Well, speaking as both a gun owner and as one whose house was broken into while he was there, I can attest to the fact that if someone is in your house; able to tie you and your family up; rob you blind; tease and/or torture you or your family members and/or rape you or your family members, you will be damn glad if you have a gun in the house with which to protect yourself.
I was living alone at the time and was awakened by the sound of tinkling glass, which turned out to be a front porch window into the living room being broken. A dim lamp was on in the front of the house and I opened my eyes just in time to see a figure skulk by my open bedroom door headed into the back of the house.
Did I wig out? Did I freak and start shooting in every direction? Was I sobbing hysterically as I held the gun in front of me with two hands and wobbling it in every direction?
No. I became cool and rational as a cucumber (it’s a metaphor; go figure). I thought to myself: “I wonder if there is another intruder in another part of the house. I wonder what he wants? How much danger am I in as I saw no weapon in his hand?”…etc., etc.
This person even came into my bedroom several times and bent over the bed as though looking to see who all was there. And because I had a gun handy (a .38 caliber Smith & Wesson police pistol to be exact) and could use it at any time should I feel the need, I simply squinted my eyes and watched him. He had no visible weapon; he made no move to harm me; he walked right past another gun I had on a dresser near the door and made no move to pick it up (it would have done him no good if he had as the [empty] cylinder wasn’t attached anyway.) So I simply waited to see what would happen.
Finally, believe it or not, I began to get sleepy. So I decided time had come for some sort of action and got up to apprehend him. He heard my bed creak and hit the front door running. I raced out in pursuit but never found him.
So, while I’m aware that not everyone will remain calm in such a situation, I think many more would than most people think. It seems to be instinct. And who knows what kind of shit would have happened had he been armed and I hadn’t, and if I had had a family at home and been unable to protect them from who knows what? (The cops felt he was looking to see if a female was in the house and that’s why he kept looking in my bed.)
I was damn glad I had a gun and I’d wager almost anyone else under this kind of circumstance would be, too.
I think it is important that American culture keep a well developed sense of the right to weapons. There’s no telling what will happen in the distant future of our nation. I think that the ability to run and insurgency campaign is a healthy thing for a populace.
It also makes things more costly for the gov when it decides to misbehave.
A populace’s access to weapons is part of a healthy relationship between a people and their government and part of a healthy relationship bewteen a nations.
I’ll back that one up. If you have a gun, and know how to use it, there’s no need to be scared. Your experience exceeds mine somewhat (I didn’t let my intruder get to the bedroom), but I was in control, and calm. Never had to fire a shot. Of course, the Moories statistics didn;'t include me, cause I avoided a burgulary/murder/rape without a shot being fired and there are thousands of us.
My understanding is that of gun injurys in a home 98% are injuries to family members or others. These stats come from domestic violence, suicide and accidents. Only 2% of the time guns are used in the home, are they used for protection. This is slightly different than the idea that people are aiming at bad guys and missing more often than not.
So, did Moore misstate the statistics to make it appear that 98 out of 100 people shoot themselves or a loved one during a break-in, or did he state it honestly as furlibusea just described?
Those stats make me think of those overall “total gun deaths” stats. That is often held up as an example of how dangerous guns are, in a “look how many people were randomly murdered using a gun” way. The problem is that those stats never factor out suicides, domestic violence, justifiable homicide, gang-related shootings (gang on gang, not innocent people caught in the middle), and the like.
You know, I’m personally satisfied with the way gun rights are handled right now, but I’ve always doubted whether guns would really be that useful in the case of government misbehavior. Considering the government would probably have the military on their side, I don’t think a bunch of ragtag gun-toting citizens could stand up to it. But that’s just my view on the matter, and regardless of that, I still don’t think we should just “kick out the second amendment”.
I think this is intentional. The philosophy of the anti-gun crowd is that if guns weren’t availiable, these kinds of killings and injuries wouldn’t take place. Pro-gun types such as me believe that some of the crimes might be lessened (drive-by shootings, for example), but that for the most part the perpetrators would simply choose another weapon or method of killing in order to do away with the object of their ire and the rest of us would be without the home protection that guns afford, and without the people/government aspect SimonX described.
A lot of people think that the military is the big ace in the hole for putting down insurrections, rebellions, whatever. But you know what? We’re all citizens, too, and if you think that we would go to town on our fellow citizens based upon a patently illegal order (posse commitatus), not to mention the fact that whatever would be big enough to cause a rebellion would abridge our rights as well as yours, you’d be very much mistaken.
On the other hand, if there were a coup or something like that, that would be a different story.
Anyhow, the point is that if this country devolved into open rebellion, there’s a very good chance that the military would dissolve as well, making a guy with a private weapon far more potent at resistance.
He is right. Much as some folks drank during prohibition purely on principle, this will be done in the case of guns, if for no other reason than bitter spite.
I think if you can get sleepy with a burgler/rapist prowling around in your bedroom you are kind of “out of the norm” in this type situation. Not that my hat’s not off to you and all that…
I think most ordinary people who keep a gun for protection, maybe go out and have a lesson or two and then put it in a drawer until the bad guys come would get the adrenaline rush which might take them somewhere they don’t want to go. For a lot of people it ends up that they have the most destructive instrument they ever handle in their hands when they are scared witless. OTOH, the burgler/rapist planned to be in this situation and is usually calmer (unless he was unfortunate enough to break into Starving Artist’s house) and is likely to have a lot more experience actually using the gun. Lots of room for mayhem. So therefore lots of room for thought.
Personally I think the Second Ammendment referred to muskets and the FF would possibly have reconsidered had they been privy to the firepower at our disposal today. That being said, I have no desire to rewrite the Second Ammendment. Good thing, too, because it would never happen anyway. I do draw the line at everyone being able to kill everyone more than once. A lot of weapons out there today are overkill…no pun intended.
A trilogy composed of a book and two movies on almost totally unrelated topics? I would bet the only thing the three have in common is that they’re the only Moore works you’re familiar with, :wally
I’m well aware that the military may not follow orders, I just assumed that the situation hadn’t reached that point yet. And if it has reached the point where the military is no longer listening to the government, I’m pretty sure the government is doomed whether the population is armed or not. The government can make all the repressive laws they want, but who’s to back it up?
Well, I must point out that it wasn’t while he was actually in my bedroom that I began to get sleepy. He was out of the room much more than he was in it, and after his final trip into my room he was probably out in the rest of the house for five to ten minutes. At this point, I had been awake and lying in the same position (I didn’t want to move for fear of making noise) for some 20 to 25 minutes, and I did start to become sleepy. So I figured I’d better make my move before I rendered myself truly helpless.
I think it’s like Snakespirit said: if you have a gun, and know how to use it, there’s no need to be scared. I felt that because the intruder thought I was asleep and that he appeared to be unarmed, and that I had a powerful weapon I could use if necessary, I had the upper hand. I was awake, cogent, analyzing the situation and armed with a powerful weapon (like I said: a .38 S&W police revolver with copper-jacketed hollow points :: adopts best Tim Allen voice, waves arm in circular motion…arrh, arrh, arrh, arrh! :: ), whereas the intruder was apparently unarmed, wandering around in the dark, and unaware of the danger he was in. So while it sounds funny that I began to get sleepy, I really felt he was at greater risk than I was and I’m sure that feeling contributed to my eventual drowsiness.
I would bet the only thing the three have in common is that they’re the only Moore works you’re familiar with, :wally