[Urbane Guerrilla]

Aliantha, it's less a circular argument than an inextricable intertwining of every relevant factor.

Women with guns can, for instance, deflate rapists more effectually than women with anything else, period. Even a Doberman might be in the back yard. And even those who fret, "isn't it awful for a woman to have to shoot somebody at whites-of-the-eyes range?" seem remarkably forgetful about how awful it might be to have to get raped, with or without subsequent murder by any of an assortment of up close and personal methods -- rather seldom, in fact, do the rapist-murderers back off and shoot. You hear about them strangling, or stabbing, or bludgeoning.

This cognitive disconnect is one thing that persuades the pro-gun people that the antigun people are completely out of their minds.

The idea of a national militia as a national defense wasn't really very successfully implemented in the United States. Switzerland's military seems a better try at it -- and this has not been tested in any conflict, let alone a outrance. It seems that militia powers of the citizen have their greatest effect in police matters rather than general war. Certainly this is their usual venue.