Please Tell Your Threatening Story Here

Who Princess

I worked in mental health many years ago and have always retained an interest in it. I wasn't a clinician; I was an educator for a mental health advocacy organization, part of whose mission was community education and public awareness. Depression and suicide were topics of great interest to me and I tried to learn as much as I could about them.

There's a common perception that if people are going to kill themselves, they'll find any means at hand. Sort of the idea that if you put up a barricade so that people can't jump off a bridge, they'll just go home and take sleeping pills. There's quite a bit of research though that shows that if the most ready means of suicide is removed, it will thwart the individual's attempt.

Even people who are deeply depressed are only acutely suicidal for very brief periods. If the person has a plan for suicide--and the more specific and lethal the plan, the greater the risk--and they share that information with another person, it's critical to hijack the plan. Get the pills out of the house if they plan to overdose, get them away from the edge if they are talking about jumping, take away the car keys if they say they will fill the garage with carbon monoxide. It will take them time to develop a new plan and by that time they are unlikely to be in that suicidal state.

Most suicides in this country are by gunshot. It's not a knee jerk reaction or assumption to say that if a loaded gun isn't available, you greatly reduce the risk of someone taking their own life. Of course, the key is to recognize suicidal behavior and have a frank discussion with the person so that you or someone else can intervene.

My dad was a member of the NRA. Even as a child I knew where he kept his guns. I also knew that they were unloaded. I wouldn't have had a clue how to load them, even if I knew where the ammunition was. Brian's friend apparently didn't grow up in a home like mine since it seems he had no difficulty in gaining access to a loaded gun. So tragic and so preventable.

comebackgirl

DS1119 wrote:

comebackgirl wrote:

DS1119 wrote:

Was it a legally owned weapon? Was it in one of these "mass slayings" that seem to be media hot points right now?

Yes it was legally obtained, and no, the person wasn't mentally ill. I can see you didn't send me a PM. If you want the details just so you can minimize my experience and tell me it wasn't that bad or doesn't fit your "criteria" since I didn't die along with 20 other people, it's probably best if you don't PM me.

I do empathize with that. I really do. I've actually had a gun pulled on me in a bar fight as well. That being said what legislation proposed could have kept this action from taking place without infringing on others rights to own the guns they have the right to own?

I think it needs to be harder for people who have a documented history of being violent, abusive or controlling of others to get guns. More credence needs to be given to patterns of violence that are documented through civil orders, because these things don't always go through the criminal justice system. If you've had one (or more!) restraining orders against you, you shouldn't get a gun, even if they've since expired. Right now background checks look for current orders that are still intact. If DYFS has investigated you for child abuse, you shouldn't get a gun, even if the case has since been closed. Background checks don't look for this. Background checks need to be more encompassing and the red flags need to be expanded. The onus should be put on the person seeking a gun as to why they should have one, rather than the government having to prove why they should deny it. In addition, on college campuses there are a number of serious crimes that will go through the campus hearing board system, but will never be pursued through the criminal justice system; things like stalking, sexual assault and domestic violence. Even if the student is found responsible of the charge, this won't follow them once they leave the school; there is no official legal record of it that would show up on a background check. Students have hopped from school to school, some have gone on to acquire criminal records, but something needs to be done about this. We're talking serious crimes that occur that often have no record because the criminal justice system is still so harsh on victims.

comebackgirl

Who Princess wrote:

I worked in mental health many years ago and have always retained an interest in it. I wasn't a clinician; I was an educator for a mental health advocacy organization, part of whose mission was community education and public awareness. Depression and suicide were topics of great interest to me and I tried to learn as much as I could about them.

There's a common perception that if people are going to kill themselves, they'll find any means at hand. Sort of the idea that if you put up a barricade so that people can't jump off a bridge, they'll just go home and take sleeping pills. There's quite a bit of research though that shows that if the most ready means of suicide is removed, it will thwart the individual's attempt.

Even people who are deeply depressed are only acutely suicidal for very brief periods. If the person has a plan for suicide--and the more specific and lethal the plan, the greater the risk--and they share that information with another person, it's critical to hijack the plan. Get the pills out of the house if they plan to overdose, get them away from the edge if they are talking about jumping, take away the car keys if they say they will fill the garage with carbon monoxide. It will take them time to develop a new plan and by that time they are unlikely to be in that suicidal state.

Most suicides in this country are by gunshot. It's not a knee jerk reaction or assumption to say that if a loaded gun isn't available, you greatly reduce the risk of someone taking their own life. Of course, the key is to recognize suicidal behavior and have a frank discussion with the person so that you or someone else can intervene.

My dad was a member of the NRA. Even as a child I knew where he kept his guns. I also knew that they were unloaded. I wouldn't have had a clue how to load them, even if I knew where the ammunition was. Brian's friend apparently didn't grow up in a home like mine since it seems he had no difficulty in gaining access to a loaded gun. So tragic and so preventable.

