I have to say, I'm somewhat surprised that this is surprising to anyone. But then, I grew up in the women-with-guns tradition (although I have sadly let my carry permit lapse).

For many of my relatives, the notion that gun ownership goes hand-in-hand with feminism is very much a frontier women thing -- the assumption is that the men will protect you if they are near, but if they're out somewhere you have to take care of yourself.

This explains why my most conservative female relatives firmly believe that they are feminists, even though they also firmly believe that men are just better at some (most) things and that when a man is around, the woman naturally follows his lead. They interpret feminism in a fairly narrow take-care-of-yourself way, and indeed they've spent much of their lives taking care of themselves ... and often their husbands and children and everyone else around them that needs it when things go south.

(Incidentally, I hope I don't sound like I am stereotyping 'conservative women'. I'm really just speaking of my direct experience with my mother, a handful of aunts, a couple of cousins, and a grandmother.)

Happily, I've found that my generation ... err, which would be 30-somethings now -- I'm not as young as I think I am! ... seems to have started slowly shedding some of the gender coding. I know more women my age who view guns, and especially being good with guns, as a fun sport instead of a homesteading skill that you'd prefer never to need.

I'm conflicted on the gun issue. I don't think they're inherently evil or cause crime/violence/aggression by their very existence. But I do find our society's weapon fetish disturbing and gross and the fact that so many aggressive, selfish, and/or downright mean people are so attracted to them (regardless if they use them for legal or illegal purposes) makes me...uneasy.

I do think the only way to make the society safer and just plain better isn't to address guns. It's to go to the source of the problem and fix what makes our society so fucking selfish and cruel in the first place.

Anyway, I thought I'd mention one gun/gay rights connection that always makes me laugh when I remember it. I did my undergrad at the University of Wyoming and that wretched ass gasket Fred Phelps and his "God Hates Fags" crew always come to Laramie on the anniversary of poor Matthew Shepard's death to "celebrate." I always went to the anti-Phelps protests, and there would be people carrying signs that said "We're here, we're gay, we're in the NRA!" HEE!

Just to check, is gunning down a guy armed with a short knife with a machinegun something covered by self-defence?

Not sure about that Elena, however here in the UK the law says something about reasonable force...

Maybe this ad has been comissioned by a lawyers' association rather than a gun maker? :P

Legally, she'd have been better off waiting until the guy was inside, but the phone call evidence would probably be enough to show reasonable fear of death. She's toast on the automatic weapons charges, though.

I don't see what guns have to do with feminism. Guns could be seen as representative of the tough-guy, violent culture or they could be seen as an equalizing force for people with less muscle mass.

The controversy over guns seems to be centred more in whether the risks of accidental or impulsive use are worth the benefits in the extremely unlikely scenario in the film. It may be that the macho culture makes men assume they have the sense and self control to avoid the former and that there is a big ego win to the latter, along with the preservation of life. These perceptions would result in a different balance than women might have. Those are some pretty sexist, stereotyped assumptions, though.

All that yammering aside, that was hysterical!

the casting of the woman and the way they dressed her kind of bugged me... as well as the use of the gruff man's voice that pops up as the voice of reason to advertise the gun store...

It is certainly something I feel strongly about-- I always wonder how people can claim to defend civil liberties but leave out the second amendment-- it is right there in the Bill of Rights too, isn't it? I'm a big fan of the dissolution of the false dichotomy-- Democrat/Republican is a shell game, & polarizing unrelated political issues is such a weird way to go.

Raksha said:

"I’m conflicted on the gun issue. I don’t think they’re inherently evil or cause crime/violence/aggression by their very existence. But I do find our society’s weapon fetish disturbing and gross and the fact that so many aggressive, selfish, and/or downright mean people are so attracted to them (regardless if they use them for legal or illegal purposes) makes me…uneasy."

Hah! I have the same problem with big snakes. I mean I like big snakes -- by which I mean boas, pythons, and anacondas primarily -- but the 'big snake guy' culture is so very often over-the-top macho that it just ... turns me off. I don't really want to associate with the big snake guys, so I tend to shun big snake events, articles, etc.

But I don't blame the snakes. More to the point, keeping big snakes has its place -- we just need to do more to separate the macho culture from the herpetoculture.

And yes, that sounds like a tortured analogy, but I'm serious. (And I am, for the record, a big lizard woman. :>)

The video is not showing for me. I get a "sorry, this video has been removed" message. Could someone post a synopsis? Thanks!

My problem is with concealed weapons. I believe a gun should be worn so that all can see it.

"It’s to go to the source of the problem and fix what makes our society so fucking selfish and cruel in the first place."
The darker side of human nature?