For a considerable amount of time now I have been trying to find a women’s rights group that matches up with my political beliefs. Being somewhere between a conservative and a libertarian, this hasn’t been the easiest of tasks.

Many of these groups support exactly what I am against, government handouts. Groups like the National Organization for Women are just tools of the political left.

Many of these types of feminists want to achieve what they consider “equality” through means that are unequal or benefit women in order to put them at the “same level” as men. They support big government and they will do and say anything to meet their political goals.

Well, not Women Against Gun Control.

This is a national organization dedicated to preserving the Second Amendment right to bear arms.

These women use rights guaranteed to them in the Constitution to make sure they do not fall victim to a crime. They have come to realize the police are not everywhere we might like for them to be, so it is a woman’s right to protect herself.

The group uses basic logic in establishing why it is smart for a woman to arm herself and why carrying a gun is the best form of self protection. The group believes “guns are a girl’s best friend.”

And WAGC is right. Guns are the best way for a women to avoid being victimized, but some people don’t see things that way. A few years ago, I had a professor recommend that women, and men, not try to carry a gun, because they are dangerous. He recommended a whistle instead. When attacked, just blow the whistle to draw attention to yourself.

So let’s put this in a real-life situation. A 5-foot-2, 110-pound woman is walking to the corner store at night. A 6-foot-4 man weighing in at 240 pounds comes out of an alley. As the man approaches, the woman knows something is wrong. The man walks right up to her and grabs her arm. He tells her to follow him into the alley, where he is planning on raping her, or else.

The woman pulls out a whistle and blows it. The man beats her, knocking the whistle out of her mouth, and takes her into the alley. She is helpless.

Now give the woman a gun and she would have had a chance to protect herself, plain and simple. In situations like this, “guns are the great equalizer.”

But carrying guns is not all the members do.

The WAGC Web page, www.wagc.com, lists the group’s pledge, which encourages political activism and establishes respect for firearms.

1. “You vote.”

2. “You believe in and work to preserve the Second Amendment.”

3. “You exercise safety and responsibility in the handling of firearms.”

4. “You don’t believe that guns cause crime.”

5. “You promise to never cause bodily harm to anyone unless acting in self-defense.”

WAGC does what it can to educate people in variety of ways.

As is the case with any gun group, gun safety is preached. The Web site posts “The Ten Commandments of Gun Safety” as well as ways to sign up for gun safety classes.

It also uses science and research to support its ideas, and the group makes that info readily available to its members. The most important part of this is the honesty behind the info. Groups like NOW have to lie and deceive people in order to get them to support their cause. WAGC simply gives its members facts.

Take for instance a story on the front page of www.now.org — “Help NOW Save the Senate.” Sounds normal, right? Read the teaser. “In a matter of days we could lose the only thing that stands between George W. Bush and his determination to overturn the right to safe, legal abortion — the U.S. Senate. Please support NOW’s efforts to get out the vote.”

For the love of God, George W. Bush is not trying to take away your “rights.” See, most people understand that they will not change some one else’s mind on abortion, so it is left alone. But groups like NOW use it to make sure a person who has differing political beliefs can not succeed. They focus on one little belief that would probably never even affect women’s “right to choose” as a way to make sure they do not advance politically. It is done so for reasons other than abortion, however. Hence, many members of NOW are puppets of the political left. Politicians make things up to hurt political opponents and groups like NOW go around repeating the accusations as if they are fact.

On the other side, WAGC posts information showing why guns help society, but they use science and logic to argue their point for them. For example, on the front page of the group’s site is a study that shows 2.5 million Americans used a gun to avoid being made a victim last year. It’s a bit more convincing than NOW’s scare tactics of how Bush is trying to reverse Roe v. Wade.

It’s good to see a politically active women’s group use existing rights to ensure equality, rather than trying to get new, exclusive privileges.

Zach Calef

is a junior in apparel design, production and

merchandising from Cedar Rapids. He is a member of the Daily’s editorial board.