Why own a gun?

know1 · December 2012

Outside of hunting and target shooting for recreation or sport, what is the purpose of owning a gun?

I know the answer will be for "protection", but in my mind that is the same thing as saying "to potentially murder someone".

I am not necessarily in favor of banning guns, but the people who are most enthusiastic about their guns (bragging about them, etc.) disturb me a lot more than those who are most enthusiastic about banning them.

In a way, I feel sorry for people who let fear so dominate their lives that they put their faith and take comfort in a gun to murder someone who threatens them.

redrock · December 2012

know1 wrote:

..... people who let fear so dominate their lives that they put their faith and take comfort in a gun to murder someone who threatens them.

You may have hit the nail on the head. Even if it's not something one will readily admit to. This 'domination of fear' is expressed under the guise of 'god given' right.

DS1119 · December 2012

Do you have locks on your doors? A security system perhaps?

gimmesometruth27 · December 2012

some people will say "because i can"...

BinFrog · December 2012

I am not a gun owner (maybe some day, but not yet). But let me guess: you do not have kids, do you?

I have a daughter, and another on the way. Why do I even have the slightest urge to own a gun? Protection: damn right. There are some f'd up people in this world and I would do anything to protect my family. Sorry, but I'm not exactly going to ask 20 questions to someone who breaks into my house. I don't care why you are there, and I don't want to find out.

Before I got married and had a child, being a gun owner never crossed my mind. now I have a home security system, and applying for a gun license is perhaps not that far away.

cincybearcat · December 2012

DS1119 wrote:

Do you have locks on your doors? A security system perhaps?

Interesting. Can you please attach a link to occurrences where these such devices have been used to kill others? Thanks in advance!!!

DS1119 · December 2012

cincybearcat wrote:

DS1119 wrote:

Do you have locks on your doors? A security system perhaps?

Interesting. Can you please attach a link to occurrences where these such devices have been used to kill others? Thanks in advance!!!

Isn't this living in fear though like the OP wrote?

Jason P · December 2012

cincybearcat wrote:

DS1119 wrote:

Do you have locks on your doors? A security system perhaps?

Interesting. Can you please attach a link to occurrences where these such devices have been used to kill others? Thanks in advance!!!

I feel there was a time when people were beaten with sacks of doorknobs.

Not so much anymore. Wonder why?

cincybearcat · December 2012

DS1119 wrote:

cincybearcat wrote:

DS1119 wrote:

Do you have locks on your doors? A security system perhaps?

Interesting. Can you please attach a link to occurrences where these such devices have been used to kill others? Thanks in advance!!!

Isn't this living in fear though like the OP wrote?

OK, if you really think arming yourself with a fatal weapon is the same as putting a lock on your front door...

It is hardly the same level of "fear". You do realize there are many different levels of different emotions, right? Putting a lock on the door to keep people out is one thing. Buying something that your purpose is to end someone's life is a different one.

cincybearcat · December 2012

Jason P wrote:

cincybearcat wrote:

DS1119 wrote:

Do you have locks on your doors? A security system perhaps?

Interesting. Can you please attach a link to occurrences where these such devices have been used to kill others? Thanks in advance!!!

I feel there was a time when people were beaten with sacks of doorknobs.

Not so much anymore. Wonder why?

Huh, good question. I wonder if anyone has ever beaten dozens of people to death with a sack full of doorknobs before being stopped.

JonnyPistachio · December 2012

I do know a few folks who have arsenals, and they would invite someone to try to breech their walls so they could make an example of them. One of these is actually a very good friend of mine who is an intelligent guy. He also has four children. While he is very responsible, I sometimes worry that the tiniest mistake can invite disaster. And it is well known that often times when a gun is used it is not for its intended purpose.

My sweet Grandmother owned one out of fear until she shot a hole in a wall and my father took it from her. Thank God no one was hurt.

I also know quite a few very responsible gun owners. That said, I teeter tottered on getting a gun for awhile because my old neighborhood was very dangerous. I'm not sure if it was fear, cautionary, or simply a responsibility I felt to protect my wife, but I opted to move instead. I didnt like the feeling that I must buy this weapon to make myself feel safe.

One other thing that often reminded me that I should not get a gun, though I would be the most responsible person EVER (they probably all say this), is that when I have kids, I intend on passing on all my best traits and if they get any intelligence from my wife and not me, they could get to those guns if they really wanted to.

Everyone is different I guess.

Jason P · December 2012

cincybearcat wrote:

Jason P wrote:

I feel there was a time when people were beaten with sacks of doorknobs.

Not so much anymore. Wonder why?

