# Guns in the home - where do you stand? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 7, 2010, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-in-the-home-where-do-you-stand/563343 "2010-12-07T22:41:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-in-the-home-where-do-you-stand/563343/61 "2010-12-09T04:31:22Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > I have plenty of guns. I have rifles, pistols, shotguns, and blackpowder guns. They’re useful for self-defense, for hunting, and for fun at the target range. None of those reasons are the primary reason I own any of them. No, the main reason I own them, especially the military and military-style weapons is specifically that they piss off anti-gun people. Every time I read a post on an internet board, or a post to a blog, or a letter to a periodical bitching about such weapons being in civilian hands, I get a warm feeling of satisfaction. I own some I’ve never even fired just because I enjoy contributing to \*more \*of them being in the civilian pool. > An AR-15 or AK-47 may or may not be more fun to fire at the range than Grandpa’s lever action .30-30, but the AR/AK is definitely more fun to simply own because it agitates the antis and their congresscritters for me to have it. > [@Scumpup](#): > > “Compromising” with the antis never accomplished anything but nibbling our rights away, so thank _you_ and the horse you rode in on. It wasn’t until we became militant (thanks largely to Clinton’s AWB) and started pushing back that we did anything but lose. I’ve been part of this game since the 70’s and I’ve seen what wins and what loses. Making nice means take somebody uncommitted to the range and let them burn some of your ammo. The antis are a lost cause and making nice with them is, at best, pointless. Confrontation with them, every step of the way, is what has made nearly nationwide CCW a reality, prevented the reinstitution of the AWB, and numerous other victories. You be genteel if you want, I’ll concentrate on getting back more of what we lost in previous eras. > [@villa](#): > > Your definition of militant is “I’m doing this to piss people off.” > > My definition is fighting things in the courts to defend mine, and your, second amendment rights. > > Which of us has had more success? Because I’ll give you a clue - even with this Court, if Heller’s lawyers had stood up and argued that Heller’s right to own a firearm was based on pissing of the gun control brigade, we’d have lost. > > Unfortunately to you, posing is more important than practicality. You are the epitome of the guy who views guns as a penis substitute, an image that responsible gun owners have fought against with varying degrees of success. It’s because of people like you the AWB passed in the first place, because no one listens to people like you when explaining that a bayonet lug doesn’t make a gun more dangerous. Instead they listen to people like me. Provided people like you shut the fuck up. > [@silenus](#): > > I politely and respectfully suggest that you might, at some time in the future when your schedule permits, lightly place your incisors upon my epidermis and lightly apply pressure. **MODERATOR DEMANDS ATTENTION**. I don’t care who started it. I don’t care if I missed someone to wail on. You will ALL STOP this hijack of this thread which is in IMHO NOW. Failure to follow this direction will gather you a warning. Need to Pit someone–take it to the Pit. **samclem** Moderator. ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-in-the-home-where-do-you-stand/563343/62 "2010-12-09T05:40:17Z")
> [@C3](#): > > I’ve know two people who were raised with guns, taught proper gun safety, lived in houses where the guns were kept in secured places, who used the guns to commit suicide I’ve never really felt the need for a gun, but until I had a conversation with a stranger at a party a few weeks ago, this is something I never considered. Somehow the topic of guns came up and she said she’d never have one because of the same reason you cite. I was gobsmacked, but it made a lot of sense. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-in-the-home-where-do-you-stand/563343/63 "2010-12-09T15:11:36Z")
> [@neuroman](#): > > > [@C3](#): > > > > I’ve know two people who were raised with guns, taught proper gun safety, lived in houses where the guns were kept in secured places, who used the guns to commit suicide (they were both teenagers at the time). > > I’ve never really felt the need for a gun, but until I had a conversation with a stranger at a party a few weeks ago, this is something I never considered. Somehow the topic of guns came up and she said she’d never have one because of the same reason you cite. I was gobsmacked, but it made a lot of sense. This argument doesn’t make sense to me at all: if someone wants to commit suicide they will find a way, regardless of what’s conveniently lying around. Should we not have knives or razors in our houses because some people use them to slit their wrists? I do believe that there is an increased risk of _accidental_ death when guns are in the home, but that’s hardly the same thing as suicide. