Quote:
Originally Posted by Gabriella Geramia
With so many people losing their jobs now, it looks like crime is going to be on the rise. How would you protect yourself and your family? Guns are also harder to get now as a lot of places are sold out. What would you use if you had no gun? I have a taser and pepper spray but I honestly have never felt safe with those items. I thought about getting a gun but the thought freaked me out. I don't know what to do now. Hope it doesn't happen? :/
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I suspect a lot of things make people freak out if not exposed to it at a younger age. Even though I was raised in a large city, guns were a natural thing in our family. Most people start out (at least boys) with a BB gun. You are taught from a young age about safety, how to shoot, clean and store your firearm.
Then as you get older, you graduate (so to speak) to a small caliber gun, such as a .22 which is easy to shoot (no recoil to speak of), not loud, and the ammo is inexpensive.
I could go on, but you get the point.
Based on your ID name, I assume you are a woman. Even though women (especially those raised in big cities) may not have traditionally been exposed to guns, women now account for the greatest growth % in new gun purchases, concealed carry permits, etc.
Gun ranges have become more attuned to women shooters, and even have ladies nights where parts of the range are women only, and/or have special discounts for them.
Many of these women never held a gun just a few months back, but now not only feel comfortable with them, but actually enjoy target practice.
NRA Women
All sorts of guns and accessories catering to women's taste have popped up as a result.
So I recommend you take a beginners firearms course (many can be found via the NRA website) at a local gun range. You will be taught the basics, and not required to buy a gun, as they will have loaners on site to learn with.
https://firearmtraining.nra.org/student-courses/
You can then see if you think it is a good choice for you to buy a firearm or not.
[If you do decide to get a firearm, many people will have recommendations. Mine, especially for new/inexperienced people wanting to pick their first handgun, is to buy a short barreled .357 revolver.
The reasons are too numerous to go into now, but a few main reasons are as follows. A loaded revolver has much less that can go wrong with it, in a life and death situation when seconds count. Additionally, the caliber size allows you to shoot .38 ammo out of the same gun, which is less expensive, and has much less recoil.
Thus you can target practice with .38 ammo, but keep .357 ammo in it for self/home defense.
Your instructor will tell you that you should also practice on occasion with .357 ammo to get use to it's recoil, but generally use .38 for target practice.
As to the short barrel, it is lighter and easier to conceal it, if you choose to get a permit to carry it. If you have no intention of ever getting a concealed carry permit for self protection away from home, then you can get a longer barrel which will help with accuracy.
However if you learn to shoot for center mass, in a close quarter situation, you will not need a longer barrel.
Of course you could just buy a shotgun and learn how to shoot it in close quarters, as it is a great home defense weapon as well]
Needless to say the best home protection (and personal protection for that matter) is owning a firearm. So strongly consider doing so when this crisis passes. If you wait until another one is upon you (hurricane, extended power outage, etc.) you can see what happens like this time around.
Ultimately if you decide not to buy a firearm (for whatever reason) buying a guard dog (not just a watch dog) is not only a deterrent to a criminal, but they can also help neutralize a threat.
Other things like home alarms with central station reporting can not only deter, but MAY be able to notify police in time to arrive.
[Note - just like with firearms, most people wait until after they are burglarized to sign up for an alarm service. Needless to say it is better to plan ahead, rather than be victimized as your reason for doing XYZ]
But as the old saying goes, the police are minutes away when seconds count. That is not to impugn LE, as they do the best they can with limited resources. That is unless you live in a small town or your city is small and they have their own police force where response times will be quicker. Still I'd rather be able to defend myself and loved ones myself, and still call the police for help. The same is true of putting out a home fire and trying to extinguish it myself while the fire department is on it's way to help.
Lastly, do not listen to the anti-gun zealots claiming gun owners are yahoo gun nuts, or that it is more dangerous to own one than not.
Most of what they say is rubbish borne of a lack of knowledge, skewed/biased stats, and repeated talking points from agenda driven groups.
As any responsible gun owner will tell you, aside from wanting to have a gun for target practice, hunting, collecting, or competition, they hope to never have to use a gun against another human being.
That said, it is just a tool that can be used to save you and your loved ones lives if needed. I hope to never have to use the fire extinguisher, first aid kit, food storage supplies in a natural disaster, a seat belt cutter that can break the side window, or even my cars jack and spare tire.
So the question is, would you rather be unprepared by not having the aforementioned items if you need them, or be prepared and hope never have to use them?
A gun is no different.
Owning a gun is a personal choice and not for everyone. Yet as you likely can guess by my post, I recommend it in case the need ever arises.
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Too old to beat somebody down with a baseball bat, too young to die
