Women and Firearms

Warning - This Post is Rambly
I've been reading a lot of right wing blogs lately, mostly because I like to keep up on the latest going ons of the political season, and for some reason I get particularly energized during presidential election years (and pretty much ignore politics the rest of the time).

Actually, I think I would be more of a political blogger if I wasn't in the military, but my military standing keeps me neutral in the scheme of things, though by all rights I will say that I will most likely vote McCain/Palin and snicker at the multiple fallings of the Obama/Biden ticket lately.

However, with all of this energized talk of Sarah Palin and what she adds to the ticket, I find it interesting about how people talk about her because of her stance on gun issues. Here is a woman that actively goes out and fires weapons all of the time. And hunts.

Is a woman who uses firearms really that big of a rarity? Is shooting a rifle considered a predominantly male hobby? It seems like people are talking about Sarah Palin and her love of guns as an abnormality, and thereby some people have been referring to her as a hick and ignorant, because, well, only rednecks like firearms, right?

So she has been villified on the left, glorified on the right, here is a female politician, a woman, who is very outspoken on gun rights, is a member of the NRA, and actively goes out and hunts moose.

Granted, I'm not much of a hunter myself (I, like a lot of girls, like soft furry woodland creatures and feel a little guilty at the thought of killing them, but I won't say no to venison, as long as I'm not the one shooting it)

So, where does that leave us women that actually do like guns? Is the love of something that goes bang really that monopolized by the male gender? I mean, from my own experience on the subject, and becoming semi famous for toting around an M203 with a look on my face that I want to cause you bodily harm, I had a lot of guys who seemed to oggle the fact that here is a girl who can hold her own (sort of), but more importantly, liked to go out and fire weapons. Because it's a hobby. It's fun! Why the bloody hell not?

Guys aren't the only ones who are allowed to enjoy the power that handling a firearm can bring, and besides, if you really think about it, do you know how much safer this world would be if everyone knew how to fire a gun? Who would actually want to rob anybody at the thought that they might easily get shot?

So, is that the appeal of Sarah Palin by those on the right? It must be something along the lines of having that awe of femininity while being interested in something men are as well, that being firearms. And hunting.

And then there is the left. Is that the same reason why she causes such a raw intensity of hatred, because she embraces guns, manages a family of five children, one of which has down syndrome, without considering the impact that it might cause on mother earth, and so happens to have a successful political career? Wait, weren't career women a strict Democratic Demographic?

You can't be a woman and be a politician, and be FOR GUNS, while having children in the house. What kind of woman are you? You are supposed to nurture and love, not want to kill things.

Indeed, one of the reasons why I like Sarah Palin so much is I can identify with her.

But I also can say I liked guns before Sarah Palin made it cool for women to like guns.