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-in-the-home-where-do-you-stand/563343/64 "2010-12-09T15:54:24Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > This argument doesn’t make sense to me at all: if someone wants to commit suicide they will find a way, regardless of what’s conveniently lying around. Should we not have knives or razors in our houses because some people use them to slit their wrists? I do believe that there is an increased risk of _accidental_ death when guns are in the home, but that’s hardly the same thing as suicide. Anecdotally, I’ll just note that sometimes you can get too depressed and amotivated to seek out a more questionable and difficult method of suicide. Swallowing the barrel of a gun sounds pretty easy in comparison to many other methods. Plus it’s a lot easier to discover someone who’s trying to die via pills or cutting their wrists before things get too far gone. ---
**Author:** ![ducati](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@ducati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ducati)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-in-the-home-where-do-you-stand/563343/65 "2010-12-09T17:00:07Z")
> [@C3](#): > > Why do you think you’re such a target for criminals? Seriously, I’m not trying to be sarcastic or snarky. I have lived in upper middle class neighborhoods, seriously bad neighborhoods, cities, and suburbs. I’ve known people from all walks of life and from many places throughout the world. You seem to have extraordinarily bad luck. While I certainly won’t argue the bad luck claim, I will tell you that these incidents are not common or frequent everywhere. These are from a 30+ year time frame, mostly in the lovely city of Atlanta, GA. The property crimes \*\*are \*\*common to all neighborhoods, and my job as a cop (as well as my residence) put me in proximity to a higher number of those people who consider armed robbery as a legitimate form of income than you might expect to encounter in the 'burbs. Also, if I see something criminal going down, I’m more likely than not to intervene, simply because of my training, experience, and abilities. I’m really a nice, average, laid-back guy with a wife, kids, dogs, cats, etc., but I do not tolerate those who victimize others very well. If I encounter a situation where I can help someone, I generally do so. To the OP, sorry for the tangent. Perhaps I was conflating the 3 previous posters including C3 who don’t want guns with someone from another similar thread. I’m elderly and get confused easily. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![PunkyPoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6bbea6/32.png) [@PunkyPoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunkyPoo)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-in-the-home-where-do-you-stand/563343/66 "2010-12-09T17:02:35Z")
We don’t own a single gun. But my son has nunchucks! ---
**Author:** ![FallenAngel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@FallenAngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FallenAngel)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-in-the-home-where-do-you-stand/563343/67 "2010-12-09T18:49:02Z")
> [@Norse](#): > > What you’re really saying is that you value an ornament which cost ~$100 over a human life? I think I may begin to understand why USA is the only Western country where the death penalty is actively enforced. > > And seriously, if I felt the need for never being more than 3.048m away from a loaded gun in my own house, I’d either move to another neighborhood or get an appointment with a psychiatrist. But I guess it takes all kinds… You’re absolutely right I value $100 watch over _some_ humans lives. If someone is willing to break into a home and steal, they’re already saying they don’t value their own life or anyone else’s. They decide whether they should be shot or not by their own actions before the event. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-in-the-home-where-do-you-stand/563343/68 "2010-12-09T18:55:05Z")
How do you group the poll choices like that so that seperate groups have distinct percentages? ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-in-the-home-where-do-you-stand/563343/69 "2010-12-09T19:26:53Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > This argument doesn’t make sense to me at all: if someone wants to commit suicide they will find a way, regardless of what’s conveniently lying around. Should we not have knives or razors in our houses because some people use them to slit their wrists? I do believe that there is an increased risk of _accidental_ death when guns are in the home, but that’s hardly the same thing as suicide. I think that’s probably more true for adults who are suicidal. Both of the boys that I knew (one, the little brother of a good friend of mine and the other, the son of a childhood friend) were teenagers, in that time of their life when you can’t seem to think beyond the next year and when every drama seems to be huger than anything else in the world. Knowing their circumstances, it’s likely that if a gun hadn’t been so near at hand, a day or so of gaining perspective or even being observed by their parents/friends/teachers might have saved their lives. I’m not saying that they didn’t have real issues that they were dealing with, but that they were both typical teenagers dealing with typical teenager stuff. Neither of them was gay (that I know of), but the recent videos with the message, “It Gets Better” would have been very relevant to them. