I agree, a security system is a far better way for keeping one’s safety than a gun. It sure helped me.
My husband has 3 guns, he used to go hunting, kept them apart while my kids were growing up. Now he keeps the ammo hidden. Our security system notifies the police as well as us. Knock on wood…we haven’t had it go off since.
Right. Widespread gun ownership would have stopped the holocaust, if not WW2 entirely.
There isn’t a damn thing gun owners can do if a squad of marines goes to their house right now and demands that your house be used for emergency quarters other than file a complaint - just the same as if he didn’t own a gun.
Yes.
I live in a rural area, with the nearest police station a good thirty minutes or more away. I have never seen a police car drive down my road.
Meth labs are common out here, and they’ve taken to raiding area homes and cleaning the places out. My neighbors were a victim of such an attack. Were I to be home alone when a group of criminals on a drug that increases psychotic tendencies break in, I would want to be armed.
I’m a member of several widely hated local minorities (atheist, bisexual, etc) and would prefer not to be defenseless against hate crimes.
The government has already proven that in the event of a major disaster, they will be incapable of maintaining law and order. Living through the chaos of Katrina as a Louisiana resident will really change your perspective on the police and government services, particularly when your family has to use firearms to fend off looters and dangerous refugees and has no water or electricity for weeks.
I’m not going to throw rocks at coyotes and poisonous snakes that threaten the livestock.
Because I wanted one. They’re fun.
I think John’s point is the ‘unless you were Jewish’ aspect. Which is why you really don’t want to go there.
Do you actually not know the answers to these questions, or are you trying to make some kind of point? Because if you are trying to make a point, just say it already. The Socratic method does not work well on a message board.
No, I live in an apartment at the moment, a security system wouldn’t do any good. What do you think a security system does, anyway? It doesn’t magically prevent unauthorized people from entering your house. It just beeps, and perhaps calls the police, who will consider it a false alarm and be there in 45 minutes. I know this from personal experience.
Sure. But all of them involve more risk to myself and less chance of a successful defense.
I don’t know. I don’t carry a gun on anything resembling a regular basis, and I don’t intend to really use it for home defense anyway. As I’ve stated previously, I own it for fun, and in case of a severe breakdown in society (natural disaster, economic collapse, etc.)
Yes, it is bad, for a variety of reasons. First, the general decrease in personal safety, in exchange for a nebulous increase in public safety.
Second, because this country is supposed to be a free society, and I believe the essence of a free society is the principle that you should be allowed to do what you want as long as you are not harming others. This principle is not inviolable, but we should make every effort to respect it and only violate it when absolutely necessary. I think we should substantially strengthen laws on gun purchases, gun licensing, gun liability, etc., before jumping straight to an outright ban.
I know nothing. I am just asking questions using the Socratic Method to see if you really need a gun. It is more that I am a novice at using the Socratic Method and I just started learning/using it. So I amnot very good at it.
No, I wish I did. I currently simply can’t afford one. And as said previously an alarm system isn’t a defense in of itself.
Probably not. I’m 51, fat and in poor health. A gun has far more deterrent value than any alternative, and if it must be used is far more effective than any alternative. If they ever invent a Star Trek phaser-on-stun I’ll reconsider.
Probably not. The police can only be summoned with minutes of delay, or catch wrongdoers and punish them after the fact. A gun is a point defense.
Hell yes!
You seem well intentioned but uninformed, so I will answer without snark, I hope.
I am a hunter and I have various guns for different uses. I have a deer hunting rifle with a large scope. Someone unfamiliar with guns might refer to this as a ‘sniper rifle’, cause that is what it looks a bit like.
I have another, larger caliber rifle for hunting Roosevelt Elk, which are about the size of a horse. I could use one rifle for both, but guns are tools and you should use the right tool for the job. It is another sniper type rifle with a scope.
I have a smaller caliber rifle for varmint hunting and plinking, target shooting. It is very fast and very accurate. .17 HMR for those following along at home.
I have a .22 caliber target handgun for target shooting. It is also very accurate and fun to shoot. Target shooting is a valid, recognized sport. You might not see it on TV but shooting is an Olympic sport with a number of categories. People from all over the world shoot in every Olympics.
