Sarah Palin with Henry rifle (courtesy csmonitor.com)
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“Former Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin said that she’s been a victim of sexual harassment at the workplace because her co-workers know she carries a weapon,” dailymail.co.uk reports. “‘I think a whole lot of people know I’m probably packing so I don’t think there’s a whole lot of people who would necessarily mess with me.'” On one hand, that’s a silly thing to say . . .

It kinda sorta implies that a woman packing heat would draw her gun on a man who, I dunno, grabbed her vagina without written permission. Not that the Secret Service would allow a woman to carry a firearm around the President. But seriously folks, if a woman’s carrying a concealed firearm around a sex pest it’s not bound to have an inhibitory effect.

Or would it? I mean, everyday carry is a great idea as a hidden rape prevention kit. And who says the gun has to be hidden? I’m not entirely sure, but I bet the sight of a firearm on the hip of a woman would send a pretty clear signal discouraging sexual harassment. And if not the sight of a gun, would the knowledge that the not-victim is strapped send a similar signal?

One more thing: the kind of woman who carries a firearm is not the kind of woman likely to tolerate sexual harassment. It’s true: gun ownership is empowering for man and women.

Your thoughts?

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49 COMMENTS

  1. Anyone think the reason she isn’t being sexually harassed is because she does not post pictures of herself in her underwear for everyone to see?

  2. When should a woman brandish her firearm? When should she shoot him? Suppose he grabs her arm? Brandish or shoot? Perhaps a law should be passed that men have to stay a minimum of three feet away from women and only approach with written permission.

  3. As we like to say, “An armed society is a polite society”.
    I know I’d never dream of being anything but a perfect gentleman to a woman with a gun. 🤠

  4. If a woman carries concealed and her suitor molester has no idea, it would not have any deterrent effect.

    If her molester knows that she is armed, I am pretty confident that her molester would contain his harassment to verbal proposition or mild verbal harassment.

    • It has been commented here frequently, and elsewhere, usually by people opposed to open carry, that the value of concealed carry is that the bad guys never know who, or how many, people are carrying a pistol.

      By that argument, if it became an open question among would-be molesters as to whether or not she was “packing” it should have an over-all deterrent effect for ALL women in that locality.

      Anyone open carrying, male or female, would have a serious deterrent effect on the sexual harassment to themselves and anyone within their sight, but common knowledge of wide-spread concealed carry would embrace an entire community in that protection.

  5. Men could carry around a packet of “hall passes” and strip one out and hand it to a woman along with a pen when seeking to stand close or to ask for a date.

    • No….. the standard is work is work & school is school. Not a singles bar. 90% of women are not looking for a date in writing or otherwise. The constant hitting on them & comments is the harrassment. Rule of thumb; find love off duty & off base/ job.

      • BS. You need to familiarize yourself with the way women dress and act today in the workplace (and school). 20yrs ago would not have seen as much skin at a club on Sat night. “Sexual Harassment” is largely more chik snowflake BS. It’s harassment if she doesn’t want YOU to see (or look at) her ass, legs, cleavage, face, whatever. If you’re the target for her wearing the clownsuit then you’ve SUPPOSED to see/look. Until you’re not then it because harassment. Could change status from minute to minute or 30yrs ex post facto. Not touching, invited for that moment or not, is required. No ACTUAL sexual contact (you know with actual genitialia) is required.

        Hillary’ bitter NOW broads apparently are winning a major battle right now over the Hollyweird/swamp degenerates. HARRRR. Backlash will soon arrive.

  6. As to the question at hand? No. It is a deterant to assualts. Harassment? A gun makes no change in attitude of Men. Ask any in the military or female LEO’s.

  7. MY longtime gorgeous wife told me she has never been sexually harassed. Hard to believe but she did teach self-defense to timid white gals. Gun or not NOT being a victim is 90% of the equation!

