After a string of violence against Asian Americans in San Francisco, a mayoral candidate is recommending Asian Americans to arm themselves with guns, reports KTVU. “It’s the right thing for people who have been so scared and helpless,” Ellen Lee Zhou said. “I have not seen such outrageous crime that is targeting Asian people over and over.”

Ellen Lee Zhou, who is running for mayor of San Franciso, owns a gun herself. She’s a member of the San Franciso Coalition for Good Neighborhoods and thinks it’s time Asian Americans buy guns and train and defend themselves.

“If Asians [are] feeling vulnerable and targeted for crime, they should get up and stand up for the right to own a gun and practice and know-how to shoot and protect their property,” she said.

Although it is illegal to carry guns on the street in San Franciso, it is legal to own guns for home protection.

This call for gun ownership comes after the assaults on Zhonghua Huang and Hongchang Huang in broad daylight as they were walking down the street. The two assaults have become the eighth violent crime in Chinatown against its residents in the year.

Although there has been a rash of crimes targeting Chinese Americans and sparking fear in the community, some don’t believe guns are the answer. “It’s not normal for our culture to carry guns,” Wendy Wong, a coalition member said. “The reason why it’s brought so much attention to the community lately is that this isn’t normal for us to advocate self-defense.”

Instead of guns, Wendy wants more police presence. After the two most recent assaults, the San Francisco Police Department said that they will be increasing patrols in Chinatown and installing 18 high definition cameras in the neighborhood. Many in the neighborhood fear that’s not enough but they are hopeful for a reduction in crime.