Should I sell my gun?

[gaja]

Keep the 1911, particularly if it's your only gun. Your life and the lives of your loved ones are worth at least $900. If you want to save a few bucks you could always buy a cheaper gun, but you have a nice 1911 which is a simple and reliable design that has been around forever. When you spread the cost over the rest of your life it's pretty cheap insurance even if you never need to use it in self defense.

Ignore the naysayers, you as an individual are far less likely to kill or injure an innocent person or any other than self defense shooting than police, who are the real danger... Yet I don't see the naysayers here proposing to disarm the police, who injure and kill innocent people at an alarming rate these days.

But did you ask the naysayers?

We had unarmed police until November last year. Then the chicken right wing politicians in the dept of Justice found an excuse to arm the police. As soon as we kick them out of office, the guns will go back to the lockers. There are plenty of privately owned guns here, but most situations are solved by talking.

I trust the local police. They are great guys (and women), with a lot of humour and knowledge about how to defuse situations without turning to violence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1PNPcnffbk

[Timmmy]

Ditch the gun.  You are more likely to kill someone you love, yourself, or a 'non-deserving' stranger than you are to actually successfully defend yourself.  Plus, you'll be richer for it!  :-)

Nonsense.

Most of the gun deaths in this country (widely touted by liberals to take away our right to own guns) fall into a couple of categories 1) SUICIDES (that's the majority of them) and 2) homicides related to drug crime (mostly criminals killing each other over drugs, cops killing drug criminals (or vice versa), or innocent civilians cut down by drug criminals or cops in the "Drug war."

If you aren't suicidal, and aren't involved in drugs, aren't mentally ill, and are middle class or above, you have nearly a zero chance of being killed by a gun, and an even smaller chance of being killed by your own gun.

Only nonsense if you misread what I said and then didn't read my other post on this topic further down the thread.

When you read the above bit you'll see that I postulate that you are more likely to misuse the gun than to SUCCESSFULLY SHOOT A REAL BAD GUY in your own home. 

Here is what I say further down in this thread (which aligns with what you say)

The data supports the proposition that the majority of deaths by gun are the result of suicide.  Something like 20,000 people per year in the states.  Unintentional deaths are around 100 per year. Homicides are around 10,000 per year.  Ridiculous.  I don't know how many 'rightful deaths by firearm for protection' occur.  I would bet it is a very small number.  Get rid of the gun! 

But if you remove suicides and drug related crime/shootings and then compare how likely you are to get shot or need to shoot someone, it's going to be a dramatically different result. 

Also, the mere presence of a firearm can change the outcome of a scenario and not require shooting someone.  So comparing to "rightful deaths by firearm for protection" is not accurate either. 

[lefty]

Sell it and buy a used baseball bat at a garage sale for $5.
You can practice at the batting cages.
Clobber the robber. :-)

[thd7t]

Plus, when the Zombie Apocalypse happens, shotgun shells are going to be worth their weight in gold! :)

Fixed ;)

alternate option:

Plus, when the Zombie Apocalypse happens, shotguns are going to be worth their weight in blunt clubs! :)

Fixed ;)

[thd7t]

All the people citing suicide statistics should remember that OP has concerns about this due to wife's depression.

[2lazy2retire]

In the unlikely event my home is broken in to, I'm not sure I would actually use it? It's difficult to know how one would act in a situation like that.

I think if you're going to own a gun, you have to know the answer to this question. 

I know, without a doubt, that if someone tried to break into my house I would not hesitate to use my firearm.  When the cops arrived they'd probably find me rocking back and forth with my head in my hands.  I would probably need months or even years of therapy to deal with the aftermath.  I'm not saying it wouldn't affect me.  I'm just saying I know what I would do.

If you aren't sure if you could even bring yourself to use it, it's probably more of a liability than it is an asset.

