You said it twice, so I surmise you are not kidding. I would say it is more logical, in this day and age, to own a gun for personal safety. Home invasions and car jacking has become the crime of the decade. Used to people would rob you while they knew you were not home. Now the brazen criminals prefer to rob you while you are asleep, at home at least. Many of these home invasions also involve rape, assault, or murder as well.

 

And I know that a liberal such as your self is going to say that nothing in your house is worth loosing you life over, but the truth is that you do not know all they are going to do is take your inanimate objects, they may choose to rape your wife (not in your case), molest your child, or kill all the witnesses. I have news for you before any of this happens in my house either the criminal will die, or I will. I will not go threw life knowing that my wife was raped, my child molested, or my family killed just because I did not do something to stop it.

 

I have been robbed. Last summer...some one came into my home, while I was asleep, and took my purse right off my kitchen table. A gun would not have helped me. However, my dog getting up and going into the kitchen DID scare them off before they got anything else or I even heard them.

 

If I were persoally attacked, I'd have much more success in screaming and using personal safety tactics I know than using a gun. First, I wouldn't be carrying a gun in a place that would be as convenient to get to if attacked unexpectedly.

 

There are other ways to stop bad things from happening besides guns. A lot of it is preventative.

I wasn't too insulted. Just kidding, I wasn't insulted at all. But I think there is not the disparity in my approach towards gun ownership and the approach of others, even Joe Schmo Frat Boy. There are a whole lot of Frat Boys that own guns. Yet there are very, very few incidents of Frat Boys (or that matter any one else) causing deaths with guns as a result of irresponsible ownership or use. It just doesn't occur any where near the level that causes you to feel that way. And you can be sure that if such happened more frequently, we'd definitely hear about it from the media and the anti gun types. I have a feeling that if we compared the number of people that are alive as a result of being able to protect themselves as a result of having a gun vs. the number of people that are killed due to gun accidents, the former category would dwarf the latter category.

 

For the record, I'm not anti-frat boy...it just seemed fun to use.

 

My son is a frat boy now. But, he doesn't like guns. God Bless him!

 

You may be right. But, I stand by my beliefs. I don't think it's necessary in most cases, to own a gun for personal safety, and definitely not to carry one everywhere!

I have no problem with people who collect guns, or who hunt with guns. But, I think people who say they need a gun for protection are blowing hot air and are the ones who are dangerous. Unless you lead a risky lifestyle or live in a high crime neighborhood, I don't see how anyone can justify the "need" of a gun for personal safety. It's inviting trouble

 

With the shape the world is in right now I couldnt sleep at night without a gun in the room with me. At the end of the day it's a personal choice. I dont hunt or collect guns, I do however choose to keep a gun for personal protection. I don't live in a high crime neighborhood and I dont lead a risky lifestyle. Why would someone who didnt live in a high crime neighborhood not need a gun ? Criminals target nicer homes. Nicer homes have nicer TV'S, Stereos, Jewelry and cars for criminals to steal.

 

To me, my gun is a means of protection and that is it. I've never had to use it but I feel better owning it. Just like I've never been in a car accident but I still choose to wear a seatbelt just in case. I've never blown a tire while driving but I still keep a spare in the back just in case. It doesnt rain everyday but I still keep an umbrella in my car just in case. My home has never been broken into but I own a gun just in case. People should be ready for the "just in case" scenario to happen. Better to be prepared for it than not. Owning a gun for protection is no different than carrying an umbrella or keeping a spare time. Why would you consider someone "dangerous" because they keep a gun to protect their family and the items they have worked for to own ?

I have been robbed. Last summer...some one came into my home, while I was asleep, and took my purse right off my kitchen table. A gun would not have helped me. However, my dog getting up and going into the kitchen DID scare them off before they got anything else or I even heard them.

 

If I were persoally attacked, I'd have much more success in screaming and using personal safety tactics I know than using a gun. First, I wouldn't be carrying a gun in a place that would be as convenient to get to if attacked unexpectedly.

 

There are other ways to stop bad things from happening besides guns. A lot of it is preventative.

 

Your eyes are wide shut.

