Do you feel the need to be armed?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I dread starting this thread, because I can see it turning into Yet Another Gun Debate. I hope it doesn’t, but it probably will. :frowning: The intention of this thread is not to debate gun control! The intention is to find out how many gun owners feel the need to own a gun for defense.

Anyway. Many people cite self-defense as a reason they wish to own a firearm. I know that there are people on these boards who have been in situations, and who probably will be in situations in the future, where they did and will do need an ‘equalizer’.

I’ve owned firearms since I was legally allowed to do so; 18 for a rifle, and 21 for a handgun. I lived in a part of L.A. that had some gang activity (complete with shootings). I’ve been Downtown (a really crappy area) in the wee hours. I often had to be in a rather seedy industrial/run-down part of San Pedro when the only people outside were not people one would want to associate with. And yet, I’ve only once felt the need to be armed – and that was in the County Courthouse, where it would have been illegal.

My collection is not loaded. None of the firearms in it are for self-defence. I do not feel the need to own a firearm for that purpose.

Do you?

2

I do not currently own a gun, nor do I feel the need to at this time.

However, I reserve the right to purchase and possess a firearm for whatever legal means I choose, be it self-defence, sport, food or any other reason. I strongly support the right of people to bear arms and to live with the consequences (positive and negative) of their choice.

3

I’ve often thought that ownership of any bullet-launcher for use as self-defense was a poor argument.
That being said, I agree with modernhamlet in that I reserve the right to own a firearm if I choose to do so.

I currently do own a gun; though most certainly not for self-defense.
It’s a civil-war era muzzle-loading Springfield.

4

I try to avoid places where I feel there is a significant chance of armed conflict taking place. Since there is little to no chance that I will be in a situation that requires a firearm the risk of accident or having it stolen is higher than the benefit of proteciton. Perhaps someday when I am living alone in a more isolated setting I might have a shotgun for protection in my home but I doubt it.

5

I have a concealed carry permit and I carry a gun. To date, I have not used it, nor do I contemplate doing so with enjoyment. I have defended myself unarmed with varying degrees of success, including against multiple assailants. I prefer to have the option of armed defense should the situation recur.

6

Not myself, but I have friends that do. I am have been taking one of my friends to the shooting range so she can learn how to use guns because she is a member of a group of people who are the victim of violence at an extremely high rate. Another one of my friends who is a member of that same group always carries a pocketknife on her and is also being trained in firearm use.

7
      • I generally don’t feel the need to be armed, in terms of carrying. I think if I did regularly, the main thing occupying my mind would be moving to someplace less hazardous. In my opinion, carrying a gun would not offset the risks of living and working in a high-crime area.
  • If I could get a CC permit, I probably would, but would not bother to carry most of the time considering where I live and work now. So count me as another “would like the option of,”. I would need to buy another gun for carrying though, as none of the few pistols I have are really suitable, their calibers aside.
  • I do keep a handgun loaded within reach of the bed, but the rest are locked up empty and all the guns I own are rimfire and target-oriented, and were definitely not bought with “putting holes in people” in mind… -but being surprised in my sleep by an intruder, I know that I would want every advantage possible–and even a rimfire pistol can deal serious damage at point blank range.
    ~
8

Nope. I can’t think of any time when I felt that I needed a gun to defend myself. However, I can think of lots of times I *wished * I had a gun to shoot someone with - which is why I don’t carry a gun… :slight_smile:

9

Not really, I just enjoy shooting at the range with friends. But if the situation were to ever present itself, it’s there. I know some people who’s primary reason is self defense, but mine is recreational.

10

I am armed for a few reasons…

I like putting holes in flesh… Animal flesh, when in season, and properly permited. It tastes good, and gives me a reason to go into the woods for hours and hours of “me & the world” time, with a specific goal in mind. I’m not very successful yet, but it’s a learning process, and the guns allow me to reap a tasty harvest at the successful completion of said goal.

I enjoy the mental dicipline, and the friendships I’ve developed at the ranges. Putting holes in paper, and doing it well, and consistently, are very satisfying to me. Abuse from fellow shooters is ultimately satisfying on the sporting clays course, especially when I get to return it! :slight_smile:

I want to have the ability to protect and provide for my family should ***“The Worst” ** * ever come to pass. My tinfoil hat is packed away, but I can’t dismiss the possibilities.

I’ve heard cleaning a gun when you’re daughter’s date comes to pick her up (I’ve a few years yet before the 5week old daughter dates) sets just the right tone. :smiley:

Defense against the wife. (She’s a better shot, she comes from the “gun fanatic” family, I’m just a convert.)

11

There was a time when I felt it needful to be armed. Of course, I was living with a paraplegic girlfriend in a bad, bad neighborhood. I couldn’t, at that time, count on us being able to run out of trouble, and I couldn’t count on being able to defend both of us without a weapon, and I could count on trouble happening sooner or later. Sometime later, we moved, and then we broke up. The weapons were put away until the next time I found myself living with a woman in an ugly neighborhood. This time, she was a single mom with a small child. Same general calculus as before, and I went armed.

Since that time, I’ve become married to a woman who can take me two falls out of five and used to guard nuclear weapons in the Navy… And we live in a safe neighborhood. It reached a point where I’d gone unarmed for so long I no longer saw any point in owning my carry weapon, and the expense of range time to keep current on a weapon I wasn’t seriously planning on using became too much - I sold my carry piece, and am quite pleased to not feel the need to go armed.

I still own firearms, but they’re for the kind of shooting I enjoy, not the kind I feel obliged to practice for.

