For those who own and carry firearms for personal protection, I think it really comes down to one simple thing.
They choose not to delegate their personal safety to someone else (law enforcement).
By refusing to own a gun, one is (in effect) delegating responsibility to law enforcement.
Some people take their own personal safety very seriously and accept full responsibility for it. Others don’t.
Only if you feel that a gun is the only way to guarantee personal safety. Since it’s not, I think your conclusions are off the mark.
I got into guns when I started hunting when I was younger. I have a pump action shotgun and an old bolt action rifle leftover from when I lived out in the boonies and hunting was a regular activity for me. These days the rifle lives in its case and I put a short barrel on the shotgun to use for home defense. The police around here aren’t the most responsive people and if someone is kicking in my door while I’m at home (a rare occurrence in general, but it does happen) they are probably going to get in before the police have a chance to arrive.
I have a .22 rifle and a 9mm carbine for plinking at the range. Fun, light recoil and until the ammo shortage, rounds were cheap & plentiful. I also have a couple of pistols I picked up with the intention of getting my Conceal Carry permit, but its been 3 years since I got those and still haven’t got that permit yet. It just doesn’t rank very high on my to-do list.
A big part of owning guns for me is the hobby aspect. For example, I bought my .22 for a steal at a gun show. It was pretty beat up and in very rough shape. Once I got it home I completely disassembled it, cleaned every part and then put it in a new stock & added a scope. I turned something that was a step away from being a useless chunk of wood & metal into a functional, good looking machine.
I used to own guns because I like to shoot. I haven’t shot for recreation in a couple years, so I can’t use that as a reason.
I used to consider them personal/home defense…but now that there are two kids in the house, they are hidden, unloaded, trigger locked, and the ammo is also kept separately and inacessible.
I had another one or two because they were neat or just to have, but decided that was silly and off-loaded them, leaving me with the bare minimum armament.
I had to think about what guns I even have, anymore. I have a 12 gauge, and .410, and a 10/22. Oh, and a .32 concealable that I just bought because it was a great deal.
So basically, I guess I just keep them around because they’re not really worth anything to sell, and I’d rather have them than not. And, maybe I’ll go squirrel hunting again sometime, you never know.
This is why I still keep my old hunting rifle around. I keep telling myself that I might visit the old hometown during deer season & tag along with some friends in the woods.
I grew up in the rural midwest. I now live in an outer ring suburb, but still own rural property.
Guns were a part of life for my family and almost every other family I can remember.
While I know a few who committed suicide by gun, no one I know has ever had an accidental shooting take place.
I own many guns. None of which were purchased for personal protection.
I hunt and I shoot recreation-ally.
I really like Bricker’s comparison to a kitchen knife. That is pretty much spot on how I view my guns. A tool used for a pleasurable pastime, that must be handled carefully and with appropriate respect.
First gun - a gift for my 8th birthday. Nice little .22 semi-auto rifle. I enjoyed “plinking” - fun sport shooting.
Second gun - a used 12 gauge shotgun for duck hunting
Third gun - a used .380 auto pistol. I was moving into a nasty area, and I wanted something I could carry concealed in case I ran into problems. Never showed while carrying, did brandish to convince someone to stop coming in my window the night of the LA earthquake.
After that, a series of hunting rifles have been acquired. I have also picked up some revolvers for backpacking protection / carry in bear and lion country (I also carry whistles and bear spray - the revolver is in case nothing else is working)
Come on, man. He’s entitled to his opinion. That’s what this thread is about.
I own a gun/s, and Telemark’s post is fact, not opinion.
Ok. Thatguyjeff is still entitled to his opinion. If you want to debate the merits of owning a gun, please start your own thread. Let’s try not to fuck this one up.
You started this thread with this:
and you think my comment is in danger of fucking things up?
Besides, I’m not arguing against owning guns. I’m arguing that his logic is faulty, not his opinion.
I said those things because thats my point of view and I wanted to get the conversation started. I think you overlooked this part…
… which is the whole point. As other gun owners have pointed out, they’re tired of justifying themselves. I’m not asking them too. They’re have already been enough threads like that. I just want to hear their opinion and thats what Thatguyjeff just gave. If you’re going to call him out, that’s only going to start an arguement and derail the thread.
I think the point was that law enforcement covers more things than what can be solved by waving a gun around.
But anyway, I just thought of the only hunting-related accident that I know of amongst all of the family and friends I have who hunt. A cousin of mine got run over by a deer when they were trying to flush deer out of the cornfield - the deer refused to be flushed in the direction they were moving, and ran opposite, running over my cousin instead. He got out of it with a few bruises.
When someone was trying to come in my bedroom window at @1am.
He called non-gun owners out for failing to “take their own personal safety and responsibility blah blah blah”. See?
That’s a jab at folks who don’t own guns, and I’m more than willing to respond.
