Zaxxon wrote: ↑Mon Feb 19, 2018 6:31 pm
Chaz wrote: ↑Mon Feb 19, 2018 6:15 pmThe home defense thing keeps coming up. Is that honestly a thing that a lot of people are scared about? I mean, sure, I lock my doors at night, but I'm not actually afraid that someone's going to break into my house trying to kill me to the point that I'd need a gun to fight off this potential murderer. I've lived in the boonies, I've lived in the city, and in the suburbs, and I've never been afraid enough to buy a gun to protect myself with. What's causing people to be that scared?
Not only that scared, but in most cases having a gun in your house is highly unlikely to actually help you defend your home, unless you sit at home all prepared to fire at all times.
I know
the Jim Jefferies skit is divisive, but his description of a regular person (ie not a person who regularly trains with a gun, has no children in the home, etc) using a gun for home defense is spot-on, IMO.
I know CPR even though Ive never had cause to use it(outside of my job, Im a flight medic so...
) nor do I reasonably expect to, but I'm prepared. I know about 50 different knots(well maybe not so many anymore, but I did learn them all in Boy Scouts once upon a time) and I only ever use about 2 of them. We also have an alarm system that in nearly 15 years of home ownership has gone off exactly once, and that was for carbon monoxide detection(the door to the garage got left open when my wife pulled the car in). My 10 month old son wears a pulse oximeter every night to bed; I don't really think anything is going to happen to him but...if it does, we're prepared. That type of mentality, I think, is what motivates some people. I know those examples arent perfect corollaries for owning a gun, but I dont think being prepared is the same thing as being afraid.
I absolutely agree that a culture of fear does exist, largely perpetrated by the Republicans in this country and I know a lot of people that have bought into it.
As for training, I couldnt agree more. And that is something I personally struggle with; I know my wife and I dont shoot enough even though we try to go at least once a month, I know that's not adequate. It's not enough to take safety classes or even have a CCL. All you have to do is look at all of the cops that mess up in situations where they draw their weapons; and they train infinitely more as well as better, than I do. That part of the problem is tough, though I still would rather own a gun than be in a position where I wish I had.