Women, Guns and Personal Safety: Essay Sample on Linda Hasselstrom's Debate

Introduction

After being in several dangerous personal situations as a woman, Linda Hasselstrom justifies her safety by possessing a gun. In her article 'Peaceful Woman Explains Why She Carries a Gun', Hasselstrom presents a logic-based argument of having a firearm when faced with a personal dangerous situation. The topic became a logical debate for the United States citizens, especially women. The article is criticized and praised based on different dimensions considering women live differently across the country. Despite her authentic concerns in the article, she employs a lot of fallacies when concluding that all women in America would be safe when protecting themselves by possessing guns.

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Hasselstrom manages to create a moral appeal based on her encounters to support her ability to carry and use guns in dangerous situations. However, her moral request creates a fallacy since she explains 'why a peaceful woman carries a gun' for her protection. While describing multiple experiences and stories, she read on the news; her argument loses its validity based on the logical fallacies and generalizations it presents. She tries explaining herself by stating that certain bad situations find good powerless women. And as the right person, using guns to control these situations will lead to good endings. These situations giver Hasselstrom's article a cause and effect which would appear logical for women to carry firearms for safety.

She presents people with two proposals and her suggested method of protecting yourself, especially as an American woman. She offers kung fu and carrying a gun as the best available options. However, she felt that firearm would be the better option for security blanket over kung fu citing that some martial arts women have been beaten and raped. Despite her decision, the thought of possessing a firearm still poses a challenge to her situation. Her husband tried to changer her perception of self-protection after claiming; "people who have not grown up with the idea that they are capable of protecting themselves-there words, most women- might have to work hard to convince themselves of their ability." (Kirszner & Mandell 356) After receiving training from her husband, she decides to possess a gun despite having strong beliefs of avoiding the use of firearms by ordinary people.

Many people across the United States have criticized Hasselstrom's argument in the article claiming that the recommendation she makes comes for generalization of all women and a logical fallacy. Multiple researchers have said the generalized persuasion speaks on other aspects of women apart from their safety concerns. The article becomes more controversial when Hasselstrom wrote 'the pistol just changes the balance of power.' (Kirszner & Mandell 357) This statement implies that men are more powerful than women while generalizing women inferiority in society. She also makes women feel powerless over men when they do not possess a firearm. This idea goes against her logic which is meant to make women more powerful in certain situations or encounters with men.

Conclusion

Hasselstrom's essay portrays guns as useful equipment for women protection rather than its original envisioned purpose, which meant that they were weapons of violence. Additionally, the essay creates a general dilemma which more modern women face considering their protection against masculine threats and violence. The argument and the logical fallacies presented in the article helped in creating conversation on women self-protection in modern society where women move by themselves around the country.

Work Cited

Kirszner G.Laurie & Mandell R, Stephen. Patterns for College Writing; Hasselstrom/A peaceful woman explains why she carries a gun. Bedford/St.Martin's 12th Ed; 354-359. Retrieved from https://rws200wiki.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/93769616/HasselstromA%20Peaceful%20Woman.pdf