Gun Rights Are Women’s Rights
COMMENTARY
Picture this: a woman alone, heart pounding, as a shadow moves through her house. The phone’s too far, the police too slow. All she has is herself — and maybe a gun. As a 22-year Tulsa Police veteran, two-time national three-gun champ, and founder of Women for Gun Rights, I told the House Judiciary Committee last month about stories like this — survivors of rape, stalking and worse.
Their stories gut you, but they scream one truth: when evil strikes, you’re your own first responder. The Second Amendment isn’t just words — it’s our shield.
For women, firearms level the playing field. We’re often smaller and weaker than attackers. A gun in trained hands turns a victim into a victor. That’s what Women for Gun Rights fights for — empowering women to protect themselves, not begging for someone else to do it.
Safety comes from knowing how to handle a firearm, not from laws that strip them away from good people while criminals ignore the rules. Women are the fastest-growing group of gun owners in America, and it’s no mystery why. When evil comes, a gun can mean survival.
Take Laken Riley. On Feb. 22, 2024, she went for a daytime jog on a college campus in a nice area. She was strong, smart, beautiful. But evil doesn’t care. She fought her attacker for 18 minutes. Eighteen minutes. We’ll never know if a firearm could’ve saved her, but I bet she wished she had one.
Then there’s Amanda, a concealed carry permit holder with training. She parked near a campus police station but followed the law — no gun on school grounds. A man attacked and raped her in the parking lot. He later killed another woman. Amanda knows that law didn’t protect her — it made her a target.
Contrast that with a woman from New Mexico, a member of Women for Gun Rights. A serial rapist broke into her home, armed, and attacked her in bed. She fought, took his gun, shot him three times and ran to safety. That firearm saved her life.
That’s the power of being your own first responder.
Restrictive gun laws are a disaster. Bans, red tape (and Red Flags) — waiting periods don’t stop criminals. They stop women like Amanda from defending themselves. Politicians love to talk about “commonsense” gun control, but where’s the sense in leaving law-abiding people defenseless? Criminals don’t follow laws. That’s why they’re criminals.
Gun control has a dark side, too — it’s rooted in racism. After slavery ended, southern Democrats pushed laws to disarm freed slaves. Jim Crow kept it going. Today, gun control still hits hardest for Black women and in poor communities, making safety a rich man’s game.
The Second Amendment isn’t just for some; it’s for all Americans, no matter race, sex or creed.
The right to self-defense shouldn’t be a partisan issue. Women across the country are hopeful this Congress will stand up for it. For example, the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, championed by Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., and under consideration in Congress, ensures that women like Amanda can carry their concealed firearms across state lines without fear of conflicting laws stripping away their ability to defend themselves.
Disarming us doesn’t make us safer — it makes us prey. Let’s empower women, not predators. Fund training, not failure. When seconds count and police are minutes away, we deserve the tools to fight back.
Dianna Muller is the founder of Women for Gun Rights. She is a retired 22-year veteran of the Tulsa Police Department and two-time national three-gun champion and professional shooter. WFGR can be found here.
