Liberal Forum

I saw this last night, and Lawrence O'Donnell tore this woman and her ridiculous argument to shreds.Looks like the witnesses invited by the Republican Senators, Gayle Trotter and Wayne LaPierre, didn't fare so well under questioning, in advancing their agenda.You can watch the video at the link in the title.Lawrence O'Donnell Eviscercates Gayle Trotter Over Gun TestimonyLawrence O'Donnell pretty well eviscerated the "Independent" Women's Forum's Gayle Trotter, and her appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday, where she testified that assault weapons should not be outlawed because they were the "weapon of choice" for young mothers who need a "scary-looking gun."I was glad to see O'Donnell call out her organization for being anything but "independent" because they're not. And apparently attorney Trotter, who also opposes the Violence Against Women Act (go read why), isn't too fond of being called a right-winger. O'Donnell's back-and-forth with her starts about nine minutes into the clip above.Here's more from O'Donnell's blog at MSNBC: Guns make women safer, says Gayle Trotter. Study says, not so:The use of assault weapons among women emerged as standout topic at Wednesdays Senate hearing on gun control legislation. Gayle Trotter, a lawyer and senior fellow at the conservative Independent Womens Forum, said women need that type of firearm to level the playing field when confronted by physically stronger male attackers.The guns rights advocate told lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee that guns make women safer. To her, AR-15s are the weapon of choice because they have good handling, they're light, they're easy for women to hold. And the appearance of such a scary-looking gun deters violent male criminals during home invasions.But a recent study conducted by the Harvard Injury Control Research Center disputed those assertions. The study found that women living in states with more accessibility to guns are at a greater risk for violent death. This includes unintentional gun deaths, suicides and homicide, particularly firearm suicides and firearm homicides.During an interview on The Last Word Wednesday night, MSNBCs Lawrence ODonnell challenged Trotter for not being able to provide one real life example of a case when an assault weapon specifically saved one womans life in that kind of a situation. You dont go to the Senate to imagine things! ODonnell said.While speaking in front of the senators, Trotter described a hypothetical scene of a young woman defending her babies in her home when faced with three, four, five violent attackers, intruders in her home with her children screaming in the background as a reason to own an assault rifle.The peace of mind that she has, knowing that she has a scary-looking gun, gives her more courage when she's fighting hardened, violent criminals, said Trotter, who was the only woman on the five-person panel.If we ban these types of assault weapons, you are putting these types of women at a great disadvantage-more so than men because they dont have the same type of physical strength and opportunity to defend themselves in a hand-to-hand struggle.Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse pointed out that the woman she referred to in her statement, a young Oklahoma mother who shot an intruder, used a gun that wouldn't be banned by the law."While speaking in front of the senators, Trotter described a hypothetical scene of a young woman defending her babies in her home when faced with three, four, five violent attackers, intruders in her home with her children screaming in the background as a reason to own an assault rifle."So then according to Miss Trotter, a woman would need to keep that assault weapon fully loaded and readily accessible in her home, otherwise it would be no good to her if she were faced with that scenario.What happens when one those children (who she describes as screaming in the background) gets hold of it?