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Things are changing. Criminals are getting bolder. Cameras don't even deter a corner store thief anymore, its unlikely it will deter a mob of professionals. But if you want to beleive that you are secure, thats your choice.
Neither will your gun in the next room and the ammo safely in a different room. Especially if nobody's home, which (and this is not a coincidence) is when the mob of professionals will come in, and help themselves to your guns and everything else.
I think the answer is obvious.
If rape victims were commonly armed you would hear it, if mugging victims were commonly armed you would hear it, if car jacking victims were armed you would hear about it, ect. The only possible reason you dont hear about armed people being sucessfully victimized is because it happens less. There are definately millions of armed people out there, to think its a coincidence that they dont show up on the news as victims more often is stupid. To the individual being armed certainly aids in your ability to defend yourself & as a result armed people are sucessfully victimized much less.
Neither will your gun in the next room and the ammo safely in a different room. Especially if nobody's home, which (and this is not a coincidence) is when the mob of professionals will come in, and help themselves to your guns and everything else.
After they take all them terribul guns they put them in a car to get away! If they had no car they could only take what they carry, lets ban cars too!
Back to the main point, the topic is crime victims, not murder victims. Homicides account for a very tiny proportion of felonies in the USA. Owning a gun affords no advantage whatsoever against a huge majority of the crimes committed in this country, like auto theft, burglary, breaking and entering, vandalism, identiry theft, fraud.
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Why cant an armed person prevent car theft, burglary, breaking & entering, vandalism ect? The fact is that they do each & every day.
Here is my take. A gun is a tool. I don't think that criminals target non gun owners because it is impossible to know who owns or does not own a gun. Also criminals can be gun owner or otherwise can have the jump on you. I am not totally against gun ownership, but what scares me are gun nuts that think that having a gun is protection.
What is a gun nut? Every cop in America has a gun for protection, are they gun nuts? Our President is surrounded by armed people, is he a gun nut?
Guns arent the answer to every situation, just as fire extinguishers cant stop all fires. But living without either is IMO foolish.
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If there is a specific threat against you then I would own a gun. If you own a store then the odds of you being robbed are high enough to own a gun. If you live out in the country where calling the police can take a long time and you may have to deal with country type things(bears, rattle snakes, etc.) then own a gun. Otherwise think twice about it.
I'v thought more than twice about it. Why is it more important to protect goods & cash in a store than your home & family? Why is it more important to worry about snakes & bears, that only hurt or kill very few each year, than it is to worry about violent criminals that kill thousands?
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For instance my family once got robbed by three men holding guns, despite having a pistol there was nothing we could do.
Why not? Again, guns arent the answer to everything, but I'd bet if someone was prepared something could have been done.
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And as a kid I once got hold that pistol and nearly shoot my mom with it. Don't fall into the trap of gun=safety.
That simply means that your parents werent very responsible, but why do you say you almost shot your mom? Did you miss? Or did you simply play with the gun & scare everyone. Guns should be kept away from kids to young or inexperienced to shoot. Mine started shooting around 4 years old & by the time they were six they were competent with firearms. I keep mine locked up for the most part but have zero worries that if I put a gun down on the table they will even touch it unless told to do so, let alone play with it.
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It depends on the situation. Right now I live across the street from a school in a crowded neighborhood. If I were to try to shoot someone in my living room odds are I could hit someone outside or even in the school itself.
Why? Are you going to use a high powered rifle?
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I know of some stories of people defending themselves with guns, but what seems to happen far more often is that people get caught in the crossfire between gangbangers.
Thats because you only read the paper & watch TV. Do some investigating. Over 2 million times a year guns are used by civilians to prevent a crime. That one statistic dwarfs criminal use of guns, accidents & everything else, but you wont read it in the paper or see it on the news. 2 million is alot, you know of over 2 million gang related shootings last year?
The FACT of the matter is that guns are meaningless to crime but can be very meaningful to the citizen if used responsibly.
Everyone has a fundamental right to be able to defend themselves using deadly force if necessary. They do not have any right to commit assault and murder. Defending yourself is not considered either.
Criminals lose their right to carry a gun because they have proven themselves untrustworthy enough to be armed.
I disagree with restricting firearms ownership or right to carry a gun to criminals convicted of non violent crime. They should be trusted with a gun but not with money.
There are two general precepts on which there seems to be agreement.
1. The 2nd Amendment allows for the people to place restrictions on gun ownership (e.g., criminals), and does not specify what those restrictions shall or shall not be.
2. The Constitution allows for the people to make any law that does not directly conflict with the Constitution.
From this, I conclude that the people of the United States can restrict gun ownership in any way they collectively deem appropriate, and it would not violate the 2nd Amendment to do so.
I was just sitting here reading these forums, and noticed the number of gun issues on these forums.
And, I wonder if there are any good statistics about the incidence of crime against gun-owners versus those that do not have guns.
I'm talking about overall crime - not specific incidences where a gun owner was able to successfully defend themself against a crime. I am asking about the total of all crimes perpertrated against everyone (in each category).
I have nothing at all against gun-ownership. I sometimes think about getting one - Though I've lived for more than 50 years without one - And, really survived quite well simply from using common sense (avoiding walking into bad situations when something seemed suspicious, using simple, common sense practices, like locking windows and doors, sufficient lighting, parking in well lit areas, etc. etc...).
Does a gun make you safer simply from possessing it? Or, do people survive quite well without them, using common sense?
Are there any statistics that would study this?
Hunting, of course, is another matter. I lived for years in a poorer rural area, and people hunted to supplement their food. Getting a deer, some fish, fowl...meant much to these people. And, their rifles and shotguns, they handled much like the hand tools they used to do their own repairs (on everything). They certainly did not flaunt them - they were simply other tools in their lives.
Keep in mind that there are correlations involved which makes the use of statistics *difficult*. People in dangerous situations may be more inclined to want to have a gun for protection. Rural people may have them more often for hunting....the list goes on and on.
I know that from some statistics I've seen in the past, a number of gun deaths occur in impoverished areas and are drug\gang related. This is not dissimilar to the statistics that 1/2 of fatal accidents involve drugs\alcohol.
If you don't want to get shot...stay out of gangs and the drug trade....stay out of areas that are infested with these types of people and you greatly lower your chances of being killed by a gun.
There are two general precepts on which there seems to be agreement.
1. The 2nd Amendment allows for the people to place restrictions on gun ownership (e.g., criminals), and does not specify what those restrictions shall or shall not be.
2. The Constitution allows for the people to make any law that does not directly conflict with the Constitution.
From this, I conclude that the people of the United States can restrict gun ownership in any way they collectively deem appropriate, and it would not violate the 2nd Amendment to do so.
So, what is the issue?
You are totally right. Most of the worst parts of the US (like DC) have also passed local laws but not shockingly a person bent on murder doesn't seem to have qualms about having an illegal gun.
I always think this is a funny debate since each state gets 2 senators and that means a whole bunch of senators from rural states that would never ever pass serious gun-control legislation.
Occasionally we have to hear some scare tactic stuff like "Obama is going to take away all our guns" but that is just a fund-raiser topic. (Like when Roberts was up for the Supreme Court and they sent mailers to the registered dems asking for money or his nomination would mean the end of legal abortions. )
Oh well, people are idiots...especially when they get that whole tribe mentaility.
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