Is There An App For That? iPhones Compared To Guns In Rape Prevention Effectiveness

There are so many contradictions in this piece that I'm not sure where to begin parsing them all out.

A column at the Washington Post asserts that because college students are too drunk to handle owning a state-of-the-art iPhone, they shouldn't be allowed to have concealed weapons on campus. My answer? If they're too drunk to handle owning an iPhone, then what in the world are they doing at college at all? Certainly not learning anything of value.

This is just the same anti-gun rot that gun control activists trot out in order to curb 2nd Amendment rights. It assumes that all gun owners are criminals by default (even though a CCW permit holder has to go through rigorous training and numerous background checks in order to receive a permit – they don't give those things out to just anybody). But this column has the added bonus of treating all college students like a bunch of drunk morons who can't even take care of themselves.

My favorite part of the column, though? (and I mean "favorite" in a sarcastic sense) is this little gem –

Fortunately, iPhones aren’t weapons; but they are anti-rape devices.  On the simplest level, they promote safety by keeping women and their friends aware of one another’s whereabouts. Women can check in with friends throughout a night of drinking.  They can call or text one another if they need to be extricated from a difficult situation.

Yes, because in the middle of an assault, your attacker is going to give you time to send a "Help, I'm being raped!" text to your girlfriends. Maybe someone can come up with an emoji for it.

You know what's an effect anti-rape device? The barrel of a handgun shoved in a would-be rapist's face. Over at the discussion of this article at Rare, they cited the example of Amanda Collins. Amanda was a student at University of Nevada – Reno. She is a licensed conceal-carry permit holder, but state law prevents even permit holders from carrying weapons on campus, so she left her handgun at home whenever she was in classes. In 2007, Amanda was raped at gun-point by a guy who clearly held no respect for the laws forbidding weapons on campus. In her own words –

While working through the healing process of being raped, I was able to forgive Mr. Beila [Amanda's rapist] for everything I was subjected to due to his actions; however I continue to be enraged that I was legislated into being a victim.

Further, the Rare column also cites the Crime Prevention Research Center saying that –

“There have been no reported problems with permit holders on any of the college campuses where permitted concealed handguns are allowed.”

Whether a person chooses to go through the necessary process of becoming a CCW permit holder is entirely up to them – it's not something that everyone is okay with doing, but the point is that they are given the option. But personally, I would trust someone with a CCW permit to be responsible and safe with a concealed weapon because that's what they are trained to do. Going through that process demonstrates a high respect for the law and for the weapon they are being allowed to carry. Certainly, CCW permit holders aren't police or military by any stretch of the imagination, but when you've got bad guys running around with illegal weapons, it doesn't hurt to have a few good guys with legal weapons to counteract them. Which is a hell of a lot better than texting someone for help.

To borrow a phrase – when seconds count, your buddies are minutes away.