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-in-the-home-where-do-you-stand/563343/70 "2010-12-09T19:51:58Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > This argument doesn’t make sense to me at all: if someone wants to commit suicide they will find a way, regardless of what’s conveniently lying around. Should we not have knives or razors in our houses because some people use them to slit their wrists? I do believe that there is an increased risk of _accidental_ death when guns are in the home, but that’s hardly the same thing as suicide. I have depression. For that reason, I will not keep a gun in my house, or allow Mr. Neville to keep one here. I don’t want myself having easy access to a gun on a bad day. I’m glad my parents didn’t have a gun in the house when I was a teenager. I don’t know that I’d be here today if they had. If you’re on a diet, it’s a good idea not to keep snack foods and sweets in the house. That makes it harder to satisfy an impulse to eat something unhealthy. Not having a gun makes it harder to satisfy the impulse to kill yourself. Some depressed people have suicidal impulses sometimes, just like almost all people have impulses to eat unhealthy food. > [@C3](#): > > the recent videos with the message, “It Gets Better” would have been very relevant to them. I wish they had had those when I was in high school. Or that somebody could have told me that being in your 30s, unemployed, and starting to feel some signs of aging still beats the pants off high school, at least for some people. Instead, I had parents who said that high school was the best time of your life. Not for me, it wasn’t. ---
**Author:** ![SanDiegoTim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@SanDiegoTim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanDiegoTim)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-in-the-home-where-do-you-stand/563343/71 "2010-12-09T20:18:52Z")
Previous to June of 1989 I did not own a firearm. I didn’t (and still don’t) have any poblem with either perspective of gun ownership. For Fathers Day that year I received a rifle, to be used mostly for “plinking” and/or target practice. Couple of months later, our daughter came frantically running into our bedroom at 1:00 AM saying someone was breaking into her bedroom. Long story short, the perps were two convicted and armed felons (attempted murder) and no one else will ever have to worry about either one of them. We lived in an average suburban neighborhood leading avergae lifestyles. Nothing unusual one way or another. The detectives catagorized it as a “one in a million” type invasion. Had I not owned a firearm and/or hesitated to use it, the probablility is that I would not be responding to this post. I cannot imagine anyone convincing me to give up ownership. As my experience demonstrates, you just never know. ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-in-the-home-where-do-you-stand/563343/72 "2010-12-09T20:25:12Z")
My situation is a bit difficult to encapsulate with the options. When I was younger and still living at home, my younger brother had gotten mixed up in a bad crowd and, as a result, the house was broken into at least twice to my knowledge, but in both cases when no one was home. Knowing who those people were and what their intentions were, I strongly suspect that the very reason they chose to do so was because they knew that my father owned guns and knew that no one was home. Also, as part of the same general situation, while it wasn’t an attempted break in, they had come by to start some trouble and I made them leave by obviously carrying a rather large knife… odd though that that was enough to make them leave when the other person with the shotgun wasn’t enough. Anyway, though I do have various weapons as collectibles (primarily medieval and Asian types), I do not currently own a gun. Whenever I do go target shooting, which granted isn’t often, I’ll just use one of my friends’ guns, so the only real incentive to owning one myself is for protection, and I just don’t feel the need for it currently. I may reconsider at such a point that I live in a situation that I feel I am at greater risk for a break-in (ie, live in a nicer house) or have family to protect, but for now, it’s not really worth the money for me. Anyway, with regard to the poll, I answered it with regard to the previous situation since I had, in fact, faced home invasion and, based on the content of the OP, I figure that is more relevant. