AssButt said:
Sparcrypt said:
It's a pointless argument, it will never change in the US due to all the idiots who will jump up and down about their rights blah blah blah.
Yes, there are occasions where having a gun will help you... but it is much more likely you will end up in more trouble then you were already in.
There are a lot of cases, it's just that the media tends not to report them. The bottom line is that you are the only person responsible for your own well-being, do you want to use the least effective tool and hope for the best?
You are assuming that a gun in the most effective tool, as well as that the average person knows how to use it effectively and can do so under pressure - real life encounters like this are not like they get shown in the movies. Hell trained US soldiers managed to shoot plenty of friendly targets because funnily enough, being in any situation where you might get hurt is bloody scary and your judgement is impaired.
If someone enters your home to rob you and they are armed with a gun, then see YOU going for a gun the chances of them pulling the trigger just went up a very high amount despite them probably not having any intention of doing so in the first place.
I am very capable of looking after my well being both with and without a gun - something that requires more effort and dedication then walking down the road, buying a handgun, sticking it next to the bed and declaring myself 'safe'. But I guess its easier to say that guns are the answer rather then actually learning how to handle yourself properly.
Example... do you think you could grab a gun from your nightstand, ready it to fire (cause if you KEEP it ready to fire you really are an idiot), identify the threat, make the choice to aim, fire and kill someone in less time then I could say, grab a phone or other object from said nightstand, throw it at my assailant while throwing myself out of bed at disabling them? I doubt it.
Now say that assailant is your mate with the spare key who had some kind of emergency and came over. You just shot him dead in a panic.. I hit him with a phone and maybe hit his arm. He'll be pissed sure, but he should have called. Your mate it dead. Forever.
And I didn't miss, put a bullet through the wall and into someone in the next room. I dont have a weapon for my kid to find and shoot themselves with by mistake. Oh you lock yours up? If so, why do you have one for defense if you can't get to it?
Guns have their uses, but they are not the ultimate solution to home security or self defense. What they really do is take any given situation and make it one of life and death.
I am not anti-guns, not at all.. however something to remember is
you can't call a bullet back. The general population does not have the training or experience required to use one properly and safely, yet they all have the 'right' to own one. This make sense to you?
So the real 'bottom line' is that self defense is not something you become able to do merely because you own a gun.