So, anybody deciding its time to arm themselves?

[Ferryboat]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by Omaha Steve (a host of the General Discussion forum).

Last edited Thu Jul 16, 2020, 01:18 AM - Edit history (1)

I was raised in a family that hunts. Not passionate about killing anything that moves. But it is a reason to hang out with my relatives and longtime family friends.
Tell stories we have all heard in the past. Swap jokes,take each others money in poker, drink too much. Bring the younger ones along to introduce them to the culture.

Believe me. Animals are rarely in danger with this crowd.

But recent events over the last few years have finally pushed me to purchase handguns. Never liked the idea but my wife convinced me that the RW is plainly overboard nuts.

We have all seen how crazy these people are with the talk of civil war. No one on the left talks like this that I have ever heard.

What i find deeply disturbing is there is NO ammunition to be had. The shelves are cleared out. These people are getting ready.

In talking with people in the gun culture they assume I'm one of them. I guess I look the part with the covid buzz cut. But the stuff that they spout off about so freely is really revealing. Scary, reaffirmation that perhaps I made the right decision.

Is anyone else rethinking their stance on firearms?


Post script
I'd like to thank everyone for the thought provoking responses.

Some folks understood the point i was raising, some just reacted without much thought. Was expecting to get flamed, wasn't as bad as i expected.

Stay safe

[LizBeth]

1. No.

[Skittles]

2. fuck no

I am not a gun humping moron

[Ferryboat]

8. Lucky you

But has someone i met in Arizona put it. If your not carrying you will be a victim.

[Iggo]

10. Gunfuckers love to talk like that.

They think it doesn't make them sound like cowards.

[Skittles]

14. yeah

strange how they constantly feel the need to display exactly WHY they should NOT be armed

[Skittles]

12. you're

and LOLOLOLOLOLOL sure

[cwydro]

90. Still has not caught on.

Check subsequent posts. Seems to be a difficult thing for many people.

[Ohio Joe]

15. Did ya kill 'em?

I mean... He seems to have said if you are not packin it's ok to shoot you... So what happened?

[Ferryboat]

29. Nothing it was a causal conversation about cool places to visit

With appropriate precautions.

[Ohio Joe]

35. A casual conversation about murder?

'Be armed or i'll murder you'... WTF do you consider a serious conversation? And what 'cool places' do you have to go prepared to kill anyone not armed?

[Ferryboat]

39. The point the local was making

Is that everyone in the area is armed. That some tourists may find themselves in a bad situation.

[Tipperary]

86. Wow, really?

What tourist spot is this so we know not to visit?

[sheshe2]

41. Tell that to the Parkland kids.

Let them know that they should have been locked and loaded.

[sheshe2]

3. No. n/t

[dawg day]

4. No. I'm not going to shoot anyone.

I don't think anyone will come gunning for me, and I've read too many accounts of scared inexperienced new gunners shooting some random person out of fear and stupidity.

I agree, though, there's some appeal in fighting fire with fire with these angry MAGAts.

[Ferryboat]

44. You are absolutely right

New gun owners will hurt themselves.

Back in the 80's when kids started bringing guns to school. My sister asked what tell her son. My advice was to take a gun safety course so he could recognize unsafe behavior.

[Zoonart]

5. Me either. NO

F@#$ it. I don't want to survive the zombie apocalypse.

[Ohio Joe]

6. No...

Sheesh...

[NRaleighLiberal]

7. nope. never shot, touched, or wanted a gun. never will either

[Awsi Dooger]

56. Same

My understanding of probability would be down to absolute zero if I even contemplated it

[Dem2theMax]

9. No. But I live in an area where the Republicans would actually protect me.

They like me 'in spite' of my politics.

I'm sure a lot of people have guns where I live.

I know it sounds silly, but where I live, I'm more concerned about rattlesnakes and skunks. You don't go out after dark where I live. The zoo is alive!