    • I daresay some of that may simply be her own perspective and positive attitude:
      A complimentary remark on how nice she looked that morning could be interpreted by the next woman as a disparaging sexist remark. A wolf whistle from a stranger on the street might have put a bit more spring in her step and given a boost to her self-confidence but the same whistle would have terrified the next woman and made her reach for her can of Mace.
      If she thinks she’s never been the recipient of negative attention, then I’d say that’s an indication of her own confidence- good for her!
      Now go give that strong woman a big hug for all of us and maybe a little goose for yourself.
      🤠

    • I have found that women don’t like to admit to a lot of these things because they don’t want their husbands/boyfriends to cause a confrontation. They just want to move on and not make a big deal about it. I found out first hand from my wife. She would talk about something that happened years ago but didn’t tell me at the time because she didn’t want me to get mad. So just because your wife/girlfriend doesn’t complain doesn’t mean everything is ok.

  8. Carrying a gun is a good idea, for most women. And no, a person doesn’t have any “right” to pull a gun for anything but an immediate threat to life or bodily integrity.

    But the major deterrent for any attack is an attitude, a “look” of being alert, aware of one’s surroundings, confidence showing in how one stands, walks, controls themselves and relates to others without subservience or aggression. Most sexual predators in the workplace or downtown would likely shy away from a woman who looked and acted this way. As with all criminals, they want easy, helpless victims.

    Some of the other predators really need to see the gun…

    • Hey Mama, I need your perspective on this:
      My wife is looking forward to carrying her gun openly soon (I’ve a bit of leatherworking to do first). When I asked her “why open?” she replied that she no longer wanted the sexist attention and whistles from strangers and passersby as she’s out exercising. I nodded and thought, sure, that probably would deter the more casual attention of the merely boorish twits whose mother failed to teach proper manners to.
      But men don’t usually have such problems – and I wonder if that is why many of us opt for concealed carry, because we don’t need to prove anything openly?
      Your thoughts?

      • Unless she carries a back-up gun, and has Terminator like situational awareness, that’s a terrible idea. My ex-sister-in-law said something similar a couple years ago. Told me she had actually pretended to accidentally expose her CC gun to a guy who she felt was harassing her. I told her that was a shit plan, and now if he ever decided rape was a good plan he could easily account for her gun. Guns are for actual attackers, not annoying assholes, and should come as a complete surprise to the attacker.

      • Okay setting aside the monumental task of trying to change a woman’s mind and actually trying to answer the question asked here…. I think women prefer open carry for a few different reasons.
        1. Threat Matrix: Let’s just be honest here no matter how ugly she is somebody may try to rape her but ain’t nobody standing in line to rape you (her hubby). On top of that she has to worry about being robbed, murdered, assaulted, etc. as well.
        2. Women’s Clothing: Their own clothing works against them in terms of concealment and enabling a draw from several positions. Just try wearing tight pants and a tight shirt and drawing with your face and chest pressed into the dirt while someone with a good 100 lbs on you pushes you down. Try drawing from your back while trying to fight off a larger stronger opponent as well. Try to conceal your smallest gun in skinny jeans and a tight fitting shirt.
        3. Accessories: Things have been getting better here as far as holsters go. Still my wife cannot find a holster that keeps the gun on her body comfortably. Now for off body carry options for our modern gal of the gun a go go are nearly endless but for on body carry that most find comfortable there’s only a few belly bands, garter holsters, and bra holsters available. I think we can all agree that when someone is trying to forcibly have their way with you the last thing you wanna try to do it hike up your shirt to around your bra level or skirt to around your panty level to get to your gun.
        4. Ease of use: Not only are the open carry holsters more comfortable for women they are easier to dress around and live with. They don’t require buying a bigger pant size, a bigger bra, or a bigger shirt. They merely require a good sturdy belt and for a lot of women this no muss no fuss method of carry will win out over buying a whole new wardrobe just to be able to work in a gun.
        Many might say oh she needs Special seal delta ranger recon sniper training to open carry or super human situational awareness that puts God himself to shame but honestly she’ll be fine if she just uses normal situational awareness. I mean really when was the last time she didn’t notice you did something with your hair?