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-in-the-home-where-do-you-stand/563343/73 "2010-12-09T20:35:43Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > Swallowing the barrel of a gun sounds pretty easy in comparison to many other methods. To you, perhaps. I think actually pulling a trigger would be way more difficult than taking a bunch of pills, for example – especially if I wasn’t _that_ motivated to kill myself in the first place. > [@C3](#): > > Knowing their circumstances, it’s likely that if a gun hadn’t been so near at hand, a day or so of gaining perspective or even being observed by their parents/friends/teachers might have saved their lives. “Might” is a pretty key word, there. And I had teenagers in mind when I wrote my post. > [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > I have depression. For that reason, I will not keep a gun in my house, or allow Mr. Neville to keep one here. I don’t want myself having easy access to a gun on a bad day. Do you allow knives or razors in your house? What about prescription medications? If so, what you’re saying is that _you_ would be more likely to shoot yourself than slit your wrists or OD. Doesn’t mean that “someone might commit suicide with it” is a valid reason why _no one_ should keep a gun in their house. ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-in-the-home-where-do-you-stand/563343/74 "2010-12-09T20:41:36Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > “Might” is a pretty key word, there. That’s true, but I think their parents would take it at this point. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-in-the-home-where-do-you-stand/563343/75 "2010-12-09T22:12:32Z")
> [@C3](#): > > That’s true, but I think their parents would take it at this point. …which has nothing to do with the point I was making. ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-in-the-home-where-do-you-stand/563343/76 "2010-12-09T22:26:34Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > …which has nothing to do with the point I was making. Okay. Not sure what your point was, then. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-in-the-home-where-do-you-stand/563343/77 "2010-12-09T22:55:55Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > How do you group the poll choices like that so that seperate groups have distinct percentages? Good question, but I didn’t do anything. I believe the percentages are based on the number of individual responders. Each person would normally only respond once in each group, although some said they marked multiple choices in certain groups because it expressed their views better. Since this is multiple choice and there isn’t really any way to correlate the different responses to the different groups of choices, I wasn’t really expecting to get any sort of analysis out of this data. Roddy ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-in-the-home-where-do-you-stand/563343/78 "2010-12-10T00:22:45Z")
> [@SanDiegoTim](#): > > Previous to June of 1989 I did not own a firearm. I didn’t (and still don’t) have any poblem with either perspective of gun ownership. For Fathers Day that year I received a rifle, to be used mostly for “plinking” and/or target practice. > > Couple of months later, our daughter came frantically running into our bedroom at 1:00 AM saying someone was breaking into her bedroom. Long story short, the perps were two convicted and armed felons (attempted murder) and no one else will ever have to worry about either one of them. > > We lived in an average suburban neighborhood leading avergae lifestyles. Nothing unusual one way or another. The detectives catagorized it as a “one in a million” type invasion. > > Had I not owned a firearm and/or hesitated to use it, the probablility is that I would not be responding to this post. I cannot imagine anyone convincing me to give up ownership. As my experience demonstrates, you just never know. :eek:!!! Have you posted about this before? I don’t think any other Doper has said they’ve actually shot an assailant/intruder before. ---
**Author:** ![SanDiegoTim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@SanDiegoTim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanDiegoTim)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-in-the-home-where-do-you-stand/563343/79 "2010-12-10T00:27:21Z")
Notwithstanding military and/or police-related situations, it has to be very rare. With the aforementioned exceptions, I don’t know anyone else who has. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-in-the-home-where-do-you-stand/563343/80 "2010-12-10T01:33:41Z")
> [@Cowgirl\_Jules](#): > > Your first section doesn’t quite leave me an option. Sure, I haven’t had an unauthorized entry, but that’s because I stopped one with one of my guns. This is my first opportunity to ask someone who successfully intervened in a home invasion with the use of a gun as to how it went. Tell us everything 🙂 Stuff like this just doesn’t happen in my world. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-in-the-home-where-do-you-stand/563343.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-in-the-home-where-do-you-stand/563343.md?page=5)