[Steelrolled]

34. It used to be the norm that people would like you 'in spite' of your politics.

To this day, I couldn't care less if my neighbor plants a Trump or Biden sign in their yards. I don't plant any signs and don't engage in political talk with my neighbors - why would I? But it's funny how the partisan people of both sides always assume I think like them.

[underpants]

11. Already gunned up.

Double barrel.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

13. No.

That's crazy talk.

Personally, I think all guns should be confiscated, which I recognize is a minority opinion. But the question you, Ferryboat, should be asking yourself is why? And why is it that most other countries get along extremely well without average citizens being armed to the teeth?

[Ferryboat]

25. You raise a very good point

A good resource i follow is[link:http://thetrace.org

Just starting a difficult discussion. Dont assume that I'm a gun humping moron just because I'm asking a question that is controversial.

Alot of people had to rethink their position on gun control during the Rodney King riots in LA when the cops were too busy.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

55. To someone "rethinking" their position on gun control, they need to think a whole lot harder.

What exactly is different now? Why do you honestly feel that you, who never wanted a gun before, will somehow be safer now? Are you blissfully ignorant, or suddenly in denial of the statistics on how a gun in the home makes everyone there a whole lot LESS safe?

It does seem to me as those who have guns, those who defend gun ownership, those who think you need to have a gun to be safe, are actually promoting a culture of not safe. They are implicitly saying, "It's okay to kill others." Period, no real discussion. To me it's not a lot different from those who claim that what happened at Sandy Hook was a bunch of actors, those children never died.

I have NEVER felt as if I needed a gun. Maybe I'm in blissful ignorance. I've never lived in an extremely unsafe neighborhood, just sometimes ones that could have been safer than they were. I rode the public bus in the DC area, as late as 1 am, sometimes even later. I worked at DCA, Washington National Airport, as a ticket agent, and if the flights were late, oh well. I didn't own a car my first seven years there and took the bus. Over the years I was sometimes asked if I felt unsafe riding the bus. I'd always laugh and point out that anyone wanting to target me would give up in despair, because I never rode the same bus even two days in a row because of the vagaries of when I actually got off work.

I will say this. That so long as guns are legal in this country, each and every one of them should be registered. As should each and every gun owner. And each and every gun owner should pass some kind of safety thing each and every year. I don't know enough about guns to suggest just what that safety thing should be. Others who are more knowledgeable can offer suggestions.

[Ferryboat]

67. You raise some good points

1st I never wanted a handgun, but deferred to my spouse.
2nd if there is social disruption no one will be responding to my 911 call.

I'm well aware of the stats on gun ownership.

[link:http://thetrace.org| is a great resource.

The only time I have ever wished I was armed was on a 4th of July.

Hiding in the woods with my dogs to avoid the fireworks.

300 yards off the road dusk reading a book by the fire when some bozo steps from behind a tree into my camp.

Not cool, i blame the noise from the nearby stream for the dogs not hearing him.

Freaked me out so much went home.

In addition to your points it should be a requirement to carry liability insurance if you own a gun.

[Tipperary]

87. My dogs smell a stranger at any distance.

And they should have heard him anyway. My girls are country dogs, maybe that is the difference.

[lagomorph777]

100. The reality of guns hasn't changed; "re-thinking" won't make it any safer.

From your link:

Will a Gun Keep Your Family Safe? Here’s What the Evidence Says
The pandemic has inspired a surge in gun sales, but research shows that having a firearm in the house won’t necessarily help in a dangerous moment — and it will heighten other risks.
BY MELINDA WENNER MOYER

[canetoad]

16. Triple fuck NO

And if you really must kill animals, I'd prefer you to be sober and make it a clean kill.

[Ferryboat]

47. Its more like a walk in the woods.

Who the hell drinks im the morning? Like i said earlier the animals are not in any danger. Its more like a long family camping trip in the fall.

Hike the hills, watch sunrise, sunset. Listen to the wind.
Hunting is about much more than what you think. Shooting anything is rarely actually done.

[canetoad]

58. That's all cool

Shouldn't you call it 'camping' or 'hiking'?

