# Would you ever get a gun for home defense (only)? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 2, 2016, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-ever-get-a-gun-for-home-defense-only/744923 "2016-02-02T05:01:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![scootergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e99b99/32.png) [@scootergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scootergirl)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-ever-get-a-gun-for-home-defense-only/744923/181 "2016-02-06T01:24:15Z")
> [@BeeGee](#): > > I have a S&W .38. I have small hands and short arms. Long guns are torture and 9mm style grips are too big around for me to shoot with accuracy. My dad was a concealed handgun instructor for 20 years and is a licensed firearms dealer in Texas. I do not have a CHL and I will not get one. I live in a nice neighborhood near the University of Texas. Crime is low, but it only takes once. A few years ago, there was a guy who wandered all parts of Austin looking for unlocked doors. He sexually assaulted several women in various parts of town. Then he walked into my neighbor’s house one night and stabbed and killed her. > > My #1 defense is to have my doors locked. I’m not afraid or paranoid. I have no problem walking to the store a few blocks away after dark unarmed. But as a woman living alone, I practice a lot of caution when it comes to people knocking on my door. I don’t feel even remotely bad for not answering the door. If I don’t know you, you stay on the outside and there is NO discussion about it. > > I don’t anticipate ever having to shoot someone. I’m a very good shot and I’ve logged hundreds of hours at the range. > > Amazingly, I have yet to see anyone open carry. Even when I went to west Texas last week. I am not a fan of open carry because I think most of the people who are for it are kind of rabid and not to be trusted with sharp sticks let alone loaded guns. My own plan is that if I go somewhere where someone is packing, I plan on leaving. Immediately. I don’t trust most of the advocates of open carry, nor do I trust those equally rabidly against it. You have a good head on your shoulders. I like the way you think. ---
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-ever-get-a-gun-for-home-defense-only/744923/182 "2016-02-06T01:50:11Z")
My wife and I talked about moving out to the country, and I figured I’d get one if we did. I’d gladly go though any background check or registration protocol to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-ever-get-a-gun-for-home-defense-only/744923/183 "2016-02-06T18:32:09Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > You “seem to recall” this from where? Fair enough. I seem to recall this from reading it somewhere. Like in a news story. But it was a long time ago and I didn’t post any link because I honestly cannot remember if I saw it on the Internet or maybe somewhere else. Please, let me ask you. If you recall seeing or reading some stat, would you refrain from posting the info if you can’t find a link to back it up? I don’t know. Maybe it would be a good policy to just never post any stat unless you can find some credible source of info and then post a link so that people can verify the info is true. I’d really like to know if you think it’s worth suppressing the info if you cannot prove what you are quoting. It may not be a bad idea to do that. But, I think it is something the admins on this board would have to decide and then enforce. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-ever-get-a-gun-for-home-defense-only/744923/184 "2016-02-06T19:02:08Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I wouldn’t kill to protect _stuff_, I will, however, consider it an option to protect _people_ in my family. > > Although as I stated up-thread I’d much prefer to go somewhere that level of home defense isn’t needed. Not everyone has that option. I think I’ve told the story of how my mother, armed with a revolver, ce faced down an intruder in our home. He refused to until she convinced him she’d use it, and he had not come to take a TV. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-ever-get-a-gun-for-home-defense-only/744923/185 "2016-02-06T20:45:58Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Not everyone has that option. > > I think I’ve told the story of how my mother, armed with a revolver, ce faced down an intruder in our home. He refused to until she convinced him she’d use it, and he had not come to take a TV. I’m glad it worked out for her, but her success needs to be compared against the times similar mothers were worse off by having a gun. Like, how often were they overpowered and lost the gun? Or the intruder got to the gun first? Or her kids found it and played with it? So you can’t just look at how the gun will help. You also need to consider all the ways you could be worse off. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-ever-get-a-gun-for-home-defense-only/744923/186 "2016-02-06T21:13:47Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > I’m glad it worked out for her, but her success needs to be compared against the times similar mothers were worse off by having a gun. Like, how often were they overpowered and lost the gun? Or the intruder got to the gun first? Or her kids found it and played with it? > > So you can’t just look at how the gun will help. You also need to consider all the ways you could be worse off. Which is why I keep my gun locked up except when it is in his holster on my hip or in my hands. Among other safety precautions. The fact that some people are irresponsible with their weapons is not an argument for responsible persons not owning them, any more than the existence of drunk drivers is an argument for nobody being allowed to own a car. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-ever-get-a-gun-for-home-defense-only/744923/187 "2016-02-06T21:17:45Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > The fact that some people are irresponsible with their weapons is not an argument for responsible persons not owning them, any more than the existence of drunk drivers is an argument for nobody being allowed to own a car. Should we try to prevent irresponsible people from getting guns in the same way we try to prevent drunk persons from driving? Or do we have to wait until they kill someone before we take any action at all? ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-ever-get-a-gun-for-home-defense-only/744923/188 "2016-02-06T21:18:51Z")
