The NRA’s New Ad Has A Twisted Idea About How To Empower Women

A new advertisement from the National Rifle Association attempts to prey on women’s fears of rape and violence to keep gun regulation as minimal as it is.

The 1-minute video, which was recently uploaded to the NRA’s YouTube page, features conservative talk-show host Dana Loesch telling “every rapist,” “domestic abuser,” and “violent criminal thug” that women are armed and ready to defend themselves.

Loesch directly addresses these rapists and abusers in the video, telling them: “Your life expectancy just got shorter. Because there’s a very good chance your next target will be armed, trained and ready to exercise her right to choose her life over yours. This is what real empowerment looks like.”

As The Cut pointed out, the presence of a gun in instances of intimate partner violence actually increases the risk of homicide for women by about 500 percent. That includes instances when the gun belongs to the victim.

Women in abusive relationships are also more likely to be murdered with a gun than “all other means combined,” according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

To further debunk the ad’s message, Loesch and the NRA seem to paint rapists and abusers as strangers who lurk in dark corners waiting for their next victim. When it comes to perpetrators of sexual assault, that’s most definitely not the case. According to RAINN, 93 percent of sexual assault victims under the age of 18 know their attackers.

Instead of arming all “moms, grandmothers and professional women” ― as Loesch suggests in the video ― let’s teach men not to rape and abuse women. Sounds like a better plan, right?