymore! And they certainly aren’t just for Republican women."
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