Alphecca

those "restraining orders" don't amount to much, as you note unless backed up by force. i don't know if you remember or heard of the murder, some years ago, of a woman down here in brattleboro who left her boyfriend, a local radio personality, to take up a relationship with a woman. he stalked them and finally killed her with a knife in front of her new lover at a local gas station. while i might disagree with her lifestyle she certainly had a right to live and "pursue happiness" in whatever form she saw it. i cannot help but wonder what the outcome would have been if those women had had even an old police surplus .38 special in their car and the presence of mind to use it. (and for you flatlanders, they legally could have. we don't do "pistol permits" in vermont. just mind your own business and keep the peace and no one cares what you're carrying.

by the way, about arming women, i heartily agree! shortly after moving to vermont, almost 40 years ago, i bought my wife a pistol and taught her to shoot. when our daughter was old enough i taught her too, and helped her get a 9mm colt govt. model. now my grand daughter is almost 10 and she too is learning to shoot grandma's old .22 llama, and as soon as i can afford it she'll be getting a brand new SIGsauer .22 "mosquito" pistol to go to the range with.