[Ferryboat]

69. Its called "hunting "

If your carrying a firearm.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

79. Those walks in the woods are why we couldn't walk our dog on my in-law's own property...

... during hunting season.

Two states over, my friend’s mom had the same issue. We were walking past the grocery store one morning and saw a couple rotund beer belly types in camouflage loading their trunks with beer. My friend’s mom said “and that’s why we can’t go hiking”

[brush]

17. I am. I'm a black man in Las Vegas, which is the purple part...

of Nevada. The rest of the state, and many residents of Vegas, is red and composed of gun-toting, trumpers. I want to have a chance at being able to retaliate if anything big goes down because I'd likely be a prime target.

The Mandalay Bay massacre attests to—you never know what's going to happen.

[handmade34]

18. hmmmm

when I go out and find a 400 lb bear on my porch or back yard... I consider getting one of these... (non lethal bear banger) that's as close as I get to thinking about a gun


?v=1481738424

[Newest Reality]

19. No.

I am not anti-gun and have owned some in the past.

Even though I support your decision and you may be correct in taking precautions, I will not yield to fear and paranoia or live it. They are disturbing and destructive in themselves. I actually think that is a good reason to check one's motivations and consider if a weapon does equal safety, or if that kind of a sense of security is deceptive and is it practical?

That's what I consider dangerous and what I am most critical about when it comes to gun nuts out, (promiscuous gun-toters as the head of the NRA said back in the '30s. there who are acting out of fear and imagining that a gun will assure they are safe.

Once they get their guns, then many of them then expand their fear and paranoia and fear somebody will take them away. How ironic. That's the second phase and it lets you know how paranoia works. It can continue to inflate and burn more from there.

Then, it comes down to a willingness to kill other human beings, maybe many. I understand survival, but when it comes down to that, for me, all bets are off and I might even rethink "survival at all costs".

[mwooldri]

20. No. If I have to kill someone...

... vehicular homicide would be the cause of death. Being it by a Freightliner at speed will hurt.

But given my nature I'm extremely unlikely to do anything like that, I'd more likely do vehicular self homicide... When it comes to fight or flight, I'm more into flight.

[BigmanPigman]

21. No, no NO!!!!!

A few loudmouths (usually rednecks) have nothing in their lives but BS, hate and more BS. The MSM gives this minority a lot more clout than they actually have. "Trade in your guns for brains" is what I say to them.

[notinkansas]

22. while I don't plan to do that,

your comment about ammunition being unavailable is a little disturbing.

[Ferryboat]

31. That was the reason for my post.

The empty shelves is what has me rattled.

[JustBidenOurTime]

46. Don't let it disturb you too much. Half of that ammo has already been discharged

by Jethro and his old lady shooting at Coors cans and paper targets (printed with the visages of Hillary, President Obama, Soros, and CNN's logo) while someone in their klan held their beers. Considering the likelihood they'll always have empty beer cans and bottles lying around the porch and yard, it's only a matter of time before they shoot it all up. They cannot resist the adrenaline rush of blasting aluminum and paper to smithereens to boost their balls for the imagined battles to come.

[Ritabert]

23. Already armed

We had to buy some guns years ago while sailing around the Bahamas. You can't just call the coast guard and hope for the best. I don't advocate using them unless threatened.

[Hekate]

24. No, I'd be a menace, & not in a good way. But an old friend of mine, a woman, got a hand gun...

...and took lessons in how to use it when Trump got elected. Something in the zeitgeist out there in the South made her that uneasy.

[Ferryboat]

50. My wife is uneasy.

There is something out there. I live in the PNW, about as blue as you can get.

But the RW nutters are crawling out of their hiding places.
The disruption from covid is putting a lot of stress on society. Add November, and god knows what.

[DavidDvorkin]

26. Hell, no.

[Happy Hoosier]

27. Actually, I did when the tea baggers started up in 2010

I live in a sally blue island surrounded by red. I would not put pat some of the locals to decide to mess with the libruls in this college town. I trained properly and keep in a biometric safe.

[Arkansas Granny]

28. No. I've lived alone for most of my adult life. I have never owned a firearm.

I have never been in a situation that would have been improved by the presence of a firearm.

