# Louisiana Governor Advises Women Scared of Serial Killer to Get a Gun **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 2, 2002, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louisiana-governor-advises-women-scared-of-serial-killer-to-get-a-gun/122087 "2002-08-02T21:49:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2002, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louisiana-governor-advises-women-scared-of-serial-killer-to-get-a-gun/122087/81 "2002-08-08T20:12:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by neutron star \* > \*\* > In other words, you’re not the type who would leave her front door ajar all night and sit right behind it with a loaded shotgun inviting trouble. You don’t _want_ to be a vigilante, but you would be if your life was on the line. If we can’t agree on this much, I don’t see much room for rational debate. \*\* Uh, who is that type of person? I don’t know anyone who actually wants someone to break into their home so they have a chance to kill them. I would also like to point out that defending your life or your property is not vigilantism. > [@](#): > > \*\* > That “sanctity of my home” hooey doesn’t fly with me. It’s the sanctity of your life you should be worried about. \*\* Since my home is a huge part of my life I would argue that it falls under the sanctity of my life. A home is a sanctuary where someone should feel secure and be able to relax. An intruder is removing my peace of mind not only for the short time he intrudes but possible for weeks, months, or years afterwards. > [@](#): > > \*\* > I know you can’t know the true intentions of the stranger rattling your doorknob, but it’s also not a good idea to run screaming into the living room, firearm in hand, intending to kill the person the second they walk in the door. \*\* Yeah, because when you hear a strange sound and you own a firearm the only logical reaction is to run screaming into the other room with a gun in your hand. Is that really how you think most people react? > [@](#): > > \*\* > Most burglars regard the idea of murdering innocents with the same reproach that you and I do. (How they justify stealing from the same innocents, I have no idea.) \*\* I am so happy that you have faith in the good character of the various addicts and petty thieves that would break into your home. Suffice it to say that I do not share your faith in the good character of anyone who would break into my home. > [@](#): > > \*\* > Furthurmore, they don’t want to spend the rest of their lives behind bars \*\* The fact that they’re breaking into my home proves that they’re not all that worried about prison time. I’m sure they don’t want to spend time in prison but obviously the threat isn’t a deterrent. > [@](#): > > \*\* > More than likely, they also have the common sense to know that a house that appears to be empty may not be, and that if there is someone inside, s/he may be armed. So it only seems logical that an intruder would take a gun of his own along for self-defense. \*\* Would that not make it logical for me to have a firearm then? > [@](#): > > \*\* > My concern is that in preparing yourself for the extremely unlikely (murderer/rapist), you’re actually putting yourself at a disadvantage in the much-more-likely simple burglary scenario. \*\* I don’t follow the logic. Aren’t I at a much greater disadvantage if I am unarmed? If he’s armed then the playing field is more equal. If he’s unarmed then I’ve got an advantage. > [@](#): > > \*\* > If you wake up in the middle of the night to the sound of your house being broken into, then immediately grab for your pistol and run into the living room to gun down the intruder, what do you think he’s going to do? \*\* You need to make up your mind. If he’s broken into my home with a firearm he’s not just a simple junkie or a petty thief. > [@](#): > > \*\* > What if, instead, you hid with your gun in the closet? That way, if the burglar wanted to take your stuff and run, he could. \*\* While that’s not a bad idea I certainly don’t feel obligated to do so for the intruders sake. Realistically though sometimes when you hear a noise you don’t know someone is breaking in and it makes sense to go investigate the source of the noise. What if I simply left some dishes to close to the edge of the counter? > [@](#): > > \*\* > Is your stereo really worth risking your life for? Is the crime of burglary really worthy of an immediate death sentence? The law may justify your homicide, but will your conscience? \*\* Did I suddenly become a psychic able to read the mind of the intruder and surmise that he was a simple burglar? Anybody who breaks into your home should be considered a threat to your property and your life. You seem to agree otherwise why advocate hiding in the closet? > [@](#): > > \*\* > What if the person you shot wasn’t a burglar at all, but a non-violent mentall-ill person who didn’t know what he was doing. \*\* What if it was Leatherface coked out of his mind and brandishing a chainsaw? We can come up with fun “what if” scenarious all day. > [@](#): > > \*\* > There’s nothing wrong with that, but you have to choose your battles wisely. You should evaluate the risks and decide whether or not the crime involved is worth endangering two human lives. \*\* And what indication has she given you that she hasn’t evaluated the risks? And her actions are not endangering human lives the blame for that rests on the shoulders of the intruder alone. > [@](#): > > \*\* > If someone broke into my apartment for the sole purpose of stealing my TV and he was succcessful because I just hid in the closet, I would probably feel violated and angry for a while, but I’d get over it. \*\* That’s fine for you let’s just hope he doesn’t decide he wants anything else. There are cases of simple burglaries turning into rapes, murders, and assaults. Marc ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louisiana-governor-advises-women-scared-of-serial-killer-to-get-a-gun/122087/82 "2002-08-09T07:15:33Z")
Hmm. You know what? I think I’ve been a bit naive on this. I’m beginning to reconsider some things. This thread has made me lean a little more towards the side of the gun owners. You make some very valid points, while some of the stuff I put forth was, admittedly, rather weak. Antracite, perhaps I did pull some stuff out of your posts that wasn’t there and made bad assumptions based on what I thought you meant. You could have been a little bit clearer, but then, I could have read a bit more carefully, too. I know you’re not a bad person. I know you don’t really want to kill anyone. One thing I read elsewhere on the web said that 3 out of 4 incidents in which guns are used to prevent crimes are resolved without the gun actually being fired (i.e. I wave the gun at you and say “Get the hell outta here” and you do). I don’t know how accurate that statistic is, but it sounds reasonable and it wasn’t something I had considered when I wrote my earlier posts. Joe\_Cool, I meant to thank you in my