T oday’s crime wave has women looking over their shoulders at every turn; mass murderers, rapists in ski masks, robbers at automatic teller machines, car jackers, drug dealers, and drive-by shooters strike with guns bigger than ever. With 17,790 firearm homicides in the United States in 1992 alone,’ the epidemic of gun violence has become a public health issue and galvanized the nation politically. As a result, legislators passed some long-needed interventions such as Brady Law-mandated waiting periods, background checks on gun purchases, and bans on assault weapons. But at the same time, the firearm industry profits from the public fear of violence. This article first describes the gun industry’s exploitation of fear to create an enormous new female market. It then explores the real risk to women from firearm-related deaths and violent crime, and concludes that gun ownership actually increases a woman’s vulnerability to gun injuries in her home, without conferring a demonstrable protective benefit.