Thank you for this. Very true. And right now the background checks only prevent people who "Have been ruled mentally defective by a court, or are committed to a mental institution" from getting guns. There are a lot of suicidal people that don't meet that criteria. They will get guns and they will die because of it, and there is nothing their doctor could have done because the standard set here for stopping someone from getting a weapon is set so high. Not to mention that their family members could still easily obtain a weapon and it probably wouldn't be too hard to figure out how to get the gun out of the gun cabinet if they want to bad enough.

know1

I'd love to hear some stories about how a gun actually protected someone like people say, but those stories aren't so common.

dimitrispearljam

must be some people with this kind of stories....its just defficult to hear them cos they are buried....

comebackgirl

dimitrispearljam wrote:

must be some people with this kind of stories....its just defficult to hear them cos they are buried....

You know Dimi...after I read the OP last night I had a memory of being in music class in the 3rd grade. A kid in my class was talking about some movie or show he shouldn't have seen, where the guy shot the family dog and beat the kids. The kid was laughing, not out of any malice, but because he had the fortune to have such a situation seem so foreign to him. Another kid in our class told him that he probably shouldn't be laughing about it, and the first kid said "that doesn't happen to kids like us." I remember seeing the look of shame and sadness on the face of a girl in my class and I caught her eye and I knew that she knew it does happen to kids like us. She and I became better friends in high school and I found out more about her situation. That's sort of how I felt when I came in this thread last night. I feel like that fairly often on the AMT.

dimitrispearljam

comebackgirl wrote:

dimitrispearljam wrote:

must be some people with this kind of stories....its just defficult to hear them cos they are buried....

You know Dimi...after I read the OP last night I had a memory of being in music class in the 3rd grade. A kid in my class was talking about some movie or show he shouldn't have seen, where the guy shot the family dog and beat the kids. The kid was laughing, not out of any malice, but because he had the fortune to have such a situation seem so foreign to him. Another kid in our class told him that he probably shouldn't be laughing about it, and the first kid said "that doesn't happen to kids like us." I remember seeing the look of shame and sadness on the face of a girl in my class and I caught her eye and I knew that she knew it does happen to kids like us. She and I became better friends in high school and I found out more about her situation. That's sort of how I felt when I came in this thread last night. I feel like that fairly often on the AMT.

being on Airfoce 21 years,i know exactly what guns can do
im in technical team,Inspector and teacher of Corrosion control at F-16,but we all have military training and we can use all the guns..
but in case of need,like war..daily we work at aircraft and we do some shooting training,and some briefing about using the guns,but not dailly..
in my 27th hours shifts,i do them 4 per month,i carry a gun...
in those 21 years,i had 3 incidents that almost got me killed,by mistakes,some co workers did,
mistakes that trained people did,,people is their jobs to use guns...
i know what that shits can do...
i know how that shits sound when u pull the trigger..
i know how that shits makes you shit your pants and make your blood like ice cubes when you hear the bang when you dont expect it to happen..
and i fuckin saw with my own eyes,how the blood runs after hit someone...
i know the fear in the eyes of someone that just get shot...
no one will convinced me, in the name of any fuckin ownership that those shits are good..
absofuckinlutely no one...

mickeyrat

frankly I would prefer to KNOW who is carrying a lethal weapon. Whats so important about CCW? Stop the CCW, wear that shit with pride!!Right out in the OPEN!
So i know who to avoid.

Cliffy6745

Threads created by DS....gifts that just keep giving

Thanks for brightening my holidays and bringing a good laugh

Edit: And I think this kind of makes the point for the gun control crowd once again. Didn't you do this last week too? If no one feels threatened then why do people need guns for self defense? Why risk lunatics getting guns and having mass shootings if there isn't really the threat of needing a gun in self defense?

JonnyPistachio

Well I'm glad you asked. I've been threatened with guns several times.
Also, a friend who is a highly trained officer if the law accidentally discharged around from a shotgun that narrowly missed my head... But, here's today's news:

Just a few months ago I moved from a house in a bad area because of gun violence. I moved to an excellent neighborhood that is safe and friendly. I've never felt better. It took me 6 years to get out of that bad situation, but today I heard gunshots in my new neighborhood and I had that creepy feeling again that I just simply can't escape it.
Here's the article: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/ ... -ol/nTdQH/

Notice the last line in the article.."normally calm, leafy, upscale neighborhood.."
There are stories like this everyday, and I see about one every 1-2 months of a toddler or child getting shot, yes it is a warZone in my old neighborhood, so you wanna call it propaganda? Fuck that, I hear gunshots on a regular basis. Its real. It's baffling and its a pathetic side of America. And what's more pathetic is that some don't think there's any kind of problem

brianlux

JonnyPistachio wrote:

