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Crime is on the decline. I have the luxury of living in a high-trust society, in an urban area where I can generally rely on prompt and diligent police protection. (The degree to which this is less true in the U.S. is correlative with an increase in their affection for lethal weapons, unsurprisingly.)

But that’s all rather missing the point.Owning a gun isn’t about what we would actually do on that horrible day when someone breaks down the door: it’s about how we want to live our lives every day that someone doesn’t.I didn’t want to be afraid and I was too proud to move.

Women like myself are the best advocates for gun ownership the arms industry could hope for and they know it.

Shortly after Obama’s speech, a mother by the name of Kimberly Corban confronted the president, recounting the tale of her own rape. Her assailant was caught, but she suffered PTSD as a result of the assault.

“As a survivor of rape, and now a mother to two small children — you know, it seems like being able to purchase a firearm of my choosing, and being able to carry that wherever my — me and my family are — it seems like my basic responsibility as a parent at this point,” she said. It’s a position that’s almost impossible for any feeling creature to rebut.

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A gun offers the illusion of control. It’s a tool to overcome the horrible inequities of biology.It may not actually prevent violence, but it makes us feel as if we can. A gun gives Kimberly Corban the power to move on with her life without having to fear every unlit room or bang at the door.You can cite all the logic and science and statisitics and laws and rights that you like, because it’s not really about any of that.

As for me, I passed my firearms course with flying colours. Whether or not I actually purchased a gun, well, that’s my own business.

National Post

jgerson@nationalpost.com

Twitter.com/JenGerson