      • Depends on a lot of things. No “one size” answer, but in a nutshell the attitude has to come first. The walking and talking as a confident, in control person – rather than a shrinking violet potential victim. Depends on where you live and the attitude of those around her as well, of course. Just carrying the gun openly does not replace the attitude of “I Am NOT A Victim.” This is a link to the story of the man I had to shoot to save my life. https://thepriceofliberty.org/the-man-i-might-have-killed/

        I carry openly most of the time here in NE Wyoming. I have never done so to attract attention, bolster my ego, make a political statement or to influence anyone for anything. I’m sure some people may take it that way, but that’s not my intention, and so is not my problem. I carry a gun for self defense. What anyone else thinks of it is immaterial to me – unless they hassle me about it.

        For some strange reason, NOBODY has attempted to disarm me (except the post office), and nobody here has ever offered any kind of insult, sexual harassment or anything but quiet respect. That’s true of all the people here… not just women, and not just those who wear a gun.

        So, if average people on the streets where you live are insulting and harassing your wife, maybe it is time to find a place where she won’t feel the need for a gun to discourage them… Lots of room left for good people in Wyoming. 🙂 But bring your guns and carry them. You just never know when some monster will show up like that little church in Texas.

      • Bloving,

        If your wife is going to carry an openly visible handgun during outdoor exercise — in situations where she expects unwanted attention (including cat-calls), please implore her to:
        (1) Wear a retention holster.
        (2) NOT wear earbuds or headphones.

        In general it is a wise idea to wear a retention holster when you carry an openly visible handgun during solo activity. And it is downright necessary if your activity is predictable, such as jogging the same path at roughly the same time on a daily basis. Remember, predators love predictable victims.

        • Agree, retention holster or *securely* snap-strapped.

          And a good blade pocket-clipped for the weak hand…

  9. “The sight of a firearm on the hip of a woman would send a pretty clear signal discouraging sexual harassment.”

    The funny thing is that’s the precise scenario the left uses against open carry. They think the woman would easily be over powered and the gun used against her.
    My counter argument is, if a woman is carrying a firearm openly, there is a high probability she’s a badass with that firearm.

  10. Seems Mrs.ATFAgentBob gets molested/harassed more often when she’s packing heat… Of course I am the one doing the molesting/harassing.
    mmm mmm mmm something bout a woman packing a full size 45 revolver or semi auto in a nice leather holster or draping the sling to an AK, AR, or Mini around her frame just gets me riled up.

    ATF Agent Boobs… errr… oops… Bob

  11. Concealed or open carry, I think sends a pretty clear message. Not just for women.
    If women opened carried, which we can at least do here in Texas, the chances of getting harassed are slim. It sends a message. But is society ready for that image…is another story.

    • An open carrying woman who looks perfectly capable of taking care of herself would be a fashion statement many of us would like to see (see Agent Bob above).
      Unless some influential female celebrities get on board, I just don’t see it becoming prevalent… but then I’d say do it anyway and to hell with whatever everyone else thinks.
      Now go get yourself a hand-tooled beautiful holster for your EDC and get out there and ROCK IT baby! 🤠

      • What can I say personal responsibility is ” the hawtness” as the kids say. Knowing that Mrs.ATFAgentBob knows how to use her shootin irons and mine makes her so much hotter fully clothed than any half to 3/4 nekkid magpul gun bunny calendar girl leaning on or toying with guns while desperately trying to pull of the isosobeaver or any other tactisexy pose.
        Gimme the missus in her blue jeans and a T shirt out on the range with me running drills and learning new techniques and I’ll drink her bathwater just to see her nekkid.

    • If society never sees it because they might not be ready for it, then they’ll never be ready for it, and they’ll never think it’s acceptable, and we’ll be stuck in an endless circle of society in general believing that guns aren’t there if they’re not visible. That’s one reason I open carry just about all the time.

  12. Not being a harasser, I can’t even guess how those clowns think. So, I don’t know if carrying a gun is an answer to sexual harassment, although I’m inclined feel that it certainly might be.

    However, I strongly believe that if any of Harvey Weinstein’s rape targets had been armed, old Harv would either be disinclined to attack, or he’d be de-balled or dead. As he should be.

    No wonder why Harv hates the NRA. While the organization was working to enable women to carry arms, Harv was working on keeping them fearful and subservient.

