Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences - This topic has 23 replies, 24 voices, and was last updated 17 years, 6 months ago by
.
- Posts
A lot of Americans own firearms for personal protection (by this I mean against criminals, not wild animals). I don’t own one, but I’ve tried using pistols at a firing range and can imagine the sense of power and security one must feel by having one. But I’m curious: do they really provide that power and security in an actual dangerous scenario, or do they make it even worse? I would love to hear from someone who has used or brandished a firearm against someone, and what effect it had.
User Detail :
Name : Tor24191, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Disability : anxiety attacks, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 25, City : Naestved, State : NA, Country : Denmark, Occupation : unemployed, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class,I have never had to use a firearm or weapon to defend myself, so I know I am not the person you are looking for, but I do have som knowledge. If the attacker is aware you have a gun, he or she will be more likely to shoot first – or not come at all. There are, however, many cases of a person pulling a gun on an intruder and having that gun turned on them. There are also just as many cases, maybe more, of that not happening. If you are thinking about getting a gun for personal defense, make sure to enroll in a gun safety class and some sort of weapon familiarization course. You local police department should hold safety courses. Your local gun shop should have information on weapons training courses
User Detail :
Name : Chris32138, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 21, City : Athens, State : GA, Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,The problem with owning firearms is two-fold: Firearms have one purpose – they are designed to kill. They are not a tool like a computer, which has a multitude of uses, or a knife, which has many household uses. It is there to kill. People claim that by having a firearm, they are more protected, and wouldn’t have to wait for the police to arrive, etc. Fact: Children get ahold of firearms and mistakedly kill themselves, or others. Fact: household robberies are far more likely to happen in the middle of the day, when you are not home. Although smaller firearms may be more useful in some of these instances, upholding the law should be left to those trained to do so, who have more immunity in the eyes of the law, and who can make the wisest choice.
User Detail :
Name : Morgan20358, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Buddhist, Age : 17, City : Vancouver, British Columbia, State : NA, Country : Canada, Occupation : Student, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class,I have not had to use my guns for personal protection. However, I have been trained to do so. If you plan to buy a gun for personal protection, you must be prepared to use it to kill, not wound. You should enroll in a class that teaches safety and offers lots of practice firing at targets that look human. I think they allow a person to project an aura or ‘serious business’ in the event of an incident in the home. I feel that criminals look for easy targets.
User Detail :
Name : Don25598, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Episcopalian, Age : 32, City : Columbia, State : SC, Country : United States, Occupation : therapist, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,This is what my mom told me about guns in the house: Back in 1960, my parents kept a gun in the house. My dad worked shift work and used to leave really early in the morning, before the sun came up. My mom was always aware that he was leaving, but then she’d go back to sleep – she felt safe because the gun was within reach. One morning my Dad forgot something and came back to the house. He was being very quiet so that he wouldn’t wake anyone up. My mom thought he was an intruder and almost shot him. That was the end of the gun in the house.
User Detail :
Name : Colleen, Gender : F, Age : 44, City : Brunswick, State : ME, Country : United States, Occupation : teacher's aide, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,If you feel the need for protection, you like dogs, and they would fit into your lifestyle I think owning a dog is far better protection. They are always primed and ready, they can always tell the difference between a family member and a stranger, an intruder can’t use a dog against you, a dog can deter an intruder before they get in the house. Though if you get a dog you should ALWAYS take it to obedience training, you have to be able to control it.
User Detail :
Name : Jenny30922, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 39, City : Wellington, State : NA, Country : New Zealand, Occupation : Librarian, Education level : Technical School, Social class : Lower middle class,Here in the US the statistics are clear. If you own a firearm you are much more likely to become a victim of violent crime. Guns give a false sense of security and people aren’t as careful are they would otherwise be in the absence of a gun. I’ve never quite understood the ‘need’ for some people to own guns. THe number of people, children especially, who are killed or injured because of accidents or improper handling of firearms is way too high for there to really be any increased level of security from owning one.
User Detail :
Name : S28523, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 29, City : Central Florida, State : FL, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,I have used my pistol to stop a crime. I happened to come across an attempted rape at a rest stop. Having my pistol was the difference between attempted rape and rape. And my being hurt as well. The police were called and the offenders arrested (and convicted I was later told). While a firearm may be involved in accidents (as pointed out by others), if it is properly stored, all people in the house know how to handle a weapon (and if children, know not to touch it), they are no more dangerous than knives or matches in a house.
User Detail :
Name : Gonzo, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Anglo-Hispanic, Religion : Wiccan, Age : 33, City : Monterey, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : Military, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,This post will be a little long, but I have personal experience on this topic and I believe this is an important issue. I have a handgun and have unfortunately had to brandish it defensively on two occasions. First, I would like to echo some of the other posters regarding being properly trained in a firearm’s use (and how not to have it taken away), being mentally prepared to kill another human being if that is what is required to protect yourself or your family, understanding the law so that you remain within it and safety with children. While I can say ‘yes’ to training and understanding the law. I can only say I ‘believe’ I am mentally prepared to do whatever is necessary to protect myself and my family. I don’t think anyone knows for certain until they actually pull the trigger (or don’t). In my two experiences, I confronted a person who had entered my home (1 instance) and someone who was attempting to break in (the other instance). Both occurred during the afternoon. In each instance, I confronted the person, pointed my pistol at them and ordered them out of my house. They each turned and fled. I have no idea idea if either was armed, and did not see a weapon. I called the police and tried to stop shaking (adreneline) before the police arrived. Other people may have had different experiences. I believe that criminals are essentially predators, and are able to determine whether another person is a threat or not. Possessing a gun is not what makes you a threat to a criminal. It is the ability and willingness to use it and I think they can sense that. On two other more recent occasions, I thought someone was intruding into my home (one was a drunk roommate and the other was a neighbor). In each instance, I felt much greater security in knowing that I could handle the situation and am thankful I didn’t have to hide in my room hoping everything would be okay. By the way, once I became a father, I decided that the risk of my child getting hold of my gun exceeded the protection it provided and it has been locked in a safe in the garage ever since. I hope this answers your question.
