Hello Flavio,
> 18 Apr 17 01:35, you wrote to all:
>> We should never for an instant forget, that the one and only reason
>> anybody has for taking your gun away is to make you weaker and unable
>> to resist the will of others, so they can do unto you what they
>> choose that you wouldn't allow them to do if you were able to defend
>> yourself. This goes for burglars, muggers, and other criminals, and
>> more so for bureaucrats, and politicians.
>> Banning guns for responsible gun owners will do little to prevent
>> criminally minded individuals from carrying out violent acts. I am a
>> believer that guns by themselves do not kill or shoot anyone. It takes
>> a person to do the shooting and killing.
> Do you have any stories to share (or know someone) about a situation
> where owning a gun saved you or your family?
Yes, I have a friend who has several long guns as well as several handguns. He
was home when at about 11:00 pm a couple guys broke into his house. In the
house were him, his wife, and their two kids. Hearing noises he got up and went
to investigate carrying his 9m. He confronted the intruders aiming his gun at
them. He said that they broke several things in trying to leave the house. He
also told me that he would have only fired if it was the only option left to
protect himself or his family.
I remember being in my car driving with my girlfriend some years ago in
Minneapolis, MN. A 20ish year old guy asked if he could get a ride. I decided
to give him a lift against the opinion of my girlfriend (Based on the look she
gave me). <g> About 5-10 minutes later he pulled a knife and stuck it to my
neck. He was sitting in the back seat behind me. He asked for my money. I at
the time was not carrying any weapon. I can't tell you how helpless I felt.
Needless to say I gave him the $45 that I had on me.
Would I have felt different if he had had a gun? Not really. IMHO, if people
have a criminal intent to rob or attack. They will acquire and use what ever
they think they need. Be it a knife, club, or gun. They are not likely to care
if having, carrying, or using a gun is illegal. Again IMHO gun laws preventing
people from owning or carrying a gun does little if anything to keep the gun
out of the hands of the criminals.
I realize that some from other countries might say that "We don't have that
problem here". And that might be somewhat true. But then again we are not
talking about life in other countries. I am not inferring that we here do
things better or worse than elsewhere. Guns here have been major part of US
history. A large percentage of gun owners here grew up in homes that had guns.
Many homes that have guns have multiple guns in the home. In talking to gun
owners over the years. They say that the primary reason for having a gun is
protection of their home and family with hunting and sport shooting being
considerably less important. Many have stated that they couldn't see themselves
without owning or carrying a gun.
> I am asking this because I live in Brazil, and here the laws concerning
> the possession of firearms are extremely restrictive, to the extent that is
>almost impossible to the average person to own a gun, and it's 100% impossible
> to carry a gun outside the home without being a police officer.
Do the gun ownership restrictions there keep someone from getting a gun if
they decide to use one?
> Nevertheless, the crime rate has reached an all-time high here. It's so
> high that if you leave your home for a walk in the block the chances of
> someon robbing you at gunpoint are like 3 into 10.
I guess you have just answered my last question. My attitude is that if gun
laws prevent private ownership and/or possession of guns. Then the only people
that will carry guns are the criminals. With the exception of the police of
course. Am I in favor of stricter gun laws? Yes I am. I think that people
should have the right to own and carry a gun. Provided that they are mentally
capable of being properly responsible for it's safe operation and use. Also
known criminals should be prevented from ownership or possession. But that is
really an unenforceable restriction. I also think that gun ownership and
possession should require proper and verified gun safety training. I help
provide gun safety training at several local locations. Training that the
state currently requires. The majority of the students are children ranging in
ages from 9 to 20 years old. It is important that a society that has, and owns
gun knows how to safely use, store, and operate a firearm. And to properly
respect it.
> That being said, what would be the value of having a gun in such an
> environment? The attacker has always the element of surprise, and if they
> find > out that you have a gun, you won't come back home alive to tell a
> story...
Hypothetically, if you were intent on burglarizing a home. And if you were
reasonably certain that that household had a gun inside. Would you be less
inclined to approach that home?
Jeff
--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-3
* Origin: The OuijaBoard - Anoka, MN (1:282/1031)
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