Hey, last time I handled a real gun was the Daisy air rifle I had as a kid. Really, it’s better I don’t try to use my husband’s shotgun. I don’t know how to load it, what sighting down it is like, if it has a safety, or any of that stuff. I do, however, know how to use knives, pepper gel, and my fists. He can deal with the gun.
A noble thought, but really, it just means there’s only one less gun around because you don’t have one. Your death would mean nothing in the scope of things, more likely than not. (And trust me, I’m not a fan of guns, but being killed and leaving your kids without a mom? I don’t think most people in your life would agree with the tradeoff of being able to say ‘well at least she didn’t have a gun in that situation, so that’s something.’)
I’d probably feel worse killing an enemy soldier that had probably been drafted to fight as opposed to some punk choosing freely to break into my house to steal stuff and in doing so threatening my family and pets as well as me.
Me too. I firmly believe that there’s a certain social compact that is part and parcel of being a member of a civilized society. You don’t steal, you don’t rape, you don’t bust into people’s houses uninvited, you don’t threaten innocent people with harm- basically you don’t do any of those things that are considered bad. Don’t do those things, and you’re accorded the respect and consideration due a member of the civilized community.
Break that compact, and you’ve relinquished the privilege of being treated as a member of the community entirely, and don’t deserve any more consideration than a rogue animal would get- if it takes deadly force to put you down, so be it.
Enemy soldiers and even irregular fighters are generally either professionals, draftees or fighting for their homeland or religion. Those are at least reasonable reasons for violence, while being a lowlife thug and criminal isn’t.
Welcome to Canada’s feelings on home defense (As you recall, the OP identified himself as Canadian).
In Canada, guns are sporting equipment. No different from fishing rods, tennis racquets, or baseball bats. While guns can be used offensively, that’s not how (to Canadians) they’re supposed to be used. So it is with guns: Canadians use them to shoot paper targets, to compete in proper competitions, to bag deer and ducks. Canadians do not use guns to shoot home intruders; they use the phone to call the police.
As a Canadian gun owner, I’ll say that it has always seemed to me that Canada and the US have very different attitudes towards firearms. In Canada, they are sporting goods. (Indeed, when I was dealing with a home intruder, it never occurred to me to get my guns; I scared him off with a baseball bat and the phone in my hand, talking to the 911 operator.) But in the US, guns seems to be used for for defense.
I think the OP would do well to understand this, and to understand it in the context of his home country’s attitudes towards firearms. The US is a different country, and can have different attitudes. But overall, from what I can tell, in Canada, guns are sporting goods; in the US, they are weapons used for self-defense. Different countries, different attitudes.
I believe I could kill to defend myself, but maybe not. I more strongly believe that I could kill to defend someone I loved, if I had to.
I took an individual training session on how to handle a handgun, and will be taking a CHL class and eventually buying a handgun for home defense, as well as target practice purposes. I will keep the gun in a safe that only I will have access to (or my boyfriend and sister if they also take some classes on how to use a gun and such).
The gun would be kept in the safe in my bedroom and only taken out to go to the target range, or to defend myself and my loved ones if an intruder broke through. I would of course call 911 first, and loudly announce that I was on the phone with 911, and that I was armed and ready to fire if they came through my bedroom door. Shooting would be an absolute last option, and if possible I would try to get out of the bedroom windows first if I thought it was safe.
But yes, I believe that if after all of that, if they decided to break through my bedroom door I would shoot them, and aim to kill. I honestly think I would be severely messed up in the head afterward, but all the psychological and emotional trauma (and possibly legal trauma as well) would be worth it knowing that I saved the life of people I loved, and saved my own life (who other people love as much as I love them).
I have no desire to have a gun, and I confronted a criminal during an attempted home invasion.
I was lying in bed reading when the window sreen behind my head popped into the room. I looked behind me, and saw a guys arm. I grabbed the phone and dialed 911. I confronted the guy, who was standing on the railing of the stairs behind our apartment, and he gave me a bullshit story that he was there to work on the windows. I told him that I had already dialed 911 and the cops would be here soon. By the time I got to the back door, he had disappeared down the alley.
The truth is, most criminals are stupid cowards, and will run when confronted wether you have a weapon or not. I’m 99% sure that the attempted burglar was one of the men who had been our home the month before fixing the ceiling - virtually nobody else had been in our apartment besides my wife and myself, and have long believed that most burglars have already been in your home.
I agree with Gaffa, if you confront someone in your house, they will look for a fast way out.
Most home invasions are a crime of opportunity where the perp thinks the house is empty and they just want your stuff. So now the question is, would you be willing to kill someone just to protect your stuff? If someone were to try to break into my home while I was away/asleep they would be met by two growling dogs, which should be adequate protection for my stuff.
So, what are the odds that a person will try to break into my house with the sole purpose of harming me or my family? Practically none. If I was involved in sketchy activities or lived in a real shitty neighborhood, I might have a gun in my house. But for me, where I live, with my dogs, I won’t even consider the possibility. I won’t give into that paranoia/fear.
I would feel bad if circumstances led to me killing an intruder. I’d feel worse if the intruder hurt me or my gf. I have a loaded .357 S&W revolver in the nightstand drawer and a loaded 16 gauge pump shotgun under my side of our bed. I’m confidant with both, but have never had a situation where I needed to reach for either.
My answers are also Yes Yes Yes (No). As to how I would feel afterward, I can’t be sure, but I expect that there would be some sorrow about having ended someone’s life. I also expect that there would be some sense of accomplishment at having been competent in a difficult situation.
I wouldn’t suggest that everyone needs a gun for home defense, far from it. But you can’t guarantee that the guy(s) breaking into your home is there just to grab stuff unseen, either - at least please be careful (and preferably behind a locked door) when you confront. My inlaws live in a rather well-off neighborhood, and maybe 20 years ago, their neighbors’ house was broken into by their handyman. He sexually assaulted and murdered the wife, who was home alone, but she lived long enough to say who’d done it.
I’m just saying never assume the motives of an intruder. Hope for the best, but make plans that will keep you as safe as possible regardless of what the intent is.
Yes, I would. My kids live in a predominantly gun-free society. If the price that we pay for that is that occasionally not having a gun in our home means that someone gets dead by the bad guys, that’s worth it. You can’t be willing to hold that opinion unless you can accept that the small possibility that someone is going to die occasionally. That someone could be near and dear to you.
Home invasion crime are in the category of the most reprehensible. It doesn’t happen by accident, or in the heat of passion, the person has made a calculated decision to enter a home he knows he’s not welcome to commit a crime. Although I’m an anti death penalty liberal who has never owned or shot a gun, in the circumstances described by the OP, I’d kill the SOB without a moments regret. I would, however, give him one chance to turn and run.
It makes sense to me. I don’t see that implicit in having children is the commitment to kill anyone who might harm them. perfectparanoia will die for his kids by getting between the assailant and them, but he won’t kill someone.
I’m curious to know how many break-ins are robberies versus home invasions. I’ve heard of one incident in my province where a break-in was a home invasion attempt versus a robbery attempt. Someone comes into my place? I’m going to yell at them to take whatever the hell they want. Hell, I’ll tell them where the valuables are. Burglars don’t want a murder charge, they just want stuff they can sell for cash.
Seeing as I live in a place where a shooting is automatically assumed to be gang activity (and usually is), I’m not concerned about guns for home defense.
