Why Guns?

[lindakmonty]

"God made men equal, and Smith and Wesson make damn sure it stays that way."



http://www.birminghampost.net/life-...89805&method=full&siteid=50002-name_page.html

 

[glasslipper]

I'll trust in those who have created a republic that has not only endured, but prospered like no other before it.

Sometimes I think people nowadays are far too willing to be led around by the government. Yes, it is a different world. But the fundamental principles of government and its relationship to the people remain the same.

You do have to wonder though, if those same founders, would have felt the same way in todays society. I'll trust in what is occurring around me in society today.

 

[MScott1851]

So your alarm system wakes you up - then what do you do? Home invasion burglars, rapists and other twisted people can accomplish a lot before help arrives. This is why we own a gun.

Exactly! Since we got annexed by the City of Memphis last January, the response time for our area has dramatically increased. When we were in the Shelby County jursidiction, I called the sherriff's department at 2am one Friday night because my neighbor was drunk and missed her driveway, so in doing a u-turn she drove onto my curb and hit my mailbox before she left the car parked half in/half out of her driveway and staggered inside. Within five minutes TWO county deputies were there, and a third showed up soon thereafter.

But a woman got robbed at gunpoint at noon last week at one of the nearby shopping centers, and even though people made calls on their cell phones to 911 WHILE it was happening, it was 10 minutes before the first MPD patrol showed up. Of course, the criminals were long gone with her purse, her jewelry, and her car.

If my alarm wakes me up and lets me know someone is breaking in my house, I MAY have about 15 seconds before they come into my bedroom. In Tennessee, the law basically states that if someone is breaking into your home, you can safely assume they intend to do you bodily harm. If I'm standing there with a shotgun racked and ready to go, the odds AND the law are on my side. I hope it never ever happens, but I at least want to feel like I would be able to protect myself.

 

[juligrl]

I enjoy target shooting, as age, gender, and physical "shape" are not as important as many sports. I get the same satisfaction when I hit a great shot as a golfer does when she gets a hole in one.

I also know that I am better able to protect myself in an emergency, or at least I won't go down quietly.

BUT, I also feel that anyone owning any sort of firearm should have certified training in all aspects of ownership, including all safety rules.

Feeling lazy today so yup, what she said.

"God made men equal, and Smith and Wesson make damn sure it stays that way."

I need to borrow that quote!

 

[storzo]

My Dh & I both hate guns & would never own one.
My DH had a gun put to his head on a sidewalk in Brooklyn once & was robbed of his wallet.
He said if he had a gun by the time he pulled it out (the guy came from behind him, this was in the middle of the afternoon) he probably would have freaked the guy out & been shot.
He just gave the guy the wallet & they took the cash & threw the wallet on the ground.
I would love to know if the parents of children that are killed or injured w/ a gun in their home still think its a good idea to have a gun in the house. I doubt it!
I don't care if the guns are locked up or not kids are smart, I think its just crazy to own a gun, unless you live out in the wilderness...thats a different story.

I don't get how you point out the child safety aspect then say it's a different story if you live in the wilderness. Is okay then? Are guns okay around those children?

If you have a gun in the house, and I do, you must teach your children responsibilty for it. Like a PP said, there is no fascination about the gun. From as far back as I can remember the children were allowed to hold it, touch it, feel it when we were around. They were educated on the dangers.

 

[glasslipper]

And I have a right to disagree with you, and that is exactly what I am doing. You know, freedom of speech, thank you. Sorry if you feel I lashed out at you, but when someone says that they feel we don't need that right anymore I get a little testy. I guard my rights closely.

I know you have a right to express your opinion, and please continue to do so. I just had a problem with the way you did it. I appreciate my rights too, but I'm not going to imply violence if someone disagrees with me.

 

[CapeCodTenor]

I know you have a right to express your opinion, and please continue to do so. I just had a problem with the way you did it. I appreciate my rights too, but I'm not going to imply violence if someone disagrees with me.

Then I'll apologize for the way I did it. I do get testy when it comes to my rights.

 

[happygirl]

Mainly for clay pigeon shooting,

 

[3jsmommy]

I don't get how you point out the child safety aspect then say it's a different story if you live in the wilderness. Is okay then? Are guns okay around those children?

If you have a gun in the house, and I do, you must teach your children responsibilty for it. Like a PP said, there is no fascination about the gun. From as far back as I can remember the children were allowed to hold it, touch it, feel it when we were around. They were educated on the dangers.

Well if you had to decide on the dangers of bears vs. danger of owning a gun then I could see having a gun.
If you grew up on a farm I think that having a gun around would almost be a necessity. I do not believe that most people in the suburbs have any real reason to own a gun. I still think its crazy to own a gun w/ kids in your home.
If anything, I think that it teaches them to be fearful. You cannot control everything that is going to happen in life, the chances that a "bad guy" is going to come try to hurt you is very, very slim. I don't want my kids feeling like we live in some kind of bunker! Thats just me.

