Packing Heat

In a culture of fear, where women are assaulted by images of themselves as victims, the idea of picking up a gun and getting even is tempting. Women who carry firearms don't fit stereotypes: they can be soft-spoken liberals, doctoral students, or nurses. They see the right to pack a gun as an issue of women's empowerment. Many call themselves feminists. Packing Heat profiles women of this emerging gun culture, from self-styled guru Paxton Quigley, to a University of Toronto psychology professor who spends her weekends at the gun club. The video also features self-defence advocates and anti-gun feminists who say that security doesn't come from the barrel of a gun, and that weapons-makers are profiting from fear. Most of the women featured in Packing Heat say they feel safer armed. But with guns far more likely to kill a child than an intruder, is that sense of safety or illusion? This lively documentary looks at why women want to carry firearms, and at the ethical and practical implications of a gun in every purse.