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SC sheriff urges women to carry guns

Wright suggests that women carry a .45-caliber weapon

Associated Press

SPARTANBURG, S.C. — A South Carolina sheriff is urging women to get concealed weapons permits and carry guns to protect themselves.

Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright made the suggestion Monday while discussing the arrest of a suspect in an attempted rape last weekend.

Wright suggests that women carry a .45-caliber weapon because he says they wouldn’t have to be accurate, just close to the target. He showed reporters at a news conference a fanny pack women could use to carry a handgun while jogging.

The sheriff encouraged women to walk in groups. And he said it’s better to carry a gun than mace.

Forty-six-year-old Walter Monroe Lance of Spartanburg was charged Monday with kidnapping, first-degree criminal sexual conduct and grand larceny in a Sunday attack on a woman in a park.

Copyright 2011 Associated Press