I have nothing against responsible gun ownership, but it's not for me.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

30. Nope.

I actually have a shotgun that was given to me years ago after my house was burglarized, but I don't have any ammunition for it and I'm not really sure where I put it. So I guess technically I'm armed but I can't imagine actually using the thing, even if I had ammo, except in some really dire circumstance like a zombie apocalypse.

[TreasonousBastard]

32. Nope. Around 50 years ago the Army gave me a gun and taught me how...

to kill with it. Curiously, they knew enough to not let me walk around with it and it was securely locked up in the arms room when we weren't using it. Hand grenades, all sorts of ammo, mortar rounds... Lots of stuff in that ammo room.

It's almost like they knew something.

I never had to shoot anyone. Not even an "enemy", but I saw a lot of people who did. Very few of them wore it well. It wasn't like other wars, and the ones who saw action often never really understood what had happened to them. But something happened to them, and there was a big black hole inside.

Some of them loved it, but they were a small minority. These assholes running around in fatigues with a small fortune in paramilitary gear hanging off of them are play acting don't have the foggiest idea what it's like to be in a real shootin' war. Where other people shoot back.

It's just so sick that they have guns that work.

[DFW]

33. No, but I live in western Europe.

If I lived in a part of the USA where gun nuts from the radical right were allowed to roam freely, I might reconsider.

[Midnight Writer]

36. I've been around a long time, and not once have thought "What this situation needs is a gun".

I've been mugged five times, had a pistol to my head, a shotgun to my head (took a beating that night), a knife to my throat, been burglarized more times than I can count, saw a guy get shot in a bar.

And with all that, looking back, I don't believe any of these situations would have gone better if I was carrying a gun.

Not a one.

By the way, the guys in the gun culture also assume I am one of them.

I do look the part.

Irish redneck.

I've been listening to them spout off for decades.

As far as I know, it never was more than talk.

[cayugafalls]

37. If you're buying out of fear or paranoia, you're buying for the wrong reason.

Seems like you have already purchased so, your decision was made.

I guess I would be more concerned about the fact that if a civil war or neighborhood clashes do break out in your area, will you really be able to properly defend yourself with a couple of pistols and little ammo? My answer would probably be no, you won't. Heavily armed militias will most likely overrun most areas fairly quickly. Your best chance of survival is to either lay down your weapon and surrender or join forces and offer succor to the enemy and thereby live to fight another day.

Either that or get off a few shots with your newly purchased handgun and go out swinging.

Not trying to fatalistic just realistic.

[Steelrolled]

38. I have a friend into guns

and I think he said that ammo dried up after one of the school shootings, and had sort of recovered, but has never really been the same.

[sarisataka]

40. No need to rethink my stance

it is the same as it has been for a long time.

I have had need to visit stores that sell firearms several times recently. One thing I have observed is that buyers of guns and ammo are only a plurality instead of being the majority. Non-white buyers are waiting in long lines to buy a gun and are cleaning out the ammo shelves.

[madinmaryland]

42. No fucking way. I will not give a fucking cent to the NRA.

[alittlelark]

43. I am armed with wasp and hornet killer

it shoots 27 feet - no need to really aim - WIDE spray. Kinda like a shotgun. It will take down a human as well as a wasp nest.

[Hekate]

72. Well, that is a consideration!

Thanks for the tip

[BlueTsunami2018]

45. Liberals are armed, we just don't publicly masturbate with weapons.

I bought a Mossberg tactical shotgun three months ago when it looked like we might be heading in an apocalyptic direction. I have weapons, I just hope I never have to use them.

[ecstatic]

48. No, but I hope some friends are

in case CW2 happens. Clearly it won't work out well if only rethugs are armed.

[GulfCoast66]

49. I'm a hunter. Kill some of my own food rather than outsourcing the job.

So naturally I have guns. Will never own any AR type guns or anything like that.

But I’m an upper middle class southern white male in the Orlando area. I’m not concerned.

