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Funny. I just found my training certificate from my firearms training class I took back in 2013. I went through it for a job I was on. Prior to that, my then-wife and I talked about getting a gun after moving to the state capitol of South Carolina. One of the places we had lived in our hometown had some thieves nearby that stole a few of our bikes where they were secured on the porch. We assumed things would be worse down here, not that a couple of bikes would be reason at all to use deadly force.
We talked about it at the time and came to the conclusion that we should not bring guns into our house with two small children at the time. We were aware of how often guns injure or kill innocent people and decided it was not worth it. The likelihood of ever needing one was small. The chances of harming someone we loved were greater.
The irony is that I am now staying with friends who have guns in their house. She has a handgun that I have seen. He does, too. And there are three long rifles here including an AR-15. People on this board seem to think that if you call for sensible gun laws and you lean left, that you want to ban every single gun in America and confiscate them all. That is far, far from true and is probably a scare tactic used by the strict 2A folks. I have thought about getting a handgun at this point in my life with my medical issues and mobility troubles. As a photographer, I am easy pickings for people who might want a free camera if they see me out and about.
having lived in dangerous areas i have an ability to keep aware of my surroundings, but i still don't have the lightning fast ability to determine and identify a threat instantaneously too draw and shoot a weapon...
i have managed to live 63 years relying on my "radar" so far..however the 2nd amendment zealots with their "open carry" laws and such seem to me to have maybe compounded the danger...
talk of mental illness even at the highest levels suggest a misunderstanding of the mentally ill and why there is little mention of the gun owners perceived ability to respond positively in an encounter which suggests a fantasy mindset as a possible delusional "mental illness" escapes me
That is a problem that many people that carry a gun do not consider. If something does happen like getting mugged it is going to happen fast and be over quickly. If you draw and shoot the mugger as he flees your life is over and you will be spending more time in prison than if the mugger beat you within an inch of your life.
The thing is with open carry a smart criminal is going to neutralize that threat first giving others a chance to escape.
The positive to citizens being armed is that in a mass shooting if the deranged killer is confronted by someone that is shooting back he will turn his attention to that guy allowing innocent people to escape.
I wouldn't call it a "mental illness" to want to be prepared but the liklyhood of ever being in a situation where you had to draw that gun to defend your life or the lives of others is really rare but it could happen. In all honesty if you found yourself in a mass shooting scene would you rather be hiding with someone that had a gun when the shooter kicks in the door?
I think most people that carry guns do have a hero type mindset and they also have a strong sense of right and wrong. They are not the problem.
There is somewhere between 300 million and 500 million guns in the US, and somewhere around 99.99% of them will not be used to murder or accidentally kill anyone.
I'll take on faith that those numbers are correct. But the small percentage of people killed by guns accidentally are still just as dead.
Do you know how many people are killed in car accidents in the US each year?
Tell me, should you be banned from owning a car, which is clearly dangerous?
So I should double down by having a dangerous gun in my home also?
Quote:
Research published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that living in a home where there are guns increased risk of homicide by 40 to 170% and the risk of suicide by 90 to 460%.
Quote:
The risk of dying from an unintentional gunshot injury is 3.7 times higher for adults living in homes with guns, with handguns in the home posing a particular threat.5
On a state-wide level, states with higher rates of household firearm ownership have been shown to have significantly higher homicide victimization rates
Do you know how many people are killed in car accidents in the US each year?
Tell me, should you be banned from owning a car, which is clearly dangerous?
A car is not manufactured to kill. A guns sole purpose is to kill or do great bodily harm. Yes?
If you are concerned about cars killing, make sure you elect Democrats who will be more willing to make sure our cars are safer. You are free, I assume, to start a separate thread on this topic.
More guns equals more gun deaths. America should be the safest place on earth but it sure ain't...
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