Firearms Refresher Course

timsdat

denise m

We actually had our vehicle stolen from our driveway. But there is rarely extreme violence related to these crimes. Would you consider using a gun to protect your property or only to protect your life?

Are you so sure?  Have you tried to go out there and stop someone stealing your car? 

I would not even consider putting myself in harms way over a vehicle or any property for that matter. My first action would be to call 911. My second action would be to call my insurance company.

timsdat

denise m

I wanted to kill someone a gun is pretty easy. I can stand back, pull a trigger

You think that it is easy.  That is the hardest thing that person would have to do,  ask any cop.

Easy compared to a knife or baseball bat - yes!

timsdat

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denise m

For me, if I knew my neighbors all had guns that would be a real concern and could prompt me to get one myself. Why do you wish more law-abiding people owned guns?

That statement in itself is scary.  Do you really distrust your neighbors that much.  If I lived in a place where I thought that a neighbor would shoot me I would be definately looking to move.  In fact only a couple of my neighbors know I own firearms. 

 

timsdat

If more law-abiding people owned firearms and criminals knew that there was a higher chance of being shot in home invasions I think that would be a pretty good deterent.   

So how do you determine who is a law-abiding citizen? They are only law-abiding until they aren't. It's like those interviews you hear after some guy wipes out his family or shoots up the neighborhood. "He seemed like such a nice quite, friendly guy!" 

kaf

I just don't trust a lot of peoples judgment, and that is what makes me uneasy.

I don't either, K.  I am just not sure where you draw the line.  A lot of people drink and drive, and are arrested for it, repeatedly, but they continue to drink and drive.  Yet, there is no serious movement to ban cars or alcohol.  How about if we ban criminals???

denise m

I am curious where this need for protection comes from. Does the average American living in an average community feel like they need to have a gun for protection? Are locked doors or alarm systems not adequate to give a sense of security? Do you chose to carry a concealed weapon because you feel threatened or in danger in public? Is there some paranoia?

Guns are used TWO MILLION times a year to PREVENT crime in this country, usually without a shot being fired.

probe1957

Guns are used TWO MILLION times a year to PREVENT crime in this country, usually without a shot being fired.

probe1957

denise m

I am curious where this need for protection comes from. Does the average American living in an average community feel like they need to have a gun for protection? Are locked doors or alarm systems not adequate to give a sense of security? Do you chose to carry a concealed weapon because you feel threatened or in danger in public? Is there some paranoia?

Guns are used TWO MILLION times a year to PREVENT crime in this country, usually without a shot being fired.

That's interesting.  Where do you get that figure from?

And over here we have banned Drinking & Driving and I think that's a GOOD thing.  Some places even let the designated driver have free cokes all night  

probe1957

  A lot of people drink and drive, and are arrested for it, repeatedly, but they continue to drink and drive.  Yet, there is no serious movement to ban cars or alcohol. 

denise m

It is the combination of cars and alcohol that is lethal. Perhaps you could ban bullets. After all guns don't kill people, bullets do!

  people kill people, bullets just lay there and do nothing until someone pulls the trigger

dgriego

denise m

It is the combination of cars and alcohol that is lethal. Perhaps you could ban bullets. After all guns don't kill people, bullets do!

  people kill people, bullets just lay there and do nothing until someone pulls the trigger

 

Excellent list. I would like to add Ted Nugent's definition of gun control. Hitting what you aim at. That requires practice.

BTW, I don't own a gun but we should always have the right to keep and bear arms. And many others may realize that criminals don't buy guns legitimately. They steal them or buy them on the black market. And taking guns away from ordinary citizens does not make the world safer. Putting criminals in prison or in the ground makes the world safer.

probe1957

Yet, there is no serious movement to ban cars or alcohol....

The Corvair comes to mind and didn't the Pinto have the same fate.

DPU

probe1957

Yet, there is no serious movement to ban cars or alcohol....

The Corvair comes to mind and didn't the Pinto have the same fate.

 And your point is what???  I still see Pintos and Corvairs driving on the road on occasion.  I don't believe that they were ever banned from the road.  Aren't there collectors clubs for these cars and aren't Corvairs valuable collectors items.

OK - I don't have a gun and I don't want one because I'd most likely shoot my own foot off with it.  But if you follow the safety guide lines of keeping the gun locked away and not loading it until you're ready to use it, then what good is it going to do you if somebody does break in and threaten you? Or is there some kind of "rules of etiquette for criminals" that I don't know about ... like the criminal must wait for the homeowner to go unlock his gun and load it before proceeding to do whatever he came to do? I suppose I could always depend on Max  to go jump on him and frantically lick him so that he drops his gun, but I can see that scenario not ending well.

Joyce

 joyce,

 most people i know who have a gun for protection purposes, always have it handy and loaded.

gun safety, as i learned it, meant that you assume all guns are loaded and treat them that way.
 

fuzzy_dogs_mom

the gun locked away and not loading it until you're ready to use it, then what good is it going to do you if somebody does break in and threaten you?

I could retrieve and load my firearm within seconds.  Locked doesn't necessairly mean away in some case or safe.  They make trigger locks, padlocks that go thru the action, etc that can be quicked removed with the key.  All my windows and doors are alarmed and I have 2 wonderful roving alarms that react to any strange noise.  So I would know if anyone were trying to get in before they did and would have plenty of time.  Having barking dogs would cause an intruder to pause and give me the time I needed to prepare.

timsdat

DPU

probe1957

Yet, there is no serious movement to ban cars or alcohol....

The Corvair comes to mind and didn't the Pinto have the same fate.

 

 And your point is what???  I still see Pintos and Corvairs driving on the road on occasion.  I don't believe that they were ever banned from the road.  Aren't there collectors clubs for these cars and aren't Corvairs valuable collectors items.

That the machines were no longer a choice for the public.  In time, the Corvairs and Pintos you occassionally see driving on the road will become even more rarer.