Ex military so am familiar with guns. I hunt so I have a few long guns. I shoot skeet and trap so I have a few shotguns. I like to plink so I have a few handguns. I have a ar 15 because the movement some years ago to limit or ban them had found momentum. Those are in my safe in the garage.
Close to my bed I have a Kimber Ultra carry 45 auto with an extra clip. near it I have a 200 lumen flashlight. Near the front of the house I have a Remington 870 with 3 inch No. 2 lead shot. There are basically two ways a bad guy will come at us. If I have the drop on him or her, they will catch a burst of light, followed by two quick burst, if need be two more until I need to reload.
If they have the drop on us. they will never know about the kimber under my bed or the shotgun strategically placed.
I rarely think about the kimber or the remington but often look forward to breaking out the shotguns to kill a Saturday morning with the boys at the skeet range.
Having a compensator on your firearms helps reduce felt recoil, and leads to faster follow up shots.
I own firearms because:
- they’re fun to shoot
- I can still protect myself when I’m #456 on the police response list.
- No one questions why I really need to exercise my other 9 rights in the Bill of Rights(Free speech makes the Baby Cthulhu cry!) .
Because I enjoy shooting. Why do you own a TV?
See, but it’s NOT a ‘major risk’…you and many others are simply terrible at risk assessment. The things that are ACTUALLY a ‘major risk’ you probably don’t even know about.
As for the ‘take it’ response to anyone trying to take your stuff, that’s fine…it’s your life and, perhaps, you don’t have anything you care about enough, including family, to bother with protecting it. Different strokes and all that.
What you should REALLY be afraid of in your house is…the ladder. You are much more likely to be killed or injured using that than a gun, even if you had one in your home. And the thing that might be in your house that’s more likely to kill you is that double cheese burger, jumbo sized fries and diet coke. 
The thing is, the news provides you with ‘countless examples’ because it’s, well, the news…they focus on things people want to hear about, not a proportional representation of actual threat. It’s kind of boring to say ‘lots of Americans died today of heart disease’ or ‘yep, more smokers kicked the bucket today’. Gun deaths and injuries are more spectacular and thus disproportionately make the news.
Yes, in countries that have very limited or no access to guns they have less gun deaths than we do. They have less murders generally than we do too, of all types, including non-gun types. Correlation does not equal causation, however, so you need to look a bit deeper than simple gun ownership for why Americans kill each other more than citizens in other countries do. Canada, for instance, has plenty of guns yet their murder rate is far less than in the US on a per-capita basis.
You are automatically assuming you know the reason people have guns in their houses. What’s the point of asking people if you already (think) you know the answer? And if you are just going to try poisoning the well before hand by dismissing answers before asking the question?
Except that it’s NOT that much of a liability. Perhaps you should just consider that some people like to shoot guns. Because YOU, who obviously are both afraid and don’t like guns, can’t think of any ‘legitimate reason’ to own one doesn’t mean anything, really.
You come off as ignorant and intolerant, to be honest. You are worried about something that is actually a pretty low probability event. I don’t know how many people you think are accidentally killed annually in fire arms accidents in their home, but the actual number is miniscule. A large percentage of fire arms deaths in the US are suicides, or murders, not accidents.
And yet, you assume an answer then give your own opinion to the strawman you created for why people want guns. Protection of their property and family are only one reason people might want a gun. Some people want them because, you know, they just enjoy shooting the things. Some folks hunt. Some just enjoy the pleasure that comes from owning a precision tool, and all of the actions it takes to maintain that tool.
I like to shoot, enjoy having precision tools, enjoy the process of maintaining and using them, etc etc. Personal protection of my family and property is far down the list, but as with the insurance I pay for my home, there is a very slim chance I might need it some day as well.
I really enjoy target shooting. Several of my friends shoot as well. Once a month is girls night out at the city range. Most of my guns were my father’s. One is a .38 S&W M&P Model 1905, serial number indicates ship date of around 1916-1917. Belonged to my great-grandfather. It shoots beautifully. I have only brief memories of my great-grandfather, so I love the connection to him.
Also, my best friend and her family are involved with Project Appleseed. I went to the shoot last month and had so much fun that I’m taking my husband and son to the one in July.
I also like knowing I am able to defend myself and my family should I need to.
Ok. That was kind of offensive and good at the same time. But, let’s get two things straight. One, I don’t own a TV. Two, I do have people in my life that I would protect even if it meant giving my life. I don’t think you get to say those things just because I don’t own a gun. Anyways, thanks for sharing.