 

I prey that nothing happens to you or your family, honestly. But if something like a murder or assault does happen don't cry about something should be done to prevent these things from happening. Because your statements are as dangerous as a cocked gun (with pun).

With the shape the world is in right now I couldnt sleep at night without a gun in the room with me. At the end of the day it's a personal choice. I dont hunt or collect guns, I do however choose to keep a gun for personal protection. I don't live in a high crime neighborhood and I dont lead a risky lifestyle. Why would someone who didnt live in a high crime neighborhood not need a gun ? Criminals target nicer homes. Nicer homes have nicer TV'S, Stereos, Jewelry and cars for criminals to steal.

 

To me, my gun is a means of protection and that is it. I've never had to use it but I feel better owning it. Just like I've never been in a car accident but I still choose to wear a seatbelt just in case. I've never blown a tire while driving but I still keep a spare in the back just in case. It doesnt rain everyday but I still keep an umbrella in my car just in case. My home has never been broken into but I own a gun just in case. People should be ready for the "just in case" scenario to happen. Better to be prepared for it than not. Owning a gun for protection is no different than carrying an umbrella or keeping a spare time. Why would you consider someone "dangerous" because they keep a gun to protect their family and the items they have worked for to own ?

 

So, you have a gun BECAUSE you live in a nice neighborhood and have nice things.

 

Do you have a security system? Is it one that's hooked into a 24-hour monitoring service? Does it have an audible alarm? Do you have a dog? Do you have security doors? Do you have bars on your windows?

 

There are lots of other ways to protect yourself too.

Your eyes are wide shut.

 

I prey that nothing happens to you or your family, honestly. But if something like a murder or assault does happen don't cry about something should be done to prevent these things from happening. Because your statements are as dangerous as a cocked gun (with pun).

 

Believe me, I won't ask for sympathy. I'm a big girl, and I know how to take care of myself.

 

 

The best word in your whole post is prevent.

With the shape the world is in right now I couldnt sleep at night without a gun in the room with me. At the end of the day it's a personal choice. I dont hunt or collect guns, I do however choose to keep a gun for personal protection. I don't live in a high crime neighborhood and I dont lead a risky lifestyle. Why would someone who didnt live in a high crime neighborhood not need a gun ? Criminals target nicer homes. Nicer homes have nicer TV'S, Stereos, Jewelry and cars for criminals to steal.

 

To me, my gun is a means of protection and that is it. I've never had to use it but I feel better owning it. Just like I've never been in a car accident but I still choose to wear a seatbelt just in case. I've never blown a tire while driving but I still keep a spare in the back just in case. It doesnt rain everyday but I still keep an umbrella in my car just in case. My home has never been broken into but I own a gun just in case. People should be ready for the "just in case" scenario to happen. Better to be prepared for it than not. Owning a gun for protection is no different than carrying an umbrella or keeping a spare time. Why would you consider someone "dangerous" because they keep a gun to protect their family and the items they have worked for to own ?

 

Nice post. Very good points.

 

I live in a low crime county and area, I do not live a risky life style, and I have a nice house. Will I ever be the subject of a home invasion I hope not, but I am prepared (just in case).

 

I do have a security system monitored 24 hours aday. Takes the sherrif/KSP about 20 min to get to my house - I have see it happen.

What's silly? To register firearms? To ban fire arms? To confiscate firearms? I guess it depends on which end of the barrel your facing that determines the answer to that question.

 

I have never, will never, own a firearm. I do not have a problem with you owning a firearm. I do have a problem with the fact that it's really no big deal to buy a firearm, and to register it, with no further requirements for safety training or proof of responsible use/storage.

 

I agree with leatherneck that responsible gun ownership is 99% commonsense. I think though, that 50% of owners with less than 99% commonsense to their credit poses a great enough risk to require a gun saftey test requirement for even a registration.

 

I have no problem with people who collect guns, or who hunt with guns. But, I think people who say they need a gun for protection are blowing hot air and are the ones who are dangerous. Unless you lead a risky lifestyle or live in a high crime neighborhood, I don't see how anyone can justify the "need" of a gun for personal safety. It's inviting trouble.