My house was broke into when we lived in London, needless to say I had no gun and no one got shot, as it turned out the intruders happened to be younger kids ( easier to get through open windows ;) ) and I cant imagine how I would have felt after if I had owned a gun and used it. Anyone know the stats on the number of times a gun has been shot in self defence where death or grevious harm was imminent from a home intruder

On the flip I would say that the number of intrusions in the US (at least around my hood) would be lower than the UK for example, which one could attribute to the potential intruders fear of getting shot, but i'm sure lots of other factors in play also

[BlueMR2]

All the people citing suicide statistics should remember that OP has concerns about this due to wife's depression.

That's a serious problem and a good reason to not just have a loaded gun lying out on the sofa for example.  However, not having a gun does not make for safety either.  Anyone that will take the effort to go get the gun out of the safe and use it are not likely to change their mind simply because a gun is not available.  They're already committed to it.  Guns are often chosen for suicide when available simply for ease of use compared to the other objects that would be used.  Most homes have knives, rope, and other life threatening objects easily at hand.  Getting rid of the gun and calling it good is foolish as as suicidal person will just move to a different device.

A friend of mine had one of his guns used by a loved one for suicide.  He feels the pain of losing her, but it's not the fault of the gun, and his decision to keep guns has not changed.  Had the gun not been there, the direct cause of death would have changed, but the end would be the same.

[GetItRight]

Keep the 1911, particularly if it's your only gun. Your life and the lives of your loved ones are worth at least $900. If you want to save a few bucks you could always buy a cheaper gun, but you have a nice 1911 which is a simple and reliable design that has been around forever. When you spread the cost over the rest of your life it's pretty cheap insurance even if you never need to use it in self defense.

Ignore the naysayers, you as an individual are far less likely to kill or injure an innocent person or any other than self defense shooting than police, who are the real danger... Yet I don't see the naysayers here proposing to disarm the police, who injure and kill innocent people at an alarming rate these days.

But did you ask the naysayers?

We had unarmed police until November last year. Then the chicken right wing politicians in the dept of Justice found an excuse to arm the police. As soon as we kick them out of office, the guns will go back to the lockers. There are plenty of privately owned guns here, but most situations are solved by talking.

I trust the local police. They are great guys (and women), with a lot of humour and knowledge about how to defuse situations without turning to violence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1PNPcnffbk

I was referring to the naysayers in America, typical American liberals. Thank you for posting an example of how a minor situation can be resolved without violence. Here in America the police are armed and usually escalate situations to the point of violence. There is a great deal of police violence on innocent people who are unarmed and have not harmed anyone. Police here are far more likely to kill, injure, rape, etc. than regular private citizens, it is becoming an epidemic. Of course they are a protected class so are rarely prosecuted, typically they get either a paid vacation or a slap on the wrists compared to what a mere mundane would be subject to for similar actions.

[Mustache_In_Training]

FYI - Gun is gone. Mixed feelings, but generally feel like I made the right choice. For now I'll rely on my large flashlight to be used as a blunt object/blinding tool.

It's been interesting reading all the different opinions on this issue. Truly I was just looking for some motivation to get rid of something I hardly ever use.

Thanks all!

[PatStab]

We have maybe 15 rifles, shotguns, hand guns from colts to semi automatics.  I travel with a small colt 32 when I roam around the country.  It's locked in a safe but easy for me to get to.

We never bought a gun in our life, all these were inherited from my dad and FIL, FIL had most of them.
They are locked in a gunsafe.  I'm not selling them, I also have a concealed carry permit, had one in Texas have one here.  And yep I know  how to shoot them.  There are lots of drugs in our area and my husband works away all the time.  We had an elderly neighbor maybe 6 to 8 miles away killed in his home.  It was very remote and we aren't but still.  This was 2 or 3 years ago and they have never found the killer.

These will go to our son, and likely to his son eventually. 

By the way for most things you would consider me a liberal but I still think we have the right to keep guns.  I don't believe in open carry and I think they need to be contained in the home. I also believe in background checks.  I had one in Texas and one here too.