Nope. I’ll let you have another crack at it. When I report a man with a gun, I have no idea if he is a lawful or responsible gun owner. The Umqua shooter was a lawful, responsible gun owner until he shot his first victim.
When you strap on your gun in the morning, you are assuming there is a bad guy with a gun out there, even in the absence of any evidence. Your criminal is far more imaginary than mine. I can see a gun; you can’t.
A fire extinguisher, a burglar alarm, bars across a window, and a gun ALL have the same purpose:
To protect against danger.
I realize that some people may have a hard time understanding or believing that, but it really is that simple.
So why don’t you carry a fire extinguisher?
You’re right; that is simple. It’s also not helpful, since we don’t have a problem with mass bludgeonings with burglar alarms.
How does a gun protect against danger? I’m not being dense, it’s a serious question. I don’t see how it is supposed to work.
#2 is highly unlikely in an urban environment (most of us).
#3 and #4 aren’t that easy to tell apart in the heat of the moment. So at best, unless I’m missing something, the best benefit is that it’s possibly a tool for threatening or frightening criminals; the greatest risk is that you are likely to escalate the situation with an armed criminal and die.
Given the likelihood of encountering a dangerous situation in which a gun is a benefit rather than a drawback, I still don’t see the prudence in being armed.
Incorrect on many levels. I do not assume that there is a bad guy out there. I know that there MAY be a bad guy out there. I also know that I am very unlikely to meet anybody who wishes me harm on any given trip.
You are the one who is making unwarranted assumptions. You assume that the mere presence of a gun signifies immediate danger. It does not. What the person does with the gun is what signifies danger.
It’s probably a waste of time to repeat this, but again–a gun is merely a tool, nothing more. Your insistence on regarding it as more than that is the cause of your fear.
A tool for what, though? What can a gun do other than what I said above, put a bullet into something or threaten to do so?
A gun is a weapon. Calling it “merely a tool” is disingenuous.
Are fire extinguishers also used to start fires?
Are burglar alarms used break into homes?
Are the bars across a window a useful tool to enter through said window?
One of these things is not like the others,
One of these things just doesn’t belong,
Can you tell which thing is not like the others
By the time I finish my song?
No, they are not. In states where background checks are not required from private sellers, the seller IS following the law when selling to the criminal. Unless the criminal is wearing an orange jumpsuit, there is literally no way for the private seller to know it’s illegal for the buyer to possess the weapon.
Interesting fact, EVERY gun that is in the hands of a criminal was once legally owned. At some point in that gun’s life it was transferred from a law-abiding gun owner to a criminal. This whole ‘no background check’ thing is just another way for that transfer to happen.
And that’s the difference between your abject fear and my reasonable caution. When I see a guy walking through WalMart with a gun on his hip, I KNOW he could draw and fire at any time. You are imagining the guy with the gun; I can see him.
It’s a little difficult to answer this, because circumstances can vary so much. Here is a real-life example, however, from a few years ago:
Speaking in general terms, a gun is a great equalizer. Suppose an unarmed 20 year old man who lifts weights wants to rob an 80 year old woman. His fists are all the weapons he needs to seriously injure or even kill her. But if she has a gun and knows how to use it, now she can effectively defend herself.
Even against a criminal who has a gun, having a gun certainly can’t hurt, and will very often help. Most predators, whether 4 legs or 2, will back off when they see that the risk is likely to outweigh the reward. A little research has been done on this, and there are some criminals who are deterred by the possibility that a potential victim might be armed.
And I still want to know why you don’t carry a fire extinguisher; a fire could break out time, and is probably more likely than a bad guy with a gun.
And I know that he WON’T.
Again–criminals simply do not advertise their intentions in that manner.
YOU are the fearful one, because you imagine something that has literally NEVER happened.
Interesting. I am not sure I agree, but I appreciate the food for thought.
There are a lot of 80 year olds that shouldn’t be driving because of impaired hand/eye coordination and/or visual impairment and/or mental impairment…but you think the answer is to give them guns.
Could you please describe the “bad guy” you are ready to defend against?
Yep. It’s the same logic that drives so many of our weapons laws… If something looks scary, that’s more important than whether or not it actually kills people.
Handguns are used in the vast majority of criminal homicides because, duh, they are small and concealable and that’s what criminals want. Yet the government passed laws against “assault rifles,” despite the fact that they are used in only a tiny fraction of crimes… Precisely because that’s the exact opposite of what a smart criminal would do.
FWIW, if I wanted to reduce gun violence I would start by eliminating concealed carry and making open carry mandatory. Open carry presents a visible deterrent, while concealed carry benefits the criminals.
You don’t say…So that would be the perfect ruse for a deranged killer to get the drop on his unsuspecting victims. Just walk in with a clean shirt and a squared-away haircut with a Glock on your hip, and all the good guys with guns will assume you are one of them. Find a place against the wall facing the door like Bill Hickok, then pick your first, second and third targets. Blow them all away before they can say, “My goodness, I didn’t see that coming…”
Man, thanks for pointing that out, I’m going to be extra vigilant. See something, say something.
"Since Australia banned private ownership of most guns in 1996, crime
has risen dramatically on that continent, prompting critics of U.S. gun
control efforts to issue new warnings of what life in America could be
like if Congress ever bans firearms.
After Australian lawmakers passed widespread gun bans, owners were
forced to surrender about 650,000 weapons, which were later slated for
destruction, according to statistics from the Australian Sporting
Shooters Association.
The bans were not limited to so-called “assault” weapons or
military-type firearms, but also to .22 rifles and shotguns. The effort
cost the Australian government about $500 million, said association
representative Keith Tidswell.
Though lawmakers responsible for passing the ban promised a safer
country, the nation’s crime statistics tell a different story:
Countrywide, homicides are up 3.2 percent;
Assaults are up 8.6 percent;
Amazingly, armed robberies have climbed nearly 45 percent;
In the Australian state of Victoria, gun homicides have climbed
300 percent;
In the 25 years before the gun bans, crime in Australia had been
dropping steadily;
There has been a reported “dramatic increase” in home burglaries
and assaults on the elderly.
At the time of the ban, which followed an April 29, 1996
shooting at a Port Arthur tourist spot by lone gunman Martin Bryant, the
continent had an annual murder-by-firearm rate of about 1.8 per 100,000
persons, “a safe society by any standards,” said Tidswell. But such low
rates of crime and rare shootings did not deter then-Prime Minister John
Howard from calling for and supporting the weapons ban.
Read more at Crime up Down Under * WorldNetDaily * by Jon Dougherty
These pathetic people parrot what their friendly leering politicians in their $5,000 suits surrounded by armed to the teeth gunsels in dark glasses protecting their own precious rear ends, and the talking heads on their tv sets, tell them and don’t even have the common sense to comprehend that if you disarm honest people so that they can’t defend themselves criminals will be very happy, and criminals laugh at gun ban laws, as well as foot and fist and feet and steel bars and robbery and rape etc. ban laws.
And if you don’t fancy that source you can google up a thousand more about violent crime rates skyrocketing in the UK and Australia since the ruling vampires banned guns for honest people and honest people only, rules of course not applying to themselves.