Rape Survivors Tell the NRA to Stop Speaking for Them
Activists working to address the rates of sexual assault among college students don’t want gun enthusiasts to co-opt their issue in order to push for more weapons on campus, and have launched several advocacy campaigns to fight back.
According to the organization Everytown For Gun Safety, NRA-backed lawmakers in 14 different states — Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon, Nevada, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming — have introduced legislation to allow students to carry guns on campus. Seven other states currently allow college students to have weapons on school grounds.
Amid larger conversations about how to best address the campus rape crisis, these politicians have recently framed their “campus carry” proposals as policies they believe will keep women safe from potential assaults. One Nevada lawmaker, for instance, recently asserted that “young, hot little girls on campus” need to be armed with guns to prevent themselves from being raped.