Well I'm glad you asked. I've been threatened with guns several times.
Also, a friend who is a highly trained officer if the law accidentally discharged around from a shotgun that narrowly missed my head... But, here's today's news:

Just a few months ago I moved from a house in a bad area because of gun violence. I moved to an excellent neighborhood that is safe and friendly. I've never felt better. It took me 6 years to get out of that bad situation, but today I heard gunshots in my new neighborhood and I had that creepy feeling again that I just simply can't escape it.
Here's the article: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/ ... -ol/nTdQH/

Notice the last line in the article.."normally calm, leafy, upscale neighborhood.."
There are stories like this everyday, and I see about one every 1-2 months of a toddler or child getting shot, yes it is a warZone in my old neighborhood, so you wanna call it propaganda? Fuck that, I hear gunshots on a regular basis. Its real. It's baffling and its a pathetic side of America. And what's more pathetic is that some don't think there's any kind of problem

It's scary as hell hearing gun fire in a neighborhood. When I lived in the Mission District in San Francisco I heard gun fire in the building next door once and it freaked me out. In the late 80's when I lived in Sonoma County I heard people in the neighborhood shooting and every weekend I hear people shooting in my neighborhood where I live now. Both were/are legal for them to do because I lived/live in county outside city limits but my nerves don't care if it's legal or not. I hate the sound of gunfire. It gives me the feeling that I might take a bullet any time. (True, part of the problem now is my sharp/loud phonophobia related to the explosion that gave me hearing problems but the previous experiences were pre-explosion.)

DS1119

comebackgirl wrote:

I think it needs to be harder for people who have a documented history of being violent, abusive or controlling of others to get guns. More credence needs to be given to patterns of violence that are documented through civil orders, because these things don't always go through the criminal justice system. If you've had one (or more!) restraining orders against you, you shouldn't get a gun, even if they've since expired. Right now background checks look for current orders that are still intact. If DYFS has investigated you for child abuse, you shouldn't get a gun, even if the case has since been closed. Background checks don't look for this. Background checks need to be more encompassing and the red flags need to be expanded. The onus should be put on the person seeking a gun as to why they should have one, rather than the government having to prove why they should deny it. In addition, on college campuses there are a number of serious crimes that will go through the campus hearing board system, but will never be pursued through the criminal justice system; things like stalking, sexual assault and domestic violence. Even if the student is found responsible of the charge, this won't follow them once they leave the school; there is no official legal record of it that would show up on a background check. Students have hopped from school to school, some have gone on to acquire criminal records, but something needs to be done about this. We're talking serious crimes that occur that often have no record because the criminal justice system is still so harsh on victims.

So should someone who committed a crime while drunk (a lot more common than any committed by gun by a mile) go through these same background checks when trying to purchase a six pack?

DS1119

know1 wrote:

I'd love to hear some stories about how a gun actually protected someone like people say, but those stories aren't so common.

Doesn't make sexy headlines.

DS1119

Cliffy6745 wrote:

Threads created by DS....gifts that just keep giving

Thanks for brightening my holidays and bringing a good laugh

Edit: And I think this kind of makes the point for the gun control crowd once again. Didn't you do this last week too? If no one feels threatened then why do people need guns for self defense? Why risk lunatics getting guns and having mass shootings if there isn't really the threat of needing a gun in self defense?

Why have a police force or military then?

DS1119

JonnyPistachio wrote:

Well I'm glad you asked. I've been threatened with guns several times.
Also, a friend who is a highly trained officer if the law accidentally discharged around from a shotgun that narrowly missed my head... But, here's today's news:

Just a few months ago I moved from a house in a bad area because of gun violence. I moved to an excellent neighborhood that is safe and friendly. I've never felt better. It took me 6 years to get out of that bad situation, but today I heard gunshots in my new neighborhood and I had that creepy feeling again that I just simply can't escape it.
Here's the article: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/ ... -ol/nTdQH/

Notice the last line in the article.."normally calm, leafy, upscale neighborhood.."
There are stories like this everyday, and I see about one every 1-2 months of a toddler or child getting shot, yes it is a warZone in my old neighborhood, so you wanna call it propaganda? Fuck that, I hear gunshots on a regular basis. Its real. It's baffling and its a pathetic side of America. And what's more pathetic is that some don't think there's any kind of problem

I empathize with that. I really do. I don't want ANYONE to be shot...but again was the a legally obtained gun or illegal? Was the person committing a crimininl act or protecting themselves? From just the info in the article you posted I would say illegally obtained and criminal act. It's a shame, but the gun regulations proposed right now would not have stopped that.

