WiSH
represents an alternative voice in our social landscape – the voice of
women who participate in target shooting and hunting. It is the voice of
women who endorse constructive policy development and demand better
recognition of women’s issues. WiSH is the voice of women who promote
responsible resource allocation for enhancing women’s health and safety.
Firearm
ownership has become an emotive and polarized issue. As a consequence,
gun prohibitionists have blurred the lines between legitimate firearm
ownership, the wellbeing of women, and wider social problems.
All too
often, on the domestic and international stage, anti-gun lobbyists ‘blame’
firearms for rape, domestic violence, and homicide between intimate
partners. Attempts are made to associate hunters with violent crime and
sexual assault. To promote this misleading view, efforts have been
undertaken to portray firearm owners as exclusively male.
The many
women who participate in shooting and hunting have been marginalized –
often by other women. Far worse, though, is that extremism has diverted
attention away from confronting the problems our society must face. The
true causes of violence are frequently ignored or dismissed. We must make
a decision: move forward and address the difficult issues, or continue to
allow ideology to take precedence over real women.
WiSH
calls for an end to counterproductive lobbying, and to legislative reform
with no social benefits. WiSH urges policy-makers to engage in genuine
positive change, rather than populism. Now is the time to direct
resources where they are
so desperately needed: women’s
shelters, healthcare, skills training, crisis
counselling, and childcare.
It's time women, rather than firearms, were the focus of attention