previous post for the links you posted earlier, but I forgot. The FBI page was informative, but, after a half hour searching through all those damn .pdf files on the CDC site, I still couldn’t find accidental gun death statistics. Searching their site for “accidental gun deaths” and “accidental firearm deaths” (both with and without the quotes) was useless. However, most of what I see elsewhere on the web suggests they are surprisingly low, especially considering how many more guns this country has than it did in years past. Great Debates has made me rethink a lot of topics and disgard a lot of my opinions on issues for more logical ones, especially on issues I’m not well read-up on, or not particularly interested in, like this one. It was only seeing Louisiana in the thread title that made me click on it in the first place, but now I’m glad that I did. I still don’t want to own a gun myself, nor do I think everyone should be armed, but I understand the positions and reasoning of those who do far better than I did before. Thanks, guys. Sorry if I was unreasonable. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louisiana-governor-advises-women-scared-of-serial-killer-to-get-a-gun/122087/83 "2002-08-09T08:16:22Z")
Rats, this was just getting good… ☹ ---
**Author:** ![BF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5ac83/32.png) [@BF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BF)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louisiana-governor-advises-women-scared-of-serial-killer-to-get-a-gun/122087/84 "2002-08-09T12:36:47Z")
**neutron star** , I tip my hat to you. Many of us who favor 2nd amendment rights aren’t necessarily looking for converts (we’ll take everyone we can get!!), but for people to make informed decisions based on facts and not junk science. (Yeah, yeah we’ve done it too, but with honorable intentions 😃 ) Thank you for taking the time to really think about it. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louisiana-governor-advises-women-scared-of-serial-killer-to-get-a-gun/122087/85 "2002-08-09T19:37:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by neutron star \* > \*\* > > You ask me to define gun nut? Well, to me it’s anyone who thinks that everyone should be armed. If you own 10 guns and love to go hunting and target shooting then, hey, good for you. I have no problem with that. But if you try to tell ME that I need to have a gun for MY own safety, I’ll tell you you’re a paranoid gun nut. > > \*\* By that definition, I don’t think anyone on this board is a gun nut - even a crazy like myself. No one wants to force anyone else to be armed - and no one advocates people buy a gun without learning the proper way to handle a firearm. Because we wish to be armed doesn’t mean we want to force you to be armed. Unfortunately, the same doesn’t work in reverse. ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Cool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecb155/32.png) [@Joe\_Cool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Cool)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2002, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louisiana-governor-advises-women-scared-of-serial-killer-to-get-a-gun/122087/86 "2002-08-10T07:56:37Z")
**neutron star** , I’m always glad to help out. I was actually able to find the mortality/cause of death table at CDC for [1999-2000](http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr49/nvsr49_12.pdf). Here’s an excerpt from the relevant table (on page 15 of the report): ```auto Cause of death . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2000. . . . 1999 Accidents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93,592 . . . 97,860 Motor vehicle accidents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41,804 . . . 42,401 Accidental discharge of firearms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 808 . . . . 824 Drowning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,343 . . . 3,529 Poisoning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,893 . . . 12,186 Suicide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28,332 . . . 29,199 Firearm Suicide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,418 . . . 16,599 Other/Unspecified Suicide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,914 . . . 12,600 All Homicide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,137 . . . 16,889 Firearm Homicide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,417 . . . 10,828 Other/Unspecified Homicide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,719 . . . 6,061 Legal intervention (Killed by Police) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345 . . . . 398 ``` So as you can see, as far as accidents are concerned, guns are the agent in 1/4 as many accidental deaths as drowning, 1/12 as many as poison/noxious fumes, and 1/52 as many as motor vehicles. And being shot to death accidentally is only twice as likely that you’ll be killed by the police. Arthur Kellerman can put that in his ass and smoke it. 🙂 And if you want it, here’s the FBI’s [Uniform Crime Statistics Report](http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/98cius.htm) for 1998. Together with the BATF’s [State Laws and Published Ordinances - Firearms](http://www.atf.treas.gov/firearms/statelaws/22edition.htm), you can do your own research on whether easy access to firearms has an effect on the incidence of crime. For the record, I’d personally like to see at least one rifle in every household, but by choice of the residents, not because it was forced on them. Part of the freedom I so strongly favor is the freedom not to own a gun if you so choose. ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Cool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecb155/32.png) [@Joe\_Cool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Cool)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2002, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louisiana-governor-advises-women-scared-of-serial-killer-to-get-a-gun/122087/87 "2002-08-10T07:59:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Joe\_Cool \* > **…as far as accidents are concerned, guns are the agent in 1/4 as many accidental deaths…** Gack. Edit the entire sentence. Edit the entire sentence. Edit the ent… ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2002, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louisiana-governor-advises-women-scared-of-serial-killer-to-get-a-gun/122087/88 "2002-08-10T17:31:06Z")
Having read this whole thread, I’m confused by the tangent this has taken. All the Governor did was inform the public of a right that they have. You have the legal right to possess a handgun to defend yourself. I support the Governor’s statement. It’s a good thing that our elected officials remind us of our rights instead of doing everything he can to abrogate them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louisiana-governor-advises-women-scared-of-serial-killer-to-get-a-gun/122087.md?page=4)