 

[poohandwendy]

We don't currently have any guns (well, we do have an antique rifle)- no working guns right now. We were both raised in homes with guns (used for hunting, target practice, protection probably being the lesser reason)

Our lifestyle doesn't really call for guns at the moment, but I would expect it may again someday.

I think people are defensive about our right to bear arms because it is CONSTANTLY being threatened. Interestingly, it is so often being discussed and challenged by people who don't even live here.

This country was founded by our defiant forefathers who fought and died for all of the rights we have, why is it so hard to understand that defiant feeling remains a very important part of our fabric and that we feel a responsibility to hold onto those rights with white knuckles?

 

[ChrisnSteph]

I still think its crazy to own a gun w/ kids in your home.
If anything, I think that it teaches them to be fearful. You cannot control everything that is going to happen in life, the chances that a "bad guy" is going to come try to hurt you is very, very slim. I don't want my kids feeling like we live in some kind of bunker! Thats just me.

My kids don't feel that way at all.

 

[need_a_Disney_fix]

My DH has a wonderful gun collection that he enjoys "shoosting" (Lisa on Green Acres) and they are locked in his gun safe. He is also a lifetime NRA member because he would like to have his right to bear arms protected by someone.

 

[Art Vandalay]

You do have to wonder though, if those same founders, would have felt the same way in todays society. I'll trust in what is occurring around me in society today.

I think it's fairly clear from the writings of Madison, Jefferson, Hamilton and many of the other founding fathers that they'd be horrified at how much power we have allowed the government to assume. Getting rid of the right to bear arms goes against everything they argued for.

What country can preserve its liberties, if its rulers are not warned from time to time that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms.

Besides the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation, the existence of subordinate governments, to which the people are attached, and by which the militia officers are appointed, forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition, more insurmountable than any which a simple government of any form can admit of. Notwithstanding the military establishments in the several kingdoms of Europe, which are carried as far as the public resources will bear, the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms. And it is not certain, that with this aid alone they would not be able to shake off their yokes. But were the people to possess the additional advantages of local governments chosen by themselves, who could collect the national will and direct the national force, and of officers appointed out of the militia, by these governments, and attached both to them and to the militia, it may be affirmed with the greatest assurance, that the throne of every tyranny in Europe would be speedily overturned in
spite of the legions which surround it.

 

[glasslipper]

Then I'll apologize for the way I did it. I do get testy when it comes to my rights.

Thank you for your apology. I should clarify my stance, my opinion is concerning handguns( and any other gun used by criminals), not the hunting or target shooting guns.

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

I own a 9mm handgun (love going to the shooting range) and a shot gun within reach of my bed for personal protection. If our alarm goes off, you're damn right I'm grabbing that bad boy. My thought is, if the sound of our 2 Boxers barking doesn't do the trick, the sound of a shotgun cocking be enough to scare any burglar away. Anyone willing to stay after that aren't there to just rob us, if you get my drift...and plain and simple, I'm protecting my family.

 

[poohandwendy]

I still think its crazy to own a gun w/ kids in your home. If anything, I think that it teaches them to be fearful.

My DH and I were both raised with guns and never felt fearful then and don't feel fearful now.

 

[Bob Slydell]

Thank you for your apology. I should clarify my stance, my opinion is concerning handguns( and any other gun used by criminals), not the hunting or target shooting guns.

Most hunters own a handgun as well. I know my father always took one with him when he went deer hunting. He said it was often needed to "finish the job", so to speak, if the rifle shot didn't completely kill the deer.

 

[3jsmommy]

My kids don't feel that way at all.

I think that it would instill some kind of unnecessary fears in a child if the child was told the guns were for protection. I don't think its healthy to walk around feeling like you could be attacked at any time.

 

[glasslipper]

Most hunters own a handgun as well. I know my father always took one with him when he went deer hunting. He said it was often needed to "finish the job", so to speak, if the rifle shot didn't completely kill the deer.

Really? My father, grandfather and uncle all hunted, but none of them owned handguns.

 

[poohandwendy]

I think that it would instill some kind of unnecessary fears in a child if the child was told the guns were for protection. I don't think its healthy to walk around feeling like you could be attacked at any time.

That really has nothing to do with gun ownership. A parent who is insisting to their children that there is reason to be fearful does that with or without a gun in the home. I know plenty of people who are fearful parents, but do not own a gun.

Most people I know with guns for personal protection aren't constantly taking with their children about what could happen, they don't need to.