Ladies, It’s Time for Gun Control
An average of 760 Americans are killed annually with guns by their spouses, ex-spouses, or intimate partners. Eighty percent of those victims were women. In 2013, as many as 280 women were fatally shot during an argument with their abuser [1].
Korey Franklin once said, “It just takes one person to make a difference and that’s what we do every night.” You probably don’t know who Korey Franklin is. Franklin is a police officer who joined the Boston Police Department as a Cadet in 2007. In 2013, he joined the Gang Unit as a Patrol Officer [2]. In 2017, he was named one of Boston’s Police Officers of the Year. On Christmas Eve 2018, he shot his wife [3]. Thankfully, it was a non-fatal injury, unlike the fate of so many other women.
Women in abusive relationships know how frightening a gun is. Abusers often use guns to intimidate women into submission, threaten them, and coerce them into remaining in abusive relationships. Unfortunately, this intimidation can take a deadly turn. In the United States alone, it is estimated that a woman is shot and killed by her intimate partner every 16 hours [4].
What’s the problem?
Domestic Violence is a women’s issue. However, women across the country are silenced by domestic abusers. Furthermore, the violence usually takes place behind closed doors, and its victims often have family ties to or are financially dependent on their abusers, it is underreported and under-prosecuted — meaning the statistics being presented also may be underreported as well [5]. The domestic violence victims are only more at risk when there is a gun in the home. When an abusive partner has access to a gun, the risk of non-abusive partner will die increases more than five-fold [4]. In an average month, 52 women are shot by their intimate partners [6]. Domestic and gun violence are women’s issue and to combat them, we need women to help lead the change.
Why Does Representation Matter?
Gun control issues are women’s issues. However, there is an underrepresentation of women when it comes to talking about gun control. Guns and small arms are thought to be a “man’s issue” since guns stand as a symbol of masculinity and manhood. Women, on the other hand, are mentioned as victims only and thus are not involved in talks to decide on how to improve and implement gun legislation [7]. Legislators in the U.S. also inaccurately represent the general population, tending to be male, white, older, and rural — which happens to be the demographics of a typical gun owner [8]. As of February 2019, there are 106 women out of 441 members of Congress, making up 24% of the entire Congress — which is a record breaking high percentage [9] — as opposed to 60% of white males serving in the Congress, which is a record-breaking low percentage [10].
It is important to have female representation in the process of making policies. There has been significant research done to indicate that female legislators exhibit different behavior in leadership positions, prioritize different policy issues — including women, children, families, and social welfare issues — and exhibit more support for women’s issues and women’s rights than do male legislators. In addition, female legislators are more likely than male legislators to seek out committee assignments that enable them to work on women’s issues and are more inclined to sponsor legislation addressing issues of concern to women [11]. Thus, women’s presence (or absence) can have a significant impact on the types of policies discussed and produced. The most recent study done by the Pew Research Center has found that the majority of women prefer gun control over gun rights [12]. However, marginalized groups — like women — are poorly represented in the modern democratic policy process because their perspectives are not equally reflected or considered during the process [13]. Having women in leadership positions will help provide mechanisms for effective representation, and since gun control issues heavily pertain to women, having more representation in the legislature will only help bring reformed gun control.
The legislators and the House cannot change overnight, but another mechanism for effective representation that would help make a difference are women’s grassroots movements and women’s organizations. Grassroots movements are deemed to be strong, influential, and powerful, for they are able to mobilize widespread public support. In Canada, after more than a decade of activism and lobbying by women’s organizations, a series of important legislative amendments (including a rape shield law) were adopted in 1983. Women’s organizations were instrumental in bringing this issue to the spotlight, and a proposal from the National Association of Women and Law, endorsed by the National Action Committee on the Status of Women, formed the basis for these amendments [13]. This goes to show that if enough women mobilize and gather together, though it won’t take a short time, it can truly be influential and make positive changes.
Guns do kill. All the women who died in vain because their abuser shot them could have been protected. There needs to be an end to this culture of violence. Support the work of Nonviolence International New York as a member of the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) as we stand for disarmament all over the world. In addition, learn how to get involved and stay up-to-date on the latest news. Follow the UN Agency for Disarmament Affairs on Twitter at @UN_Disarmament. Join the #GunFreeValentine Day Campaign, an initiative launched by IANSA member Gun Free South Africa (GFSA), to alert women to the risks of a gun in the home, intimate partner violence and how laws can be used to save lives. The campaign begins on Valentine’s Day, February 14th and ends on International Women’s Day, March 8th.
References
[1] Team Trace. “18 Facts About Gun Violence and 6 Promising Ways to Reduce the Suffering.” The Trace. March 23, 2018. Accessed February 08, 2019. https://www.thetrace.org/features/gun-violence-facts-and-solutions/.
[2] Boston Police. Police Department. “Team Boston Police.” News release, April 28, 2017. Squarespace. Accessed February 8, 2019. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56ae4eb5e707eb6849391d16/t/598383becd39c369f60b023a/1501791168093/BostonPolice-+Final+Pres.pdf
[3] Feldman, Kate. “Boston Police Officer Charged for Allegedly Shooting His Wife While Off-duty — NY Daily News.” Nydailynews.com. December 26, 2018. Accessed February 08, 2019. https://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/ny-news-boston-police-officer-shot-wife-20181226-story.html.
[4] Barks, Bryan. “Gun Violence Prevention Is a Feminist Issue.” TheHill. January 21, 2018. Accessed February 12, 2019. https://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/369910-gun-violence-prevention-is-a-feminist-issue.
[5] Lewis, Kristen. “Domestic Violence: Silence Is Its Greatest Ally.” The Huffington Post. April 05, 2015. Accessed February 18, 2019. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/kristen-lewis/domestic-violence-silence_b_6599556.html.
[6] “Gun Violence in America.” EverytownResearch.org. February 01, 2019. Accessed February 18, 2019. https://everytownresearch.org/gun-violence-america/.
[7] Source from IANSA
https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/bb4a5b_71c6a4679e524e0ab7bac88f8a2979dd.pdf
[8] Hemenway, David. “Why Has It Been so Difficult to Change US Gun Policy?” Thebmjopinion. March 02, 2018. Accessed February 08, 2019. https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2017/10/05/david-hemenway-why-has-it-been-so-difficult-to-change-us-gun-policy/.
[9] DeSilver, Drew. “A Record Number of Women Will Be Serving in the New Congress.” Pew Research Center. December 18, 2018. Accessed February 10, 2019. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/12/18/record-number-women-in-congress/.
[10] Zweigenhaft, Richie. “The 116th Congress Has More Women and People of Color than Ever — but There’s Still Room to Improve.” The Conversation. November 17, 2018. Accessed February 18, 2019. http://theconversation.com/the-116th-congress-has-more-women-and-people-of-color-than-ever-but-theres-still-room-to-improve-105930.
[11] Daum, Courtenay W. “Disparate Impact: Term Limits, Female Representatives, and the Colorado State Legislature.” In State of Change: Colorado Politics in the Twenty-first Century, edited by Rbert J. Duffy and John A. Straayer, 175–94. University Press of Colorado, 2011. Accessed February 12, 2019. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46nv8h.12.
[13] Weldon, S. Laurel. “Representing Women in Democratic Policy Processes.” In When Protest Makes Policy: How Social Movements Represent Disadvantaged Groups, 30–56. University of Michigan Press., 2011. Accessed February 12, 2019. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3998/mpub.1285595.