Its not advisable to (attempt to) strangle a rattlesnake. Or a “Home Intruder”.
And I just plain enjoy killing Jackrabbits.
And most of all, because I can.
One of the reasons that I own a gun is for self-defense. I do not care to leave my life/safety/possessions/whatever at the hands of a cop who may not show up, a cop who may not show up in time, a cop who comes to make a report over my body, the neighbors, who care as little for me as I do for them, or any onlookers, who may or may not care to intervene if I am in a situation.
I cannot agree with the OP that a threat of violence is as rare as he/she makes out. The possibility is *always *there. If somebody has a weapon and wants to extort something from me, there is a 99% possibility that he may not want to leave a witness. I take that back. There is a 100% chance that he won’t want to leave a witness. What are the odds that he will do anything about that? The OP’s ‘very slim’ doesn’t make me feel any safer, and most assuredly will not help when *my *life is in danger. That’s why I do not rely on OP’s statistics.
Gun accidents: I always keep my weapons loaded, and I *never *worry about an accident, anymore than I worry about my gas oven exploding, because I am not a total screwup. Accidents don’t ‘just happen’. Guns don’t just ‘go off’. Now, maybe my dog will jump up onto the table where my gun is, kick the gun around, aim it at me, and his paw catch on the trigger, and I may be shot, but, were that to happen, I could only conclude that my wound/death had been predetermined at that moment, and gun/no gun was only incidental.
I don’t own a gun but will probably buy one in the future. Society seems to be on a downhill bender. I constantly read about assaults/murders that occurred at locations I’ve been to in the past. I’ve had friends assaulted on bike paths for no other reason than entertainment.
But for a gun to be successfully used it has to be in the hands of the owner at the time it’s needed so IMO it’s a secondary weapon. I’ve always carried a knife. If I think I’m in a vulnerable spot I’ll unclip it and hold it in my pocket.
Originally Posted by Ambivalid
What are some situations where you would consider it to be better off having a gun than not having one?
So if you are better off having a gun in instances where your family’s life is at risk-and that scenario could play out in a million different ways-why are you opposed to owning a gun? It would seem to make sense to own one using that logic.
I live in a semi-rural area where coyotes, bears, foxes, skunks, opossums, raccoons, etc are constant visitors and rabies is a yearly concern. I like all these creatures and respect their niches, but I shot and killed two coyotes which were part of a pack that killed my dog in front of me in the middle of the day… I have a .22 pistol and a rifle for varmint emergencies only. I do not hunt, do not target shoot except for practice because if I’m forced to kill another animal I want to do it as humanely as possible.
There is a growing meth problem in my area and home invasions are becoming a problem. As a mom of a toddler, I’m certain I would shoot an intruder to protect my family, but my gun and ammo are locked up and I’d probably fail to get to it in time to use it for self defense. I don’t take any patriotic pride in owning a gun; it’s a necessary tool for coexisting in the mountains with other creatures that I only use reluctantly and rarely.
My husband hunts and shoots competitively, he has several guns and a wall full of trophies, but only talks guns or even unlocks the safe during hunting season. The presence of guns in my house isn’t terribly important, at least no more than is the presence of golf clubs, garden implements, or skis. If I lived in the city and my husband didn’t hunt, neither of us would bother with guns.
While I have no objection to responsible gun ownership, crime rates are down in the US. There are some very disturbing crimes out there, but in general things are safer now than they have been in a while. Reporting can shape perception.
Why, what?
I think I answered that question.
My father kept his gun collection in a locked cabinet, and he “hid” the key. Being the little shits that we were (in other words, fairly normal kids) we quite easily ascertained the location of the keys and would satisfy our curiosity about the contents of that cabinet whenever we had a chance. In retrospect, we were damn lucky that our family wasn’t news at 11. My brothers were fascinated by the guns and would take them out to play with them. Dad did everything “right” in keeping the guns locked up and the ammo in a separate location. We knew where that was kept, too. Kids will be sneaky little shits. The allure of a locked space is too good to pass up, for many. And before the gun nuts blame the kids, I was maybe 9 years old at the time. My younger brother, who figured out the location of the key, would have been 7. We were not old enough to be held accountable for our actions; not in any legal sense of the word. Fortunately, we were more interested in the porn and the coin collection than the guns.
