Shanahanapp said:
Aren't the police and stuff meant to protect you?
I had a few posts I wanted to make in response to this
On the one hand, I could post that image I have of victims of police abuse with the tagline that said basically what you did
On the other, I could point out that law enforcement lives far away from some people. For me, it's somewhat close. 3-4 minutes. For others, they live in rural areas where cops are more than 10 minutes away
Furthermore, I could have pointed out that this issue has been settled by the courts. The supreme have twice ruled you have the right to own firearms for traditionally lawful purposes, including self defense within the home. Before you start trying to say that that only applies to militias, this was also ruled against. Multiple states, including my own, have ruled that citizens have the right to be armed, at the least within their home, which I am.
Furthermore, police are not legally liable for your safety if you're a US citizen. Castle Rock v. Gonzales and Warren vs DC have both established this. You can say "Oh, but that's wrong", but it's not changing unless the court reverses the precedent (very unlikely) or a constitutional amendment is passed (also very unlikely). So to answer your question, no. Police aren't there to keep you safe, only to enforce laws.
Now, why do I own guns? Self defense, mostly home defense. 'Tis true I live in a very safe suburb area. There's little crime, that much is certain. But there's always the possibility that I'd need it. And that's why. It's a moral decision, if you're willing to kill someone if you needed to, in order to protect yourself from bodily harm or even death. Some people can't accept that. I can.
Now, I have locked doors, a dog, and a very loud alarm system. And my house can be well lit very quickly, so you can't accuse me of a "shoot the milkman who decided to break into" situation. You could try to spin a story of infinite "what ifs" but I'd say it's fair to assume someone in your house unlawfully seeks to commit another unlawful (likely felonious) act. Were someone to break into my home, they'd likely flee. If this rare even were to happen, simply shouting at them to get out while I point a gun would be sufficient to make them leave. But if they're remaining there, I would reason they're not there to steal something from me, which leaves few other options. Could I shoot them then, if they made any motion I viewed as threatening, such as reaching in a way that could be for a weapon? Yes. Morally, I can live with that. The laws of my state are abundantly clear: If someone broke in and are now dead on the floor, you're assumed to have acted in self defense and are free from criminal and (very importantly) civil liability. I don't want to ever be in this situation, but should it come to that, I've made up my mind that I would rather call the cops telling them that there's a dying man on my floor, bleeding out into my carpet than telling them I'm hiding in my closet as a strange man goes through my house with unknown intent. If you disagree, that's fine by me. You are not required to own guns. I would never demand people who don't want guns to have to own them.
Before anyone suggests simply calling the cops, I'd remind them of two important things. One: In my state, cops responding to a hot break in (one which the resident is at home), enter with their guns drawn. Either I can have guns or I can call people with guns into the situation. Secondly, it's not a risk I'm willing to take. Calculated risks with reward I'm willing to take on occasion, but not these. There is no benefit to me.
In closing I'd like to say that I would like to make my position clear. I am never going to give up my second amendment rights any more than I am going to give up my first amendment rights. Never. And I am not articulate enough to make it clear how strongly I, and my peers, feel regarding gun rights.
EDIT: I realize that that point went off topic a bit, into the gun control debate, but I felt these lingering questions needed to be clearly answered
As for the 3D gun: No comment. Although it does prove a point I've long said to proponents of gun control laws: How do you mean to enforce this?
