it ain’t a gender issue! It's an education issue!
Are we trying to be PC here? How many posts do we read that start out with "my husband does not want me to have a gun for SD"?!?
I disagree, but not entirely.
It is both. I believe men are much more prepared, mentally, to confront an attack. That DOES NOT mean that a woman who sees her child being threatened will not fight to the death. It means that she does not think about it like a man, nor does she prepare for it in advance quite like a man. Women are not comfortable with the idea of fighting or defending one's life with deadly force (and I can't totally say that I blame them either). The action of self-defense is a very serious topic. We are talking about the taking of another's life, in order to save our's or another's life/lives. Couple that with a woman who has no experience with guns, outside of movies and media, and you have someone who SEEMS like she does not want to defend herself. However, put her in a position of having a child who depends on her for safety and the viewpoint changes, to varying degrees.
Now the flip-side... Suggest going shooting, to a man who has no experience with guns, and you will possibly have a range partner. I did not grow up around guns. I met my first friend who carried only 2 and a half years ago. I asked "why do you carry?" and he answered. It took about a 10 minute conversation to convince me that, "yes, it is a good idea to be able to defend yourself".
I am single and I meet/date a lot of new girls often. I like to get a feel for where they stand on self-defense and guns, before I even remotely suggest that I
might be someone who owns a gun. The fear of guns from women is shocking, as well as their concept of what is a suitable defense against an attacker. Some of them can be saved from the "feelings of safety", but some of them are helpless without some serious therapy. Yes, I am going to remain single for a long, long time.