But I sure as shit will tell you this...if I were an African American in a small town or rural area I would be arming up.

If trump lose there is not going to be any general uprising. That’s just crazy talk. But some of his liquored up supporters are going to get into their trucks and look for someone to punish. In a small town or rural area who do you think that will be?

I’m no gun nut. I favor registration, licensing, of course background checks and all that.

But if I were a black man in the county and state where my extended family lives I would buy an AR15 and learn how to use it. A few of those racists are going to go ape shit. Of course most African Americans in that area are used to guns because they hunt.

If you’ve never been to the real rural south you can’t imagine.

[Ferryboat]

57. You raised some very good points

Hope your right.

Its hard to raise such a sensitive question knowing I'll get flamed. But I wanted to know what others were thinking.

Thank you

[RainCaster]

51. I have a large bore potato gun- does that count?

6 foot long 2 inch bore barrel. No rifling.
Powered by map gas & oxygen. Range at least 1/2 mile.

No interest in firearms, though I do own a rifle. I prefer h2h.

[Mariana]

52. "These people are getting ready."

Ready for what? They bought out all the ammunition after Obama was elected, too. They ran their mouths incessantly about how they were going to "take the country back" because Obama was an illegal Kenyan communist Muslim who was going to destroy America etc. etc. etc. They didn't do jack.

[kcr]

53. Nope.

Not a gun nut.

[rownesheck]

54. No.

Keep in mind, 99% of gun humpers are weak, scared, poser ass babies. They aren't gonna do a GD thing. Bullies talk tough to cover for their frightened little asses.

Another thing to remember, fewer and fewer people are buying guns. The ones who are buying them are the scared rats who are stockpiling. We FAR outnumber those goobers.

Also, there have been ammunition shortages for years now. I worked in a grocery store that sold ammunition. Yes, you heard that right. I worked in a GROCERY store in a redneck ass part of east Texas that sold ammunition back in 2012. Gun humpers bought that shit up because they said back then that ammunition was hard to find.

I will never own a gun because, for me, they serve no purpose. If, in the extremely rare instance, I'm confronted with someone using a gun toward me in an aggressive manner, I'll just say, "Well, must be my time to go." But, I'll try to rip one of his eyeballs out before I'm killed.

[Mariana]

63. How many of them buy guns just to get asspats from their gun humping buddies?

I know some like that. They love to show off their guns and brag about how they go armed all the time, but don't practice shooting and would have no idea what to do in a real situation.

IIRC, ammunition was scarce pretty much the whole time Obama was president.

[BGBD]

64. They aren't going to do anything? They already have.

Are we forgetting what happened at Hoover Dam, or El Paso, Charleston, etc. The RW is already carrying out politically motivated attacks on the public. Don't underestimate what these groups are capable of now that they have room to breathe and can recruit easier. Trump has normalized the conspiracy folks and the supremacists on the RW.

[ooky]

59. No.

I'm not planning on shooting at anyone and not worried about anyone shooting me.

I do keep mace handy, though, in the event I am ever attacked by a moron.

[JI7]

60. Why ? So people could shoot their wife, kids, siblings, friends etc ? Because that is what happens

and not the fantasy of taking out the bad guys.

[Wednesdays]

61. Knock yourself out. Buy all you like

But take just moment and compare anything you can buy--legally or illegally (and that goes for RWNJ's hoarding arms, too)...compare that firepower to even a single Apache helicopter or Challenger 2 tank.

Good luck.

[Ferryboat]

70. Where did you get the idea I'm advocating for a anti government uprising?

[johnp3907]

62. No.

[cwydro]

89. Nice personal attack.

Welcome back btw!

[hunter]

66. Gun fetishes are disgusting.

[Happy Hoosier]

94. Does owning something make someone a fetishist?

I mean, I have a couple cars. Am I a car fetishist?

Don't get me wrong.... some people who guns obsess over them. Some people who own cars obsess over them. But not everyone who owns one does. I'd prefer a world where I did not feel the need to have one around, but that is not our world. And if I lived somewhere else, maybe I would not feel that need.