User Detail :
Name : Jason, Gender : M, Age : 35, City : Phoenix, State : AZ, Country : United States,My sister in the middle 1980’s was employed as a regional manager by a national company. As a result she moved often and at short notice. One year she was sent to St. Louis; she leased an apartment and had her household goods moved there while she was closing down her office in Indiana. She got home to her new apartment at about 11:30 on a Monday night. The power was off, but she was tired and decided to make a pallet on the floor and get some sleep before taking care of business the next day. While she was settling in by flashlight, the front door was opened by someone with a key. She called out several times for the person to identify themselves, but they simply kept walking closer WITHOUT a light and being as quiet as they could while making their way through a living room crowded with boxes. She retreated down the hall towards the bedroom, the phones were dead and her cell phone at that time was not working in St.Louis, there was no way out of the apartment. She retrieved her 9mm S&W semi-auto, took a rest on the door frame to her bedroom and cycled the slide to load a round into the action. She then turned on her flashlight to target the intruder. The intruder was a security guard, who had no explanation for his not responding to her challenges, whose explanation for his presence in her apartment was that ‘he didn’t know it was rented.’ She broke her lease that night, received a check refunding her security deposit and first months rent at sun up that morning and moved into a different apartment complex that afternoon. Since then she has slept with a pistol close to hand and she keeps two other weapons in ready racks in her house. We firmly believe that if she had not had the pistol she would have been assaulted or killed. The fact that the apartment complex disgorged her deposit without a lawsuit and within a day of the incident is a backhanded indication of how serious they took the incident.
User Detail :
Name : JD, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/American Indian, Religion : Unitarian, Age : 52, City : Wichita, State : KS, Country : United States, Occupation : Machinist, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,Most people who have opinions don’t have experience, so they speak from hearsay or from plain thin air. You can google this reference and read an authoritative source: More Guns, Less Crime by John R. Lott Jr. from University of Chicago Press.
User Detail :
Name : Carl Westerin, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 48, City : Jacksonville, State : FL, Country : United States, Occupation : Finance, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,I have pointed a loaded weapon at people recently in Iraq. My step-brother has been shot by the police (he survived) and my grandfather was shot too (he also survived). Many Americans know people who have been shot, or have shot others. In certain situations, it is a strong deterrent and does provide at least a minimum sense of security. Proper gun training should be mandatory, but making gun ownership illegal is never a good thing. Now, do guns make a situation worse? Yes, if the guns are in the hands of people who are not responsible. I only can speak for myself. Guns in my hand have helped situations, and have never made a situation worse. There is data to support both anti-gun and pro-gun positions. Hope this helped.
User Detail :
Name : Robert Boland, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Baptist, Age : 42, City : Augusta, State : GA, Country : United States, Occupation : Army, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class,Want to know something funny? My husband is a gun collector and we have an arsenol in the house – a 500 lb safe LOADED with an assortment of assault rifles, pistols and the like… we also have a garage full of gun parts. shell casings and reloading equiptment… but what do we have for protection? Laughs, funny you should ask… two dogs… silly, slap happy pit bulls who love people. All they have to do is bark – that’s all the warning we need to grab a phone… honestly… I couldn’t get out of bed, open the safe, load a gun and shoot someone if they were breaking into my home… I wouldn’t have that much time. Only someone living in a multi-story house would… but the dogs bark right away when things go bump – and we have a phone in every room… and our 6 year old daughter can’t kill herself with the phone… nor will the dogs ever attack her or family and friends (or anyone else for that matter – but don’t tell the burglers that).
User Detail :
Name : Beth, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 34, City : Melbourne, State : FL, Country : United States, Occupation : freelance writer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class,Either there ARE other uses for firearms, or I have murdered hundreds of helpless paper targets as a hobby. Firearms can be used for various sporting and collection purposes. I own some flintlocks that have not been fired in over 200 years, yet their craftsmanship is art. Shooting paper targets for accuracy is a relaxing sport that improves hand/eye coordination. Although I’m not a hunter, people in a free society should be allowed to hunt, especially if they eat what they kill, or if they are culling out-of-control species. I’m a former cop, and I also own handguns for personal protection. Unless you take a class on handgun safety and use, and are fully prepared to take a human life in self-defense, you may want to consider tazers, chemical spray or even a ball bat under your bed as more non-lethal options. We are each responsible for our own destiny, as well as our own safety and security.
User Detail :
Name : Mitch, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 44, City : Columbia, State : SC, Country : United States, Occupation : Sub-contractor, artist, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,There may be large numbers of people in the US who own guns for personal protection but I beleave the percentage is small. Many of us have guns to hunt or to target shoot. I don’t really remember not owning a gun, or several. (I am 60.) I don’t beleave guns are particularly dangerous if used properly but I don’t look at them as protection either. They may provide a sense of power to some. What guns should give any owner is an incredible sense of responsibility. This device if misused can cause serious damage from great distances a single bullet can cause the loss of a limb or other permanent disabilities not to mention death. I think of the responsibility as similar to driving a car or operating heavy equipment – a small break in attention or judgment can have catastrophic consequences. It ain’t like the movies.
User Detail :
Name : Don B, City : Greeley, State : CO, Country : United States,
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.