12

I live in a country where firearms are far more tightly regulated than the US, though not as much as some European countries. Crime in my city is very low, even by Canadian standards, if you excluded the drug motivated gang on gang shootings.

Although current policies of the Candian government do not allow citizens to carry concealed handguns, I would still want the ability to do so at times, and do want the option of a firearm for home defence. This is for the same reason I have a fire-extinguisher & first aid kit in my car, have taken CPR & first aid courses, buy insurance, use a seatbelt in a car with airbags, have an alarm system, have smoke and CO detectors, and lock the doors at night. Do I think the risk of house fire, car accident, or buglary is high? No, I know these are highly unlikely events, that I can keep even lower by the right behavior & precautions. But I define risk, in a “pseudo-mathematical” way as

RISK = Probability of bad event X Severity of Harm from bad event.

So even a very unlikely event with a very bad outcome can be deemed a significant risk, warranting percautions.

Despite being on the bigger end of the male form spectrum, I am not athletic, I have very low unarmed self defence skills, and any violent crime I may encounter will likely be at the hands of someone with a lot more “fighting”* experience than me. Firearms make hand/knife fighting skills and size less relevant. This would be even more of an issue if I were small, female, and worried about the whole rape thing. It would also be my hope that self defence using a firearm would result in less harm to me and the attacker, since there is a good chance that I would not have to fire to stop the crime.

I also fully realise that the presence of a firearm in a home is itself a risk factor, which is why I also believe in taking the necessary storage precautions

I guess it’s just in my nature to want to be prepared to face most emergencies. It just gives me better peace of mind. A firearm for me is still primarily recreational item, but one that would be more effective than a 9-iron or a Louisville Slugger for deterring / repelling a home intrusion or mugging. I will readily acknowledge that it carries far more responsibility than either of those alternatives, hovever.

** It is a paradox of firearm use in self-defence that most CCW permit holders in the States have more practice and greater skills with their firearms than most criminals, who do not practice regularly and have very little experience in the far more difficult than it seems skill of accurate shooting with a handgun*.

13

We have an assault weapon. Why, you ask? Because we live in a rural area and the cops are loathe to drive out here. Add meth labs and several cases of burglary, plus a gangbanger waving his gun in front of our house (Arrival of police: 2 hours). THAT is why we have an assault weapon.

Well, that and it’s fun to have.

14

I own an indeterminate number of handguns, rifles and shotguns. I collect, shoot, and have for defensive purposes a handy collection of things that go bang. I’m short, fat, and seriously lacking in the ability to bring a miscreant to heel by hand. Thus…the tools. :smiley:

15

I haven’t felt the need to be armed for self defense purposes for many years ('98-'99) until recently, when the apartment complex I live in (which is actually fairly nice) let in some late teens/early 20’s assholes who hoot, holler, and get rowdy in the parking lot at 3:00 AM in the morning, and have little or no respect for other people or their property.

I’ve called the cops on them several times, and have filed written complaints, to the point that several have had to appear in court. Their neighbors have come out and thanked me, as they’re scared silly of these often violent, overgrown juvenile delinquents.

This has led to an incident in which they were “tailgating” in the parking lot, and one cursed me out and threw a half-full beer bottle at me as I was walking from my car to my apartment; they followed me far enough to see where I lived, and told me, “We’ve got your number!”

While nothing has come of it, just last week they received their eviction notice, and they’ve been worse than ever. I don’t think anything is actually going to happen, but I’m not ready to undewrestimate the level of human stupidity teenagers/twenty-somethings combined with alcohol can sink to, and for the first time in almost a decade, I have a loaded handgun available in the house when I’m home, and take one with me in my car when I go somewhere (IAW the law, I’m legal).

And I hate it. I hate the feeling of having to look over my shoulder in this quiet, very peaceful community (one of the reasons I moved here), and hate the feeling that other people’s rampant stupidity may result in violence.

Once they’re gone (three weeks and counting), I’ll most likely revert to keeping my firearms unloaded and safely locked away.

16

Stun gun, hunting knife, pepper spray.

17

When serving some customer locations, yes. I carry as a matter of general business, anyway.

18

Very much so.

I currently own three rifles – a Ruger M77 Mark II (.308 Win), a FAL assault rifle (.308 Win), and a .50 BMG. In addition I have, um, lots of ammo. Why? To defend myself and my family against anyone who seeks to deny us our liberties or take away our inalienable rights.

As far as defense against unexpected threats goes, I cannot sleep unless my FAL assault rifle is within arm’s reach. I even bring it along when we go on vacation… my trusty FAL is always next to me in bed, along with a couple 20-round magazines stuffed with quality .308 ammo. Same goes for camping; my assault rifle is always next to me. :slight_smile:

19

I would very much to be armed again. I am escorted to and from work by Saudi airmen with submachineguns. While I appreciate the support, I note they do not escort me to the supermarket and elsewhere about town.

So I carry a baseball bat in the car. If you hear of a local terrorist being found with a Louisville Slugger sixty centimeters up his apex, you can be sure I was somehow involved.

20

I don’t feel the need to be armed. I pretty much follow what treis mentioned, I try to avoid places that I feel could be dangerous. In a mental run down of any potential encounter, I have never though of what use I could make of a firearm. It’s always along the lines of avoidence or negotiation skills. If the situation arose where a confrontation would occur then, then if it were a bar scene I would prefer it to be a man to man confrontation; in the home setting my mind immediately jumps to anything within reach that could potentionally be used as a weapon. That’s at the extreme end of the spectrum, otherwise, no I don’t think it’s necessary for me at this time.