You might think a twice-elected state senator would have the good sense to treat a rape victim with respect during testimony at the state Capitol.
That’s not what happened Monday during a hearing on a bill that would ban concealed weapons on college campuses, however.
State Sen. Evie Hudak, D-Westminster, seemed bent on contradicting Amanda Collins, a Nevada woman who testified that she felt she could have defended herself against her attacker if she had been carrying her weapon.
Hudak responded: “I just want to say that actually, statistics are not on your side even if you had had a gun.”
She went on to say that according to the Colorado Coalition Against Gun Violence, for every one woman who used a handgun to kill someone in self-defense, 83 women were murdered by them.
Why did Hudak feel that was necessary? And is she sure of her facts?
We found a Violence Policy Center study that looked at 1998 FBI statistics and concluded that for every time a woman used a handgun to kill an intimate acquaintance in self-defense, 83 women were murdered by an intimate acquaintance with a gun.
That statistic isn’t relevant to an attack by a stranger, which is what Collins suffered. Nevertheless, another study published in the American Journal of Public Health concluded that individuals who possessed a gun during an assault were roughly 4.5 times more likely to be shot than those who did not.
Even if Hudak bungled the statistics, the question remains: What is gained by trying to one-up a rape victim and her belief she could have beaten the odds?
And given the dust-up after state Rep. Joe Salazar’s rape comments when the bill was debated in the House, why didn’t Hudak have the sense to exercise restraint?
In a prepared statement Hudak said: “Amanda was reflecting on her experience and asked the committee if having a gun would have made her safer. I realize now it was a rhetorical question. Amid this emotional testimony, my goal was to share research data about the increased danger of having a gun in an assault.”
The episode made Hudak look like she cared not a whit for a rape victim. We’re glad she at least had the good sense to apologize.
