Poll

Do you own one or more guns?

Yes
78 (41.3%)
No
111 (58.7%)

Total Members Voted: 181

Author Topic: Are you a gun owner?  (Read 36204 times)

adam

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 419
  • Age: 43
  • Location: SC
Are you a gun owner?
« on: January 23, 2013, 02:52:49 PM »
Just reading through the other gun topic I was a little surprised how many people said they own guns.  I guess I didn't know what to expect from this community when the topic was raised, but I thought it was one of the few relatively intelligent discussions on the topic.  I was somewhat surprised, in a good way.

lauren_knows

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 846
  • Age: 42
  • Location: Annandale, VA, USA
  • Happiness is a choice
    • The Crowdsourced FIRE simulator
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #1 on: January 23, 2013, 02:59:59 PM »
No gun here. Wife wouldn't allow it.

I actually told her that I wanted at least *something* potentially scary to protect the house with, and she said ok. I came home with a $25 Machete from a sporting goods store.  She said it was too scary.  I said that kind of was the point, and she sent me to return it.   lol. 


tooqk4u22

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2833
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #2 on: January 23, 2013, 03:10:14 PM »
What a loaded question ;)

unitsinc

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 188
  • Age: 38
  • Location: Houston/Denver
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #3 on: January 23, 2013, 03:17:07 PM »

cbr shadow

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 478
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #4 on: January 23, 2013, 03:26:37 PM »
No gun here. Wife wouldn't allow it.

I actually told her that I wanted at least *something* potentially scary to protect the house with, and she said ok. I came home with a $25 Machete from a sporting goods store.  She said it was too scary.  I said that kind of was the point, and she sent me to return it.   lol.

LOL I guess since this is the internet you can admit something like that, but dont tell that story to any of your guy friends!


I own several guns, but sine becoming mustachian I've stopped all purcahses.  Target shooting / training was my biggest hobby until I found this site.. then I realized I couldn't afford it!  I would think this hobby would be uncommon on this website considering the expense.
I'd hate to stereotype, but it seems to me that many people in the gun hobby will spend the gross majority of expendable money on gun purchases.  I've gotten into countless arguments on the gun forums about how having 100 guns and no 401k or savings is a bad idea.  I think the reason for this is the fact that the hobby is constantly under pressure with local and federal legislation.  This makes people think "buy it before it gets banned" - hence the run on guns and ammo lately.
Ok that was a bit of a rant I guess lol

Paul der Krake

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5854
  • Age: 16
  • Location: UTC-10:00
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #5 on: January 23, 2013, 04:21:01 PM »
Yeah, better to sit this one out. Out of all the recent impulsive buyers, there is probably a good chunk that lives paycheck to paycheck. 6 months from now they will need the cash for their credit card bill and smart buyers will buy very gently used weapons at a discount price.

yolfer

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 553
  • Age: 43
  • Location: Seattle, WA, USA
    • Camp Mustache
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #6 on: January 23, 2013, 04:29:45 PM »
I have a Russian-made Biathlon rifle that's now very hard to purchase in the USA. I'm thinking of selling it since I don't race much any more. It's just one of those possessions that's difficult to get rid of. Perhaps my procrastination will pay off if the rifle becomes increasingly rare.

I have children, so the gun stays locked up in its case, with a trigger lock too. It's also unloaded (I keep the ammo in a different place in the house). It definitely won't help me for home defense. Unless I hit the burglar with the gun case...

Crash87

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 165
  • Age: 37
  • Location: St. Louis
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #7 on: January 23, 2013, 04:37:29 PM »
I've got a small collection of guns. Shooting them can be quite expensive unless you have a free place to shoot, load your own ammo, and/or shoot .22s.

I have family members with loading equipment and one with their own personal gun range, so I've got it impossibly good in this department.

LowER

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 161
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #8 on: January 23, 2013, 05:07:38 PM »
I grew up hunting and sold my last gun for tuition many years ago. I do own 3 pellet guns that I enjoy for target practice.

Kriegsspiel

  • Guest
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #9 on: January 23, 2013, 06:39:37 PM »
I have a Glock 23 with a full mag of hollowpoints ready to go.  Got it used.

Jack

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4725
  • Location: Atlanta, GA
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #10 on: January 23, 2013, 07:44:34 PM »
I'd like to own a gun (or several), but have a lot of higher-priority things to spend my money on.

unitsinc

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 188
  • Age: 38
  • Location: Houston/Denver
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #11 on: January 23, 2013, 07:47:36 PM »
I'd like to own a gun (or several), but have a lot of higher-priority things to spend my money on.

This is exactly the boat I'm in.

I like the idea of owning one.
I don't get the gun culture, frankly guns are just about the most boring thing I've come across(and I fired some pretty big ones in the Army.)
I'd mostly just like one for self defense, but every time I look at the prices I cringe and close the browser.

