Fox News guest Zerlina Maxwell: 'I refuse to be silenced' by rape threats

Democratic strategist Zerlina Maxwell on Monday said she would not be silenced by vulgar insults and threats of violence, and would continue speaking out against rape.

"I'm certainly taking steps to protect my emotional health, but I will not be quiet because I refuse to be bullied into silence," she said on MSNBC.

During a segment on Fox News' Hannity, Maxwell suggested that the onus of preventing rape should be on men rather than women. She warned that suggesting women should carry guns to prevent themselves from being raped could easily devolve into a victim-blaming mentality.

Conservatives who viewed Maxwell's remarks as hostile to gun rights took to social media websites to express their outrage, with some even saying she deserved to be gang raped and killed.

"I think women should not have to go out and get a gun," she explained on MSNBC. "Women should not have to not wear skirts or heels, and they should not have to do anything to prevent rape from happening from them. I think we need to be refocusing like a laser on the perpetrators of the rapes."

Maxwell, who is herself a survivor of sexual assault, said the situation proved her point.

"I'm saying that there is a rape culture and attacks on women, and then I'm attacked. I think it illustrates that we do have a problem."

Watch video, courtesy of MSNBC, below:

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[Ed. note: Zerlina Maxwell has done freelance work for Raw Story in the past.]