Guns are used 2.5 million times a year in self-defense. Law-abiding citizens use guns to defend themselves against criminals as many as 2.5 million times every year—or about 6,850 times a day. This means that each year, firearms are used more than 80 times more often to protect the lives of honest citizens than to take lives.

Of the 2.5 million times citizens use their guns to defend themselves every year, the overwhelming majority merely brandish their gun or fire a warning shot to scare off their attackers. Less than 8% of the time, a citizen will kill or wound his/her attacker.

As many as 200,000 women use a gun every year to defend themselves against sexual abuse.

Citizens shoot and kill at least twice as many criminals as police do every year (1,527 to 606). And readers of Newsweek learned that "only 2 percent of civilian shootings involved an innocent person mistakenly identified as a criminal. The ‘error rate’ for the police, however, was 11 percent, more than five times as high."

Gotcha. As for the gun safety aspect, here are my thoughts having been around guns since before I was 10 ( I first got to go hunting at 10, but had been introduced to guns before 10 by my father for safety reasons). The anti gun folks do a great disservice to the safety of children when they prevent schools from allowing the NRA to come into the schools and conduct gun safety courses and unfortunately this occurs. The NRA has a great, and I mean great, child safety program. Parents that allow guns to lie around the house have to be some of the most irresponsible people on the face of this earth and should be sent to jail for a long time if a child is hurt as a result of such irresponsibility. While I'd like to think that if the parents just attended a safety course they would not be so stupid, unfortunately I don't think that would be the case. Only a moron of a parent with zero common sense can't figure that out on their own. Thus, I seriously doubt making those morons take a course would solve anything.

 

I also think responsible parents, even those without guns in their homes, should introduce their children to guns (whether its via the NRA course, through a local hunting club or the state's hunter safety course). I keep my weapons in a gun safe, but way before I allowed my sons to go hunting, I introduced them to the dangers of firearms in the hope that if they went over to their buddy's house and found a weapon lying around, they'd understand the danger involved. It also took some of the "fascination" element away because they had seen, held and been around weapons before.

 

Most adults that I know that are first time gun owners are very aware of the need to get some safety training because most of them are "scared" of guns. The instruction booklets that come with new guns do a very good job of discussing safety (thank the trial lawyers for that... and I sincerely mean it when I say thanks). And every time I have purchased a new gun, the seller/dealer walked me through the operation of the gun and went over safety items at such a basic level I was almost insulted. Also keep in mind that the frequency of mishaps involving guns is very low considering the number of guns out there. Most accidents occur when cleaning and the constant excuse in that situation is " I thought it was unloaded". These people knew to check and make sure the weapon was unloaded, but they failed to do so. Thus, they already knew what they would have been taught in a safety class and that is never to assume it was unloaded, but to make sure it was.

 

To a great degree gun safety is 99.99999% common sense. Most firearms are some of the simplest tools civilization has developed. It really doesn't take a rocket scientist to learn how to load, aim or fire a firearm. Likewise, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know not to aim a weapon at something you don't intent to shoot.

 

Do accidents occur? Of course they do, but from my experience it has never been because of the gun owner not already being aware of the safety rules or how to operate the weapon; rather it was because he/she simply failed to do what he/she knew to do.

 

If there were a lot of accidents caused by people not being aware of basic gun safety, trust me, I'd be right there with you sister. Its just my experience that such is not the case. While I am not philosophically opposed to requiring gun safety courses for first time purchasers, I just don't think that such training would result in a decrease in the already low frequency of mishaps and accidents. And as I've posted many times before, the libertarian in me says that before any regulation is adopted, it must be proven that there is a definite societal problem that must be solved AND the regulation was be proven to solve that problem. I really don't think mandatory training would solve the problem of people being careless about guns.

:thumb: :thumb: Excellent post.

So, you have a gun BECAUSE you live in a nice neighborhood and have nice things.

 

Do you have a security system? Is it one that's hooked into a 24-hour monitoring service? Does it have an audible alarm? Do you have a dog? Do you have security doors? Do you have bars on your windows?

 

There are lots of other ways to protect yourself too.

 

I understand that there are other ways of protecting yourself. I don't live in the city and I don't live in a suburb. My closest neighbor is about 3 quarters of a mile away. I do have an alarm that notifies the police when it goes off. The last time it went off (an animal in our home set it off) it took the police around 15 minutes to get to our home.