Kriegsspiel

  • Guest
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #12 on: January 23, 2013, 08:03:08 PM »
What price is high enough to make you cringe?  I got my Glock for $420 used, with 6 (!!) clips and a cleaning kit.  It is a Glock, so it should last the rest of my life.  The only other thing I'm thinking about getting for it is a .40-9mm conversion barrel so I can shoot 9mm bullets for training, because they're cheaper.

unitsinc

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 188
  • Age: 38
  • Location: Houston/Denver
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #13 on: January 23, 2013, 08:42:00 PM »
What price is high enough to make you cringe?  I got my Glock for $420 used, with 6 (!!) clips and a cleaning kit.  It is a Glock, so it should last the rest of my life.  The only other thing I'm thinking about getting for it is a .40-9mm conversion barrel so I can shoot 9mm bullets for training, because they're cheaper.

Almost anything honestly. I mean, I can't recall the last time I paid 400+ dollars for something. Granted, you did say it would last you the rest of your life, so that doesn't seem terrible. But for something I theoretically never hope to use, that seems steep.

TheDude

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 467
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #14 on: January 23, 2013, 09:21:45 PM »
No gun here. My dad always had a 12 gauge and when I was a kid I went hunting a few times. It would be fun to go shooting clay pigeons but not enough to justify the expense.

BlueMR2

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2313
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #15 on: January 24, 2013, 05:00:08 AM »
I live in the Great Lakes area, where everyone and their brother (and sister!) owns a gun (Well, except for the inner city, only the gangs have guns there).  It's not common to see but it also doesn't cause anyone to freak out to see people walking around with exposed guns either.

Jack

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4725
  • Location: Atlanta, GA
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #16 on: January 24, 2013, 05:02:01 AM »
What price is high enough to make you cringe?

Any number higher than the balance on my debt.

Actually, now that I'm slightly out of emergency-mode, I could justify spending maybe $200... but now there's a price bubble so it's too late.

Kriegsspiel

  • Guest
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #17 on: January 24, 2013, 05:40:50 AM »
Almost anything honestly. I mean, I can't recall the last time I paid 400+ dollars for something. Granted, you did say it would last you the rest of your life, so that doesn't seem terrible. But for something I theoretically never hope to use, that seems steep.

Like insurance?

unitsinc

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 188
  • Age: 38
  • Location: Houston/Denver
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #18 on: January 24, 2013, 07:08:52 AM »
Almost anything honestly. I mean, I can't recall the last time I paid 400+ dollars for something. Granted, you did say it would last you the rest of your life, so that doesn't seem terrible. But for something I theoretically never hope to use, that seems steep.

Like insurance?

Well, I don't own a car, and I don't exercise the plan at my job. So, yeah, pretty much exactly like insurance, since I don't have either. lol

Khao

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 185
  • Age: 33
  • Location: Montreal - Canada
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #19 on: January 24, 2013, 07:42:18 AM »
Canadian here, no gun. I only know of one people who owns guns and it's for hunting with his dad.

I prefer to live somewhere where I can be pretty sure that nobody around me has a gun at any time. The only time I hear about guns in the news it's when some mafia/gang guys get shot which doesn't happen that often, or more recently a baby was killed by accident when her mother wanted a gun to protect herself since her ex was making her nervous, and a 16 yrs old teenager was killed by his 12 yrs old brother when they found their parent's gun and played with it.

So from what I hear, guns don't protect people. It's either for bad guys killing other bad guys or it kills totally innocent people who were just at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Norman Johnson

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 174
  • Location: Moving around, currently in Florida!
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #20 on: January 24, 2013, 07:57:55 AM »
Also Canadian. I grew up in a rural area, and lots of people had rifles, but they were for hunting and stowed away. I don't know anyone in the city who has a gun because what for? Sure there are a few deer around, but you can't shoot them in the city!

cbr shadow

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 478
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #21 on: January 24, 2013, 10:31:43 AM »
Canadian here, no gun. I only know of one people who owns guns and it's for hunting with his dad.

I prefer to live somewhere where I can be pretty sure that nobody around me has a gun at any time. The only time I hear about guns in the news it's when some mafia/gang guys get shot which doesn't happen that often, or more recently a baby was killed by accident when her mother wanted a gun to protect herself since her ex was making her nervous, and a 16 yrs old teenager was killed by his 12 yrs old brother when they found their parent's gun and played with it.

So from what I hear, guns don't protect people. It's either for bad guys killing other bad guys or it kills totally innocent people who were just at the wrong place at the wrong time.

This is the exact attitude that many in the US are trying to avoid.  Banning guns only makes law-abiding people get rid of theirs, and the bad guys end up being the only ones with guns.  It's funny the way you put it because that almost exactly sums up the pro-gun arguement.