JonnyPistachio

DS1119 wrote:

JonnyPistachio wrote:

Well I'm glad you asked. I've been threatened with guns several times.
Also, a friend who is a highly trained officer if the law accidentally discharged around from a shotgun that narrowly missed my head... But, here's today's news:

Just a few months ago I moved from a house in a bad area because of gun violence. I moved to an excellent neighborhood that is safe and friendly. I've never felt better. It took me 6 years to get out of that bad situation, but today I heard gunshots in my new neighborhood and I had that creepy feeling again that I just simply can't escape it.
Here's the article: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/ ... -ol/nTdQH/

Notice the last line in the article.."normally calm, leafy, upscale neighborhood.."
There are stories like this everyday, and I see about one every 1-2 months of a toddler or child getting shot, yes it is a warZone in my old neighborhood, so you wanna call it propaganda? Fuck that, I hear gunshots on a regular basis. Its real. It's baffling and its a pathetic side of America. And what's more pathetic is that some don't think there's any kind of problem

I empathize with that. I really do. I don't want ANYONE to be shot...but again was the a legally obtained gun or illegal? Was the person committing a crimininl act or protecting themselves? From just the info in the article you posted I would say illegally obtained and criminal act. It's a shame, but the gun regulations proposed right now would not have stopped that.

True, it's a shame. And I do admit that most of the problems that I personally endure concerning guns, aside from the cop that almost shot me, that most of them are likely illegal. But again, there are something like 300 million guns int he US? I wonder of that number, how many are illegal? How many started out legal and ate now illegal because of irresponsible gun owners? You talk a lot about responsible gun owners, and I agree that the majority are, but we also must consider that an irresponsible .001% isn't just letting their guns be used in crimes, a lot are letting their guns get in the wrong hands too easily.
That's why I like these events like sheriff gun buy back programs. These are the ways to slowly eliminate some of the illegal guns.. Some of the people who posses illegal weapons are desperate for money and sometimes more willing to sell them back rather than use them in crimes. I just emailed my sheriff the other day asking about how to get this done locally, and I suggest others do the same in their areas if they want to see some illegal weapons taken off the streets.

Drowned Out

JonnyPistachio wrote:

True, it's a shame. And I do admit that most of the problems that I personally endure concerning guns, aside from the cop that almost shot me, that most of them are likely illegal. But again, there are something like 300 million guns int he US? I wonder of that number, how many are illegal? How many started out legal and ate now illegal because of irresponsible gun owners? You talk a lot about responsible gun owners, and I agree that the majority are, but we also must consider that an irresponsible .001% isn't just letting their guns be used in crimes, a lot are letting their guns get in the wrong hands too easily.

Thank you. The opinion that guns used in crime are illegally obtained is a typically shorted sighted one. People using this argument seem to think that illegal guns exist in a vacuum. They must be illegally manufactured, distributed, and purchased, right?

More legally obtained guns on the streets = more illegally obtained guns on the streets. pretty simple premise.

Zoso

I don't have any experience with guns both defending or against me... I don't know anyone growing up who owned a gun, got shot by a gun or even went hunting. If I did have an experience with guns against me I still would be anti-gun.

blueandwhite

Zoso wrote:

I don't have any experience with guns both defending or against me... I don't know anyone growing up who owned a gun, got shot by a gun or even went hunting. If I did have an experience with guns against me I still would be anti-gun.

Honestly, that's a pretty good reason to be anti-gun. It's a nice thing to live in a world where you don't have to fear the person next to you because they might be carrying a gun.

comebackgirl

DS1119 wrote:

comebackgirl wrote:

I think it needs to be harder for people who have a documented history of being violent, abusive or controlling of others to get guns. More credence needs to be given to patterns of violence that are documented through civil orders, because these things don't always go through the criminal justice system. If you've had one (or more!) restraining orders against you, you shouldn't get a gun, even if they've since expired. Right now background checks look for current orders that are still intact. If DYFS has investigated you for child abuse, you shouldn't get a gun, even if the case has since been closed. Background checks don't look for this. Background checks need to be more encompassing and the red flags need to be expanded. The onus should be put on the person seeking a gun as to why they should have one, rather than the government having to prove why they should deny it. In addition, on college campuses there are a number of serious crimes that will go through the campus hearing board system, but will never be pursued through the criminal justice system; things like stalking, sexual assault and domestic violence. Even if the student is found responsible of the charge, this won't follow them once they leave the school; there is no official legal record of it that would show up on a background check. Students have hopped from school to school, some have gone on to acquire criminal records, but something needs to be done about this. We're talking serious crimes that occur that often have no record because the criminal justice system is still so harsh on victims.

So should someone who committed a crime while drunk (a lot more common than any committed by gun by a mile) go through these same background checks when trying to purchase a six pack?

I think if they committed a crime while drunk, sober, high, etc, they should be punished according to the law for that crime. The alcohol wouldn't give you a "get out free jail card." That person should also be referred for a D&A assessment and treatment. If you're asking if I think alcohol should be regulated in a different way, I think you should start a new thread on that because that is a whole different topic.