A teacher was raped by a student one day during her first weeks teaching in Ohio. A writer was stalked by a man who used to live in her neighborhood, forcing her to move. A female columnist was threatened by a mugger on a bridge in Washington, D.C. Women often become victims of male violence, and many analysts are urging them to purchase guns for self-defense.

Ann Coulter, the columnist who nearly got mugged, reasons, “We can’t have a world without violence, because the world is half male and testosterone causes homicide. A world with violence—that is to say, with men—but without weapons is the worst of all possible worlds for women.” She claims that “without guns I’m what is known as prey.” Barbara Goushaw, the...