Are you a gun owner?

[Josiah]

Tango,


I totally see your point.... and as a husband and (soon to be) father, I get it....

But I can't remember EVER reading of someone who used a gun to stop some gun-toting dude who broke into a house. I'm SURE it happens, I've just never heard of one. What I HAVE read - many times - is some kid being shot and sometimes killed because of a gun in the house. We had a case a couple of years ago in a nice condo project a few miles from my house: A teen boy was showing the gun to a buddy when the gun went off and killed the friend. I KNOW - there are effective ways to prevent this, but THAT'S what I'VE heard of - many times. I don't recall a single case - anywhere in the world - where a man potentially saved the life of his family from a gun toting who had broken into their home - because he had a gun.

And I'd be curious.... are more wives and children killed in their beds by bad gun-toting criminals in Denmark (where they have extreme gun laws and no one has guns at home for protection) than here in the USA where guns are at times found in the nightstand of the husband/father? Is there any evidence it actually reduces family members from being killed?

Again, I'm NOT arguing against you owning a gun - for this purpose or any other legal one. I'm NOT saying such COULD be life-saving. I'm not an "anti-gun" person. I just don't want one. And frankly, I'm a bit (a tiny bit) concerned that my neighbor DOES have a gun (several, I think) because I well realize bullets would have no problem going through our walls and enter my house (maybe my son's bedroom).

 

[tango]

Tango,

I totally see your point.... and as a husband and (soon to be) father, I get it....

But I can't remember EVER reading of someone who used a gun to stop some gun-toting dude who broke into a house. I'm SURE it happens, I've just never heard of one. What I HAVE read - many times - is some kid being shot and sometimes killed because of a gun in the house. We had a case a couple of years ago in a nice condo project a few miles from my house: A teen boy was showing the gun to a buddy when the gun went off and killed the friend. I KNOW - there are effective ways to prevent this, but THAT'S what I'VE heard of - many times. I don't recall a single case - anywhere in the world - where a man potentially saved the life of his family from a gun toting who had broken into their home - because he had a gun.

And I'd be curious.... are more wives and children killed in their beds by bad gun-toting criminals in Denmark (where they have extreme gun laws and no one has guns at home for protection) than here in the USA where guns are at times found in the nightstand of the husband/father? Is there any evidence it actually reduces family members from being killed?

Again, I'm NOT arguing against you owning a gun - for this purpose or any other legal one. I'm NOT saying such COULD be life-saving. I'm not an "anti-gun" person. I just don't want one. And frankly, I'm a bit (a tiny bit) concerned that my neighbor DOES have a gun (several, I think) because I well realize bullets would have no problem going through our walls and enter my house (maybe my son's bedroom).

I think the key thing here, which you raise very well, is that there are two sides to every coin.

A gun can be used for self-protection but owning a gun is a responsibility far from the gung-ho stereotype that is so often associated with parts of the deep south (many of my English friends think of hunting as little more than a bunch of rednecks driving around in pickups taking pot shots at wild animals - when I tell people that you buy tags for a specific animal and if you kill something it's your responsibility to find it and haul it away they are often surprised).

I must admit my primary concern is more protection from animals than protection from people, although every once in a while it would be nice to have the feeling of reassurance that I had a device on hand that would protect me from an undesirable looking group, should things turn ugly. In the UK weapons control laws are so strict that if you get attacked by a dog it's pretty much too bad to be you - just about any weapon that might be useful to fight off a dog is considered an offensive weapon. There is legislation relating to dangerous dogs but, as with so much other legislation, the best it can offer is the hope of some redress after everything is done and to be honest I'd rather have the means to kill the dog right there and then. When I'm in the US I routinely carry a knife that would get me automatic jail time in the UK; when I'm in the UK my best lawful option is steel-toed shoes and the hope that I can plant a well-placed kick to the rib cage of an animal jumping up at me.

Another part of the problem where guns are concerned is the way so much of the media is pushing an agenda. So it's perhaps unsurprising that the left-leaning media focusses on anything bad that involves firearms and glosses over anything good, and the right-leaning media does the reverse. It's perhaps no surprise that the NRA's periodicals include sections on examples around the US where firearms are used to save someone's life.

To me carrying a weapon is more like an insurance policy than anything else. In the 20+ years I have owned a home I have never once made a claim on my homeowner's insurance but would still regard someone as being very foolish if they failed to maintain cover. When I am carrying a weapon, of any nature, I sincerely hope I never have to use it in anger. One thing I like about a knife is that it has so many uses over and above self-defence, whereas if I were to be carrying a gun the only reason I would ever want to draw it would be to either shoot something, or provide a credible threat of deadly force against another person.

As with anything else that has the potential to kill, a lot is about respecting the tool. It's about knowing what is beyond your target, it's about knowing what sort of penetrating power your weapon has. It's about firing enough to do what is needed rather than letting fly with an AR-15 and shooting up everything in sight (of course as a homeowner you don't want to destroy your home in your quest to chase the bad guys out).

Another aspect is the yawning difference between Hollywood and reality. If someone breaks into my house intending to do harm to me or my family, I want the threat neutralised as fast as possible. I'm really not interested if they are armed with a gun, a knife, a screwdriver, a baseball bat or just a brick. Even if they are armed with nothing more than a brick, I want something more effective than grabbing the largest kitchen knife I can find (tricky, given the kitchen is downstairs and the burglar probably got there before I did) and hoping I can take them out at close quarters before they take me out. I'd rather be able to take up position in the dark at the top of the stairs knowing I can drop them before they get anywhere near me, having the advantage that I know the layout of the house better than they do.

 

[Ruth]

I dont own a gun but believe in protecting oneself from someone set on taking a life.

 

[Arsenios]

I am afraid you have a view of the U.K. which I do not recognise, you seem to believe that most of the criminals here carry guns too. Whilst I accept some do the vast majority do not, and the reason for this is armed robbery or any other crime is treated proportionately heavily when the criminal is caught and they know it.

I think that you are projecting American standards on the U.K. and it does not fit.


Pete from Peterborough UK

How do you then exercise self defense against roving gangs of violent predator men?

Arsenios

 

[Arsenios]

An armed citizenry is the best deterrent to bad people in or out of Government...

For the criminal, having 20 guns will only get him or her killed...

Genocide in Arminia began with disarming the populace...

Arsenios

 

[tango]

How do you then exercise self defense against roving gangs of violent predator men?

Arsenios

In the UK you defend yourself against a gang of violent men by curling up into a ball and hoping you live to tell the tale.

About a year or so ago some terrorists drove a van into pedestrians on London Bridge (one of many bridges in London that cross the Thames, for those unfamiliar with the town). Men got out of the van with knives. Official advice when faced with such a situation was "Run. Hide. Tell.", in other words run away, hide from the attackers, and tell someone. Too bad if you're not mobile enough to run. Too bad if you can't find anywhere to hide. Overall the situation is just too bad. If you're on the bridge maybe you can jump in the river and take your chances. I prefer to at least have the option to "Drop. Draw. Fire."