[cilla4progress]

68. I think it will come

to violence. Hell, it already has!

[Tipperary]

71. Handguns?

Ok.

[demosincebirth]

73. No way!

[Crunchy Frog]

74. I might if I didn't have kids. With two eleven year old boys, no way.

[LuckyCharms]

75. No. I'll do what I have done for the past 61 years...

and use the mere sight of my massive penis to embarrass and intimidate my opponent into submission.

[lindysalsagal]

88. Lol

It'll go right over their heads (the sarcasm, I mean!)

[Ferryboat]

104. Best reply yet!

[sarisataka]

105. A well executed haka

Has been known to make a foe's willpower crumble

[totodeinhere]

76. No, I am totally against guns.

We need to get guns off the street and I would never own a gun.

[SammyWinstonJack]

77. No.

[phylny]

78. No.

I have no interest in owning a gun.

[Raine]

80. I'm already fully armed

I have several guns, both rifles and handguns that I inherited from relatives. I've never fired any of them and probably never will but I like the idea of having them around.

[sarisataka]

101. A question- why do you keep them?

I have seen before people who are in similar situations, inherited some guns but have never used them.

While firearms are not the most complex machines ever made, there are certain procedures to know in order to use them safely.

I assume you keep them unloaded. Do you believe if there was an intruder in your home you could reach a firearm, load it, engage the intruder if necessary and do all of ths without endangering yourself or other people you may live with?

Note- I ask this without snark, but sincerely interested in any answer you care to give

[jmg257]

81. No need to rethink. Good way to pass some free time.

Lots of clay bird shooting while furloughed - it’s a blast.

[DSandra]

82. There's a reason why Trump feels very comfortable about claiming dictatorship...

He said it himself one time, that he has the "tough people" on his side. His side has the Guns, from the militias to the police and sheriffs. He is capable of starting a civil war and probably believes Dems to be weak and easily surrender, because we don't believe in violence and arms.

[Vinca]

83. No. I owned a handgun years ago when I was a cop and after I left the force it sat on

a shelf for 10 years in a box. I finally sold it through a licensed dealer. Someone got a good deal because it was like new - only shot once a year at the range to qualify. I have no desire to buy another one. Our side can't be as paranoid and crazy as their side. As far as I know, we've still got the big guns - the military.

[Aristus]

84. "When Trump gives the order, we're going after every unarmed libtard!"

I don't really see that happening.

It doesn't send me scurrying to the local gun store. I've never owned a gun. And I never will.

I was an M1A1 Abrams tank crewman in the Army. Once one fires a 120mm smoothbore Rheinmetall gun, nothing else satisfies. I don't need to live a bang-bang-pew-pew-pew Rambo wannabe life. I lived the real thing.

[bluecollar2]

85. If you're relying on law enforcement to keep the peace

You're an optimist.

In some parts of the country we can't do that.

Combine an ongoing pandemic with a significant natural disaster (e.g. hurricane/fire) and the social structure will disintegrate pretty quickly.

Those with resources will quickly become targeted.

Arming oneself to protect oneself is prudent.

Protecting oneself doesn't require an assault rifle..a basic shotgun will do the job if need be.

[Buckeyeblue]

91. I've been driving around the mountain west for the last week

This is our socially distance vacation. We have an RV. We are just looking at the geography. With the exception of some time in Bozeman, we have avoided people. And most people in Bozeman wore masks.

Anyway, I don't have a gun. But a few times on this trip I've wondered if I should. Not because I've felt threatened. But I have felt vulnerable.

And the Trump supporters seem more all-in than ever. I've never seen people advertise that they were pro a particular candidate than some of the Trump people do. Just makes me wonder what they will do when he gets beat in November.

I think you pose an interesting question.

[Johnny2X2X]

92. Yes

I own a 12 gauge shotgun that I know how to use.

I haven't rethought my stance because I think keeping firearms in your home is a right and is smart if you are conscious of gun safety.