It appears that you are playing Devil’s Advocate in order to avoid aggravating either side of a polarizing issue. But this is exactly the kind of topic that incites debate, and you knew that going in. You can try to control your readers’ responses, but frankly your intentions aren’t as important as a dialogue that might influence voters.
Different take on what he said. Somebody prior mentioned in this thread of the reasons they do not own a gun they are accident prone, sometimes careless and might accidentally shoot themselves in the leg or foot or something.
Learning about the weapon, how to operate it safely, how to clean it, how to store it, how to shoot it is a necessary step of a conscientiousness and responsible gun owner and allows one to take another step in protecting oneself responsibly. Others may not see those steps as valuable or desirable and are not willing to take on gun ownership and its inherent responsibilities.
Because bitches be triflin’. 
Panaccione, are you really, seriously interested in learning about guns? If so, why don’t you take a gun safety class, or even a concealed carry class? Taking such classes do not obligate you to getting your concealed carry license, nor do they require you to own a firearm.
Go to any gun store in your city and ask about gun safety classes at the local range. You don’t have to own a gun to take a class. Most classes are prepared for utter beginners and will have a gun for you to use; the instructor will probably even fit a model to your particular hand size. You will learn the safe way to handle firearms, and you probably won’t even be allowed to touch a real firearm until you have demonstrated you know how to hold the plastic models.
When they take you out to the range, they will probably only let you have a single bullet at first. Your first 5 shots will probably all be done a single bullet at a time, with the instructor giving you personal attention.
After your gun safety class, you may want to practice with a firearm, especially if you are thinking about attending a concealed carry class. Many gun ranges allow you to rent a firearm for use at the range. If you have such a range, spend a little money finding a gun that is comfortable to hold and to use. Or, if the ranges in your city don’t do rentals, you may have to find a responsible friend who is willing to teach you how to use his or her gun, and to take you out and let you fire it.
If you take a concealed carry class, you will learn about the responsibilities that are placed on gun owners, and especially those who choose to carry a weapon. Listen to the instructors. They are knowledgeable people who believe in the right to bear arms (at least in the United States). They will teach you the laws governing what a concealed carry license allows you to do, where you may carry, and how to determine whether your weapon should be pulled.
Most concealed carry classes require you to demonstrate proficiency in shooting a particular number of rounds from certain distances, which is why you may want to practice before taking the class.
In many states, the concealed carry class is approximately 6-8 hours of instruction. There is a very definite expenditure of time and money to go through a concealed carry class, and not just for the class, but in ammunition for practicing, time on the range, etc.
Here in Kansas, even after a person completes the class and demonstrates the required marksmanship, he or she must make the individual decision whether to apply for the license at the Sheriff’s office. Not everyone who takes the class applies for the license.
I have a lot of respect for the person up-thread (sorry, the name escapes me) who has handled weapons (I’m assuming in the military) and who has qualified as a marksman, but who has chosen not to own a weapon. That person is making a personal decision from a position of knowledge.
If you were to make the investment of time and money and take a class, and then decide at the end that owning a gun was just not for you, I would completely respect your opinion.
At the very least, ignorance would have been fought, and you would have a better understanding of why this subject is so touchy with quite a few of us.
I did not grow up with firearms. However, a few years ago, my wife (of all people), started us down the road of gun ownership. We have found it to be a very sobering, yet exhilarating, responsibility. Shooting is both empowering and fun. Being able to control a tool that could someday save our lives brings a great amount of pride.
I think that you are a bit too Utopian in your visions of armed robberies.
I wouldn’t think that a robber/burglar ‘just wants your TV’. Your ol’ bud, who you do your partying with, may just want your TV, and may even tell you the same over a couple of brews. Robbers/burglars do not just confine their shopping list to arts and entertainment electronics.
Also, it’s hard to be absolutely sure that somebody is going to kill you, until it’s too late. (Naturally, this is spec on my part.) You are wonderful to be taking chances on crazy people, but, if you are ever near one, who may or may not attack you because the voices in his head are telling him that you are a demon, and they don’t know what else to do to escape, you may think that taking your chances wasn’t your best bet. Other people don’t like taking their chances on the good will of sane people, let alone crazy people.
Originally Posted by **panaccione **
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.
Oh, BTW, if you are being robbed, somebody defending themselves with a gun are not escalating the situation. You are already at DefCon1.
And, just because you do not know that there is anybody out for your blood right now, doesn’t mean that you will not be savagely beaten, raped, attacked, murdered. Just off of the top of my head, I recall the victims from in “In Cold Blood”. The nicest people you ever met. When they explained to the robbers that they didn’t have the safe that was full of cash, the robbers realized the ridiculousness of the situation, and let them go. After hog tying them and murdering Dad, Mom, Sonny and Daughter.
You make ex-cathedra statements about how pointless it is to own guns, then you say you don’t want to debate gun ownership. Are you sure that you’re in the right forum??