If ever the time comes when only Law Enforcement and the Military will have guns, do you think this will bring an end to civilian gun violence in America? I don't. Those who are intent on committing gun crimes will always be able to get the weapons they need from various sources. Hal
If so, it would just be replaced by some other form of violence. You wouldn't know it from the media reports, but gun crimes are actually decreasing in the United States.
It's hard to know what to believe. If it makes sense, I tend to believe it, but not every true thing makes sense. If it answers a question, I am inclined to believe it but not every answer is true. Where an agenda is involved, such as with the gun banning nonsense, I assume that pretty much everything I read in the newspapers or see on television is either an outright lie or that it tells only part of the story.
Guns are tools, having specific uses. So are baseball bats, knives, clubs, chains, ropes, screwdrivers, and a huge multitude of other tools capable of killing. The notion that "guns have one purpose: to kill people", is so blatantly preposterous, I turn away from those uttering it. Frank
More often than not, the presence of a gun prevents anyone from being killed. I have never been one to collect guns or to spend a lot of time talking about guns, showing off my guns, or playing with guns, but I feel safer having them and I enjoy taking them out and shooting at targets every now and then. I had a (legal) handgun when I lived in California, and my son never once suspected that I had it. Until he was helping me pack up to move to Texas when he was twenty, he didn't know I had one. Although I knew better than to hurt myself or anyone else, I didn't always treat guns with the proper respect when I was a kid and, let's face it, there's no safe place for a kid to have his hands on a gun in Anaheim or Long Beach. I don't hunt and have never hunted, and I certainly don't look forward to having to use a gun against a human being. But I don't want to be a victim either. I don't know if I could shoot someone who broke into my house, but I want to have that option.
@Ken Anderson " I don't know if I could shoot someone who broke into my house, but I want to have that option." This thinking was thoroughly discussed many times by Massad Ayoob. He pointed out that IF you have a gun for self-protection, you MUST be certain you can and will use it given a lethal threat against you by another person or persons. Frank
Not every break-in is a lethal threat, however. Unless it's a matter of context, I would disagree with Mr. Ayoob on that one. You don't really know what you are going to do until it comes time to do it.
I keep my "night stand" S&W Model 13 .357 Mag. Military & Police filled with .38 Special "Plus P" ammo, because a .357 has too much penetration and a standard .38 Special may not be enough to stop an intruder. There's something for y'all to chew on! Hal
I don't think he means you have to use it, but you must be willing to use it. If you are not, it is more a threat to you than to the intruder. I bought my wife a handgun when she was getting death threats, and she always carried it when on our property at least. I always worried that she would bring it out, then be afraid to squeeze the trigger, so I bought her a Taser instead. She is much more comfortable with that than a gun, as it won't kill anybody but will give her a chance to escape or get help.
@Ken Anderson True, that. But as I read your wording, I interpreted it to mean you were not ceetain you could do it, if you had to. Sorry. Maybe I mis-read. Frank
@Hal Pollner All chewing aside, using +P ammo in a .357 is surely more acceptable than in a .38 special revolver of old-school strength. I agree that a revolver is the superior self-defense device for those not carefully-schooled in semi-automatic use. Still, given a multiple-led street encounter where several punks attack simultaneously, 6 rounds may not save yer life. For that reason, I carry a semi-auto containing 15 rounds. So do all the cops nowadays, despite the .38 Special revolver was the law enforcement sidearm of choice for many decades. Frank
@Don Alaska Most well-stated. When I met my wife to be, her entire family, herself included, were extremely afraid of guns. Her folks argued with me, after learning of my firearms interest, that everyone confronted by an armed assailant was "safer" if they had no gun! Their logic escaped me. They felt that confronted in their home in the middle of the night by an armed intruder, they remained safe if unarmed. They believed no intruder would harm an unarmed person. So ridiculous was their argument that I gave up trying to convince them that I was NOT a "gun nut" bent on shooting someone. Frank
Just make sure the intruder is all the way inside....you can see their eyes if possible before you shoot !