I have another handgun that I can carry for home and self defense if I decide to. I live in a ‘Shall Issue’ state, which means that anyone who takes the required class, meets the requirements, must be issued a concealed carry permit unless valid reasons can be shown not to. If you live in the US you may live in one of these states:
Other states have more restrictions, some have fewer. Only Illinois does not currently allow concealed carry. But Illinois lost a supreme court battle and must come up with it’s own CCW plan by May of this year. So even if you do not see guns being carried in your day-to-day interaction, if you live in the US you probably encounter people carrying weapons every day, you just don’t know who.
The GAO (general accounting office) estimated in 2011 that there are 8 million active concealed weapons permits in the US.
From my point of view I need all of these guns. I have others that I just wanted and bought. And my wife also has her own hunting rifles.
Does that help you understand?
Do you have a security system in your house?
Nope. We lock the doors at night and nobody has ever tried to break in. My dog’s bark will alert us of any danger.
Is there another way to defend yourself from assault in public than carrying a gun?
Yes, don’t go into unsafe areas. Don’t follow people at night because you appoint yourself a deputy. Be physically large and imposing.
Again, is there another way to make society more secure other than owning and carrying a gun?
Yes, improve education and build a strong economy.
Is disarming the populace bad?
Not at all, of course not.
Mine always just sink :mad:
You haven’t really kept apace of recent legal developments, have you?
Are you sure? Maybe it reads ‘Because we use the word ‘regulated’ this is really only about militias, but being necessary to the security of a free State a long time ago but not relevant today since we don’t have militias anymore, the privilege of the people to get to (perhaps) own some sort of firearm (TBD), shall not be completely ripped away…well, unless we deem it necessary to do so to protect people from nasty guns that they don’t need, of course’?
If someone steals my car and runs people over, I’m not liable (at least I don’t think I am). That’s the correct analogy for guns harming other people in most cases.
You’re probably right in a 12 vs 1 situation, but we have in this country 80 million gun owners and ~250,000 Marines, which makes the odds more like 1 vs 320.
Where I live the car is insured and the owner is responsible, it comes out of his/her insurance.The driver is also held partly responsible, at least that is how I understand it. A gun left where someone else can get it easily(like in the case of the Lanza boy) Had his mother taken precautions she, her son and 26 others would be alive today. People who sell guns to others that they don’t know,should also be held responsible. There is a suggestion on the TV that any new gun should have a way of tracing it with some sort of chip.
We will never stop people from killling each other…sad as it is, there are so many ways people kill each other. I hope someone some day can find out why humans kill for apparently no reason, of course there are the mentally ill, but many people are killed by people who claim to love them! It seems to me some(like the Lanza boy) are looking for recognition.I don’t have the answer(I wish I did) but I keep hoping someone wil come up with a solution.
I have a lot of friends that spent their entire lives in high rise buildings with a doorman. So an intruder would need to either (A) get past a doorman and a solid wood front door, or (B) climb walls like spiderman.
If you live in or pass through a crappy neighborhood, you also have to deal with street crime.
There are biometric trigger locks that prevent others from using your gun but take almost no time to deactivate.
You’re right that is how it is viewed today. Unless you were completely irresponsible, such as leaving your gun in a desk in a kindergarten, you won’t be held liable. However, it doesn’t have to stay that way. If you have a pool in your backyard, you must have a fence around it. If a child drowns in your unfenced pool, it’s not enough to say he trespassed and therefore there is no liability. It’s called an attractive nuisance and you must take steps to prevent people from being harmed by it even though they are breaking the law to do it.
Guns should be thought of in the same way. You should only have a unsecured gun in your house if you are absolutely sure it won’t be misused. But even if you live alone and never invite someone over, how can you guarantee that a drug addicted thief won’t break in? Now he has a deadly weapon which he can freely use. If the gun at least had some sort of trigger or muzzle lock, it would prevent or impede him from being able to use it.
For private citizens, the idea of carrying a weapon for self defense is absurd. An aggressor always has the advantage. There are no rules of engagement.
Some folks claim they carry a weapon to protect against rattlesnakes and Mt. Lions. That’s equally absurd. No one has ever used a gun to defend themselves against rattlesnake attack. The same is true of Mt. Lion. I work in Mt. Lion territories. I know they are around, from fresh tracks and scat, but they never show themselves. An attack would be swift and sure and too late for defense. Attacks are far too rare to worry about. The risks associated with carrying a weapon are greater.
The greatest danger is human with a weapon.
Crane
Just checked. Less than 30 seconds on Google to find real-life reports of private citizens defending themselves from humans, snakes, and mountain lions.