  13. The Second Amendment guarantees that citizens will not have their right to keep and bear arms for use as a component of a citizen’s militia assembled to take affirmative actions necessary to return our constitutional republic to the Constitution and remove those public servants that have run amok of the Constitution, usurping powers unintended for them to have, that, when abused would subject citizens and naturalized citizens to acts of tyranny against them by those chosen to represent them as their voices for management of our country.

    Personal protection is not the reason for the Second Amendment, it is a side benefit from being prepared to defend our country from the enemy within at any time and place.

    The rules for concealed carry and using a weapon dictate that personal arms are for use to prevent imminent (to be determined at the moment by the person carrying), life-threatening events, from taking place. No other reason, ever!

    Exposing a firearm in order to impress and/or threaten someone is illegal.

    When open carry is allowed the same rules apply for using a personal firearm.

    Should a person decide to show their firearm to someone it must immediately have the chamber emptied (with the firearm pointing away from everyone) and the all rounds removed from the weapon before passing the weapon to that person.

    Never point a firearm at anything you don’t want to kill! Accidents happen all too frequently to risk killing someone with an unloaded firearm.

    • you are so spot on. i am an aussie and i have seen it clearly since i was 15 which was q few years before port arthur and the laws that they brought in after that false flag event. this countries parliament has been filled with traitors since 73 (including those that have gone into politics to try to do what is right by their constituents) because of changes that were made at that time. try telling people the truth about our govt though and most will just laugh and call you a conspiracy nut. most here seem to be more of the socialist mindset and seem to lap up what the MSM and govt like to feed them. there have been so many acts of sedition and treason by both our govts, yours going back as far as the 6 day war with britian and the first of ours since becoming a soverign nation in our own right was in 1919 with the signing of the treaty of versailes

  14. Carrying a gun is certainly an answer to forcible rape.
    That’s why anti-gun cultists don’t want women to carry guns.

  15. My take is besides the liberal virtue signaling there’s a real reason Harvey Weinstein was into Civilian Disarmament. It has a lot to do with he knew most were powerless to hold him accountable and that a hollow point from a J-frame or a G43 wouldn’t care that he was Harvey Weinstein when his victim was able to turn the tables on him. He could control virtually anything else, but he couldn’t control that so in reality he was deathly afraid of it.

    That said rape is different than harassment, and verbal boundaries different than physical. If someone grabbed another person and there was serious belief that there was going to be a sexual assault, I would have a very very hard time finding them guilty unless there were other circumstances involved.

  16. The first sentence of this article doesnt make any sense. She’s been a victim because her co workers know shes carries a weapon? Who writes this stuff…

  17. Historically women have always been armed. Small hand guns, smaller caliber easily concealed type firearms. Turn of the century advertising focused on selling guns to women for self-defense and for hunting as well.

    It was normal for women to have guns long before the the 19th amendment was passed.

  18. The discussion, SEPARATE from what Mrs. Palin said, is important and worthy, and not to take away from the OP or the comments, but:

    “Sarah Palin said that she’s been a victim of sexual harassment at the workplace because her co-workers know she carries a weapon”. Is incorrect.

    “I think a whole lot of people know I’m probably packing so I don’t think there’s a whole lot of people who would necessarily mess with me,” is what she said, it is more supportive of 2A rights, and “concealed carry / carrying a weapon” and I think it might change a few answers above.

  19. I worked at a major supermarket manufacturing facility in so cal and a African American superintendent with 42 yrs in management thought he was untouchable from being fired. He was real comfortable around the female office staff putting his arms around the ladies shoulders and loose with his language. Not vulgar but suggestive. One of the younger ladies was offended with one of his comments and went to the HR department. Later that day he was streamlined. Companies don’t want to deal with sexual harassment lawsuit’s and would rather fight a wrongful termination. Harassment lawsuits can be a lot more expensive to settle. If HR does not respond to the complain that’s where I step in. My name is Major Ass Whooping and you just messed with the wrong woman. Sometimes we men have to act a little barbaric, sometimes.

  20. I didn’t see anyone mention that Palin was joking. It’s worth mentioning, though the question is worthy of discussion.

    And yes, it would be an over-reaction to pull a gun on someone because of a crude comment, because they keep asking for sex after the woman has clearly said she is not interested, or even because of a grope. Imminent and credible threat of rape or serious injury, that’s different.

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