 

What I was asking is why are people who own guns for personal protection "dangerous?" Wouldnt the criminals that they feared of breaking into their homes the dangerous ones ? If somone were to break into my home lying in bed and screaming or waiting 10-20 minutes for the cops to get there would do nothing for me.

 

Why does it make someone "dangerous" if they are prepared for the worst that could happen ?

So, you have a gun BECAUSE you live in a nice neighborhood and have nice things.

 

Do you have a security system? Is it one that's hooked into a 24-hour monitoring service? Does it have an audible alarm? Do you have a dog? Do you have security doors? Do you have bars on your windows?

 

There are lots of other ways to protect yourself too.

 

I have a security system monitored 24 hours a day, with an audible alarm.

 

I have a dog.

 

I have steel reinforced doors with dead bolts.

 

I have alarm sensors on my windows (If I wanted bars I would live in down town Detroit).

 

And by the way, I have a Glock 40 cal with 15 rounds of hydro-shocks, and a Ruger Mini 14 with a 30 round magazine in my bed room.

I understand that there are other ways of protecting yourself. I don't live in the city and I don't live in a suburb. My closest neighbor is about 3 quarters of a mile away. I do have an alarm that notifies the police when it goes off. The last time it went off (an animal in our home set it off) it took the police around 15 minutes to get to our home.

 

What I was asking is why are people who own guns for personal protection "dangerous?" Wouldnt the criminals that they feared of breaking into their homes the dangerous ones ? If somone were to break into my home lying in bed and screaming or waiting 10-20 minutes for the cops to get there would do nothing for me.

 

Why does it make someone "dangerous" if they are prepared for the worst that could happen ?

 

 

Look, you are more than entitled to own your gun. I just don't think it's necessary. Now, that is obviously not my place to determine for you.

 

But, I do have to point out that I have managed to get through my life safely without owning a gun.

I don't think it's necessary in most cases, to own a gun for personal safety, and definitely not to carry one everywhere!

Concealed carry laws have reduced murder and crime rates in the states that have enacted them. According to a comprehensive study which reviewed crime statistics in every county in the United States from 1977 to 1992, states which passed concealed carry laws reduced their rate of murder by 8.5%, rape by 5%, aggravated assault by 7% and robbery by 3%.

I have a security system monitored 24 hours a day, with an audible alarm.

 

I have a dog.

 

I have steel reinforced doors with dead bolts.

 

I have alarm sensors on my windows (If I wanted bars I would live in down town Detroit).

 

And by the way, I have a Glock 40 cal with 15 rounds of hydro-shocks, and a Ruger Mini 14 with a 30 round magazine in my bed room.

 

Forgive me, but you sound very afraid! :eek:

 

And, didn't I see you on Criminal Minds the other night?

What's silly? To register firearms? To ban fire arms? To confiscate firearms? I guess it depends on which end of the barrel your facing that determines the answer to that question.

 

I have never, will never, own a firearm. I do not have a problem with you owning a firearm. I do have a problem with the fact that it's really no big deal to buy a firearm, and to register it, with no further requirements for safety training or proof of responsible use/storage.

 

I agree with leatherneck that responsible gun ownership is 99% commonsense. I think though, that 50% of owners with less than 99% commonsense to their credit poses a great enough risk to require a gun saftey test requirement for even a registration.

 

I have no problem with people who collect guns, or who hunt with guns. But, I think people who say they need a gun for protection are blowing hot air and are the ones who are dangerous. Unless you lead a risky lifestyle or live in a high crime neighborhood, I don't see how anyone can justify the "need" of a gun for personal safety. It's inviting trouble.

There have been a few home invasions in our area the last couple of years. On two occassions the homeowner was threatened and used deadly force to protect himself and his family.They first called the local police but the criminals never gave them time to wait. One of these homeowners was a retired college professor. If not for them possessing a weapon in their home the criminal may have been the one that walked away and a complete family may have been destroyed. A weapon in the home or on a person when used correctly and responsibly is the best deterent against the criminal element in these type of situations.