I would not own a gun, because it is (among other equally compelling reasons) completely impractical. To ensure the safety of my six-year-old son, I would have to keep it locked up and out of sight, with bullets in another location. And yeah, that worked out so well for my dad. Someone breaks into my home, he’s not going to wait for me to find the key, retrieve the gun, find the ammo and load the gun. Any other possibility – keeping a loaded gun within easy reach – is far more dangerous than the risk of an intruder.
I own several guns. Two weeks ago I used my 16 gauge pump shotgun to kill a fox, later determined to be rabid by my state’s health department. My 19 and 22 year old son and daughter have used the shotgun for shooting clays.
I have a S&W .357 magnum loaded and ready in my nightstand drawer. A cop friend tutored me on its use at an indoor range with variable lighting and moving targets. If I ever need that gun my dogs have already been killed and I have no qualms about using it.
Think of something you DO own. Now, think about what it would be like if you were constantly having to answer questions or give justifications to owning it. Would that be fun, especially if the folks asking it were serious about wanting to take it away from you if they could?
You said you’d tell the robber (to paraphrase) ‘just take the stuff’. To me, that means you don’t care about it very much. Granted, we are talking stuff, not people, but the thing is that if someone WAS threatening the folks you love your options would be pretty limited. It’s admirable that you’d be willing to die for them, but that probably won’t help very much.
This isn’t to say that a gun is the silver bullet that answers all question. It’s a tool that gives you more options, basically. If you misuse the tool then bad things might happen. Odds are, whether you have one or not, you are never going to use it for more than target shooting or hunting if you are a hunter type (I’m not). But, like having that insurance, you MIGHT need it someday, so people like to be prepared. I own a hammer and a set of screw drivers for much the same thing, as well as 3 days of food and water for the family in case of power outage or other emergency, though I’ve had to toss it out periodically…they are tools I MIGHT need someday. And I even own one of the deadliest things in the home, the dreaded ladder, which is more likely to kill me than anything else, including my set of Ginsu knives and my gun.
Cross-posted with some additional thoughts:
Apart from the answer implicit in the above post – that I own firearms as a tool to protect the safety of me and my family – I enjoy shooting. It’s a physical challenge: to control a well-machined and engineered device to consistently deliver a 10 mm diameter projectile to a target 25 yards away.
And then when I get tired of that one, I put away my Ruger P944 and start trying to place a 5.7 mm diameter projectile 50 yards away. My targets are black circles on white paper.
It’s fun!
And there is no discrepancy between the the fun of target shooting and the utter seriousness of the thought of shooting a human being, any more than there’s a discrepancy between saying cooking is fun and the idea that you might defend your life by stabbing a assailant with a kitchen knife.
Well, when you put it that way it’s hard to argue with you. However, this hypothetical must absolutely assume that there is someone out there looking to kill me and my family. At the present time, I don’t have any enemies that are out for blood. So were in the clear with that. Now, if there is a robbery taking place in my presence, it may be difficult to ascertain whether my life is at risk or not. For instance, maybe all the robber wants is the TV, but I pull out my gun and escalate the situation somewhere it didn’t need to go. Other than that, what do I got to worry about? Crazy people? Ill take my chances I guess. Also, there are no wild animals in my suburban town.
I’m not opposed to owning a gun. Perhaps, I should have phrased the OP differently. It’s not, “I don’t think I’ll ever own a gun,” it’s, “I don’t know if I will ever a gun.” I’m actually quite curious about the prospect.
I have several guns.
A rifle for hunting big game. Another rifle for varmints, a .22 rifle for plinking, a .22 target pistol for fun and to carry when I am in the woods. My wife has her own hunting rifle. And we have a personal defense pistol in the bed room night stand.
I am an avid hunter and outdoorsman who lives in a very rural area at the base of several hundred square miles of forest.
Guns are a natural part of the local culture. Each year at the high school scholarship fund raising dinner, guns are raffled off right in the high school gymnasium and no one bats an eye.
Look at these horrible people and their assault rifles, right in the school!
Being an unincorporated area, if I want I can walk right out in my back yard and shoot if I wish. No one will call the cops, the sound of gunfire is normal. My neighbor has a shooting range in his back yard. There is almost no gun related crime here.
Guns are fun, guns have practical uses, they are high quality tools, and they are an investment that rarely go down in value.
I have guns for hunting. I would own one for self defense if I felt the area called for it. Was there an actual reason for this thread than a badly disguised pit or great debate thread?
Uh, yeah. I was curious why people wanted to own guns since I don’t and don’t really know what it’s all about.