Also, I don’t think my gun makes me invincible. In the event of a home invasion, it’s the last resort, behind fleeing as a family, barricading ourselves in the sturdiest room available, and hoping the police rescue us. A nd in fact fleeing isn’t really an option in my home. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-ever-get-a-gun-for-home-defense-only/744923/189 "2016-02-06T21:22:55Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Should we try to prevent irresponsible people from getting guns in the same way we try to prevent drunk persons from driving? Or do we have to wait until they kill someone before we take any action at all? I believe gun ownership should be regulated more stringently than car ownership. You should have to demonstrate competence and responsibility in both written and practical rests, and those tests should be repeated every five years or so, with the possibility of revocation upon demonstration of fuckwittery. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-ever-get-a-gun-for-home-defense-only/744923/190 "2016-02-06T21:30:03Z")
Also, you shouldn’t be able to buy a handgun unless you are also buying a gun safe or can demonstrate that you already own one. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-ever-get-a-gun-for-home-defense-only/744923/191 "2016-02-06T22:48:15Z")
There’d have to be something approaching full societal breakdown for me to feel the need for a gun. The fact that there’s been a surge of demand for guns over the past several years, after a couple of decades of steadily declining crime rates, I can only attribute to right-wing paranoia about that black dude in the White House. We’re the safest we’ve been since that vaunted era of safety and stability, the 1950s. And the response is stocking up on guns, and a movement for stand-your-ground and liberalized carry laws. Some people have clearly gone off their collective rockers. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-ever-get-a-gun-for-home-defense-only/744923/192 "2016-02-06T23:07:56Z")
Yeah, that’s it exactly. Everybody who doesn’t do as you do must be crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-ever-get-a-gun-for-home-defense-only/744923/193 "2016-02-06T23:10:42Z")
Gun buyers are racists, dontchaknow! ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-ever-get-a-gun-for-home-defense-only/744923/194 "2016-02-06T23:23:40Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I wouldn’t kill to protect _stuff_, I will, however, consider it an option to protect _people_ in my family. > > Although as I stated up-thread I’d much prefer to go somewhere that level of home defense isn’t needed. > [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Not everyone has that option. I completely understand that, in fact, I’m somewhat in that position right now. I would find it far, far easier to acquire a gun than to move right now. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2016, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-ever-get-a-gun-for-home-defense-only/744923/195 "2016-02-07T00:48:43Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > Gun buyers are racists, dontchaknow! Absolutely! I’m not pushing guns into the hands of people who don’t want them by peer pressure. What, am I some sort of sleaze who owns stock in the company? ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2016, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-ever-get-a-gun-for-home-defense-only/744923/196 "2016-02-07T01:02:00Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Should we try to prevent irresponsible people from getting guns in the same way we try to prevent drunk persons from driving? Or do we have to wait until they kill someone before we take any action at all? We don’t really seem to be doing all that wonderfully at keeping drunks off the highways. Usually it happens after they kill someone. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2016, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-ever-get-a-gun-for-home-defense-only/744923/197 "2016-02-07T01:26:38Z")
It’d probably go off when I went to clean it, so no. But I fully support the rights of others who do wish to have one. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2016, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-ever-get-a-gun-for-home-defense-only/744923/198 "2016-02-07T02:18:48Z")
Guns don’t make you any safer, rather the opposite; so no I wouldn’t buy one for “home defense”. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2016, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-ever-get-a-gun-for-home-defense-only/744923/199 "2016-02-07T02:29:06Z")
ISTM not having a firearm,\*\*\* and\*\*\* having one, are both equally respectable decisions that a reasonable person can make upon weighing pros and cons. There is no need to keep bringing up dread “what-if” scenarios to try and cast one or the other as not being sensible or as being the default. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2016, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-ever-get-a-gun-for-home-defense-only/744923/200 "2016-02-07T17:57:09Z")
…but I did indeed end up unlocking mine in a home defense situation, back when I lived in Florida. I had not bought it for home defense, though. I enjoy target shooting. I also still had a shotgun from when I hunted. I don’t own either now, since I live in Massachusetts. I haven’t felt the need to get a license since I have a nice baseball bat instead. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-ever-get-a-gun-for-home-defense-only/744923.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-ever-get-a-gun-for-home-defense-only/744923.md?page=11)