Why do you own a gun?

I am not a gun owner and don’t think I ever will be. It just seems unnecessary and a major risk. My cousin once told me the reason he doesn’t have a gun is because he wants to use his head if the situation arises and not simply resort to his firearm. If he was being robbed, he would simply say, “take it.” I agree with him on this point.

I’m also far too afraid of having an accident with it. It seems that your actually more at risk by simply having a gun than if you didn’t. The news provides us with countless examples.

I think a lot of the countries across the Atlantic provide a good example. For the most part, they don’t have guns and they don’t have murders, accidents, etc… by gun, right?

Now, I get that it’s good to be prepared. It’s better to have one than not have one, when you need it. What are the chances of that happening? Very slim.

Otherwise, I see no other legitimate reason for having one. I know people use them for sport, but it just seems like too much of a liability to be properly justified. Other than that, what is there? Decoration?

I’m sorry if this comes off as offensive but that’s just the way I see it. However, at this point, the gun “debate” has been done to death and people have likely already formed an opinion.

What gets lost in the debate, is a gun owners reasoning for owning one in the first place. I find them spending a lot of time discussing the minutiae and details of the subject.

Enough of that. Enlighten me. Why do you own a gun?

You seem to be all over the place here. What is your opinion, one way or another?

Who knows what the future may hold? I like to be prepared.

Well, I think the chances of needing one, like say a violent assault or emergency are rare, and they do not properly justify the need for a gun.

Good. This is America, and except for maybe a couple of small towns in the hinterlands, no one is required to own a gun.

I think it would be a bad decision on your part to obtain a firearm.

My store was robbed at gun point.

I’d have to say “personal empowerment”. Owning a gun is a serious responsibility that I have worked to live up to, and I take pride in that. More broadly, I am strongly anti-authoritarian and I loath the idea of the government banning the proles from owning guns.

What if they decided to take him? Or his daughter?

What are some situations where you would consider it to be better off having a gun than not having one?

In case I need to shoot, or threaten to shoot, someone or something.

Regards,
Shodan

I don’t have a good answer for that. The hypothetical assumes a million different possibilities could take place. I think the question is, would having a gun matter?

I like cool guns for the same reason I like cool cars or cool motorcycles. I love the gadget factor, the engineering, the craftsmanship, the design, the ergonomic factor. I like shooting but don’t get to shoot as much as I used to.
I don’t hunt and really, using guns against humans isn’t something I think about much. That said, I like a lot of military arms.
My wildest gun fantasy is to live out in the country where I could shoot off the back porch and blast empty dog food cans at will.

If your life or your family’s life is at risk. Again, that could take place in a million different ways. That’s about it.

Why?

My husband hunts deer, and owns a rifle-barreled shotgun. How is that a liability?

same reason as middle aged men buy fast sports cars

I not infrequently find myself driving solo on rural roads very late at night. Not going to get a fast response from 911 out there!

Oh, and I also like to shoot.

IMHO, this is a poor argument. I can’t possibly imagine a slow enough news day where there’s a story “Our top story tonight: Ranger Jeff handled a firearm safely today; no shots were fired and no one was harmed. Film at eleven!”

I have a psychological compulsion to compensate for my tiny penis by owning enough weaponry to outfit the Bolivian army.

I have no interest in owning a functioning firearm. I’m a veteran with marksmanship training under my belt for all sorts of weapons; I’m not afraid to have them. But I can’t imagine needing one.