I live on the outskirts of a city, but there have been home invasions in my area before, the police aren't going to get there in time to help you. My shotgun means that I have a chance to defend my wife and self.

I prefer a shotgun because of the shells I use that won't go through walls and perhaps into the house next door. Handguns are easier to maneuver inside a house though so I have my eye on a snub nose .357.

[panader0]

93. I'm afraid to go to Wal-Mart without packin'.

I usually have a large "hunting" knife one one side and my nine mil on the other.
There are dangerous people in Wal-Mart. The lack of ammo is Obama's fault!
And I'll never mask! That's one of the reasons I'm packin'! Freedumb!

I'm almost seventy, no guns, never will. I have no possessions that I would kill for.
Human life is sacred to me. I'm not scared, never have been except for the few times
I've almost stepped on a rattler.

[mvd]

96. I agree

No arming for me unless I have reason to believe my life is in imminent danger and by guns.

I only go to Walmart for the occasional check cashing. Unbelievably, the closest Walmart to me is in Pottstown, an area that isn’t as safe as the one I live in. I was there yesterday. They always seem to be responding to something every time I am in that store.

[Music Man]

95. Uh, no...

I find that as equally paranoid as the right-wing militia folks. I hope we can see fewer guns in our country, not more.

I hear talk of civil war all the time. Look, folks: This country has been through pandemics, a Great Depression, the unrest of the 1960s, assassinations, race riots, and more. Yes, Donald Trump is a different factor, and there are lots of emboldened crazies with guns these days, but literal civil war? That's a fantasy from people who want to live in interesting times or think the time in which they live is somehow absolutely unique from any other circumstance America has faced before. People talked about civil war under Bush. Relax, ya'll.

[mnhtnbb]

97. No. Those who own guns are more likely to be shot themselves

but many of those who own guns are not interested in facts.

My husband used to hunt ducks/geese with his buddies in Texas. For many years they had an annual trip. Much time was spent playing poker and drinking too much. He did come home with birds and I turned them into duck/goose gumbo.

Even after those trips stopped over 20 years ago, he insisted on owning a shotgun. Replaced the one that was burned up in the fire that destroyed our house in 2007. Then replaced that one when it was stolen (we think by an HVAC tech who saw it in the garage). He finally used the replacement to blow his brains out when he killed himself the day after his birthday in December 2018.

So, no. I have no plans to purchase a gun. I'd much rather live in a culture where guns were banned.

[lagomorph777]

103. I'm so sorry for your loss.

Your story is far more typical than it is unusual, when it comes to gun ownership.

[Amishman]

98. came to that conclusion a few years ago

I've always had a couple of old guns I'd inherited, but I decided to buy a modern pistol for home defense.

I'm also in a very rural, very red area; with a police response time that could be 30+ minutes.

[lagomorph777]

99. Hell no

[haele]

102. Nope, a gun in my household would be more dangerous to the residents.

Spouse has been suffering from seizures and is seriously depressed, there are two young children living with us, the youngest at age four having serious aggression issues and gets into everything, and no place to safely store even an unloaded weapon.
Not to mention I know myself very well. I couldn't shoot an idiot, I'm not a sniper that is willing to take someone out in a distance without actually knowing their intentions, and if I was close enough to engage with or shoot someone if armed with a handgun of my own, I'd rather take that idiot's handgun away from him/her, if they hadn't already shot me from a distance.
Someone who is enraged or paranoid is more wrapped up in their rage and paranoia than they are aware of their surroundings. If forced into close quarters fighting, the advantage is always to the person who is most aware and calm, once the luck factor is removed.
I would rather de-escalate than shoot. I was trained in shore patrol (of all duty training in the military!) that the best way to win a fight is to avoid the fight.
And I always carry a cane and my wits, if it comes to violence.

Haele

[Dave Starsky]

106. If we're destined to become some "Boy And His Dog" dystopia...

Well, then, except for the telepathic dog part, I don't want to be living in it.

But you all have fun guardin' yer horde of canned food with yer guns.

[Omaha Steve]

107. After a review by forum hosts....LOCKING

Guns in GD.

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