Huh, good question. I wonder if anyone has ever beaten dozens of people to death with a sack full of doorknobs before being stopped.

Nothing came up in a Google search.

Apparantly their was an incident in 1994 where Homer led a vigilante group whose main weapon of choice were sacks of doorknobs. It is unclear who many died by those that wielded the power of doorknobs.

DS1119 · December 2012

cincybearcat wrote:

OK, if you really think arming yourself with a fatal weapon is the same as putting a lock on your front door...

It is hardly the same level of "fear". You do realize there are many different levels of different emotions, right? Putting a lock on the door to keep people out is one thing. Buying something that your purpose is to end someone's life is a different one.

SO now we need to assess levels of fear? We are supposed to tell Americans what they are allowed to legally possess to make them feels safe? Try telling that to this woman. For the record the guy who came into her home didn't have a gun.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/0 ... 83871.html

Zoso · December 2012

BinFrog wrote:

I am not a gun owner (maybe some day, but not yet). But let me guess: you do not have kids, do you?

I have a daughter, and another on the way. Why do I even have the slightest urge to own a gun? Protection: damn right. There are some f'd up people in this world and I would do anything to protect my family. Sorry, but I'm not exactly going to ask 20 questions to someone who breaks into my house. I don't care why you are there, and I don't want to find out.

Before I got married and had a child, being a gun owner never crossed my mind. now I have a home security system, and applying for a gun license is perhaps not that far away.

Haven't got kids yet but when we do no way guns are going to be in the house.. Infact I would feel safer in a gun free society then with guns in the house with kids around. I know as a kid I always use to look in everything in the house and if their were guns around I would have found them... Dangerous.

It's a scary mentality that having guns is safer

fisherman · December 2012

Having a child is actually a reason I have for not keeping a gun in the house. I own three guns, and I keep them all at my parents house. Thousands of kids die from guns each year and I don't want my daughter accidentally getting hurt.

JimmyV · December 2012

Because you are overcompensating for something else?

Zoso · December 2012

DS1119 wrote:

cincybearcat wrote:

OK, if you really think arming yourself with a fatal weapon is the same as putting a lock on your front door...

It is hardly the same level of "fear". You do realize there are many different levels of different emotions, right? Putting a lock on the door to keep people out is one thing. Buying something that your purpose is to end someone's life is a different one.

SO now we need to assess levels of fear? We are supposed to tell Americans what they are allowed to legally possess to make them feels safe? Try telling that to this woman. For the record the guy who came into her home didn't have a gun.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/0 ... 83871.html

The stats conclude that more likely a gun owner will hurt themselves or family more likely then stop and intruder

cincybearcat · December 2012

DS1119 wrote:

SO now we need to assess levels of fear?

No, you just have to be smart enough to understand reality and want to help make a change for the better.

I don;t want to talk all guns away, but what we have isn't working. And those spouting off about their 2nd amendment rights continue to stop progress.

It's time to stop kidding ourselves. What is going on will not get better without change. Change in gun control laws, change in mental health, change in our entire culture (love of violence). But instead, we will all just shout back and forth at each other and hoard our guns and ammo and wait for the next mass killing.

dignin · December 2012

DS1119 wrote:

cincybearcat wrote:

OK, if you really think arming yourself with a fatal weapon is the same as putting a lock on your front door...

It is hardly the same level of "fear". You do realize there are many different levels of different emotions, right? Putting a lock on the door to keep people out is one thing. Buying something that your purpose is to end someone's life is a different one.

SO now we need to assess levels of fear? We are supposed to tell Americans what they are allowed to legally possess to make them feels safe? Try telling that to this woman. For the record the guy who came into her home didn't have a gun.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/0 ... 83871.html

Still waiting for that story where granny defended herself against an intruder with her AR-15.

JonnyPistachio · December 2012

Zoso wrote:

I know as a kid I always use to look in everything in the house and if their were guns around I would have found them... Dangerous.

It's a scary mentality that having guns is safer

me too -- I was a nosy little fucker, but thankfully my folks didnt keep guns in the house.

fisherman wrote:

Having a child is actually a reason I have for not keeping a gun in the house. I own three guns, and I keep them all at my parents house. Thousands of kids die from guns each year and I don't want my daughter accidentally getting hurt.

Good to hear.
This reminds me, one of my best friends is a cop, and of course has guns in his house. They are in a safe. But nothing is ever 100%. I, personally, couldnt feel good if I wasnt home, knowing there was a gun in my house, even if its in a safe. But thats just me.

JTH · December 2012

I have a friend who is a cop. He's got two kids and he does not keep a gun in his house. I always figured that was some kind of a job requirement but apparently not.

Why own a gun?

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