Norman Johnson

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 174
  • Location: Moving around, currently in Florida!
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #22 on: January 24, 2013, 10:51:49 AM »
Canadian here, no gun. I only know of one people who owns guns and it's for hunting with his dad.

I prefer to live somewhere where I can be pretty sure that nobody around me has a gun at any time. The only time I hear about guns in the news it's when some mafia/gang guys get shot which doesn't happen that often, or more recently a baby was killed by accident when her mother wanted a gun to protect herself since her ex was making her nervous, and a 16 yrs old teenager was killed by his 12 yrs old brother when they found their parent's gun and played with it.

So from what I hear, guns don't protect people. It's either for bad guys killing other bad guys or it kills totally innocent people who were just at the wrong place at the wrong time.

This is the exact attitude that many in the US are trying to avoid.  Banning guns only makes law-abiding people get rid of theirs, and the bad guys end up being the only ones with guns.  It's funny the way you put it because that almost exactly sums up the pro-gun arguement.

It's not so bad actually. The pool of avaliable guns gets smaller too, so less guns to get stolen and used by "bad guys". You know, it's national news here when a member of the RCMP gets shot it happens so rarely.

Khao

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 185
  • Age: 33
  • Location: Montreal - Canada
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #23 on: January 24, 2013, 10:54:12 AM »
I know the situation being what it is in the states, banning all guns would remove just a tiny portion of guns and wouldn't change much. It would take generations for this to actually change anything but just because it wouldn't make anything perfect overnight doesn't mean it's not worth trying. It's a change of mentality that needs to happen, not only a change of legislation.

No amount of legislation can prevent crime because well, if you really want to kill somebody at that point you don't give a shit about the law. Trying to take guns out of the average house would prevent lots of accidental deaths and things like angry teenagers stealing their dad's gun to kill someone since they got mad. It wouldn't stop murder and gang crimes and mafia but it would stop a lot of children being killed and family disputes taking a turn to hell which is a step in the right direction.

Leaves the firearms out of the average family house and let the criminals handle them, we don't need more accidental deaths and easy-to-reach weapons everywhere.

unitsinc

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 188
  • Age: 38
  • Location: Houston/Denver
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #24 on: January 24, 2013, 11:02:06 AM »
Leaves the firearms out of the average family house and let the criminals handle them...

Read that again and tell me that it doesn't sound at least a little scary.

James

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1678
  • Age: 51
  • Location: Rice Lake, WI
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #25 on: January 24, 2013, 11:10:22 AM »
Leaves the firearms out of the average family house and let the criminals handle them...

Read that again and tell me that it doesn't sound at least a little scary.


He shot himself in the foot...  (horrible pun, couldn't resist)

Norman Johnson

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 174
  • Location: Moving around, currently in Florida!
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #26 on: January 24, 2013, 11:18:49 AM »
Khao is right, if you want to kill someone, you'll just do it, regardless of how.

I am not an expert on crime and guns, but I do know that:

a) I am not scared of living in my community without a gun (despite it being the "Murder Capitol of Canada" on occasion) and I'm not unique in this!
b) No one I know has a gun for "personal protection"
c) Of those people I know who have guns, they have them for hunting or shooting wild animals (such as coyotes getting in to the animals) and the culture among those people is *respect* for the gun and what it can do. These are not people who leave their guns in closets or under beds, but in a safe and unloaded, with the ammo stored in another location (like the law states).

(Edit - FTR, I understand that gun ownership is very embedding in US culture, and I'm not trying to start an argument. I'm just stating that we in Canada are doing quite well without so many guns, and it might be worth looking at what we are doing to see if anything could be cherry picked and added to the US culture. You can't deny that there is a bit of an issue in the US with mass shootings that we don't have here in Canada - not to say we haven't had them, but they aren't nearly as common.)
« Last Edit: January 24, 2013, 11:21:46 AM by lilacorchid »

unitsinc

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 188
  • Age: 38
  • Location: Houston/Denver
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #27 on: January 24, 2013, 11:30:09 AM »
Khao is right, if you want to kill someone, you'll just do it, regardless of how.

I am not an expert on crime and guns, but I do know that:

a) I am not scared of living in my community without a gun (despite it being the "Murder Capitol of Canada" on occasion) and I'm not unique in this!
b) No one I know has a gun for "personal protection"
c) Of those people I know who have guns, they have them for hunting or shooting wild animals (such as coyotes getting in to the animals) and the culture among those people is *respect* for the gun and what it can do. These are not people who leave their guns in closets or under beds, but in a safe and unloaded, with the ammo stored in another location (like the law states).

(Edit - FTR, I understand that gun ownership is very embedding in US culture, and I'm not trying to start an argument. I'm just stating that we in Canada are doing quite well without so many guns, and it might be worth looking at what we are doing to see if anything could be cherry picked and added to the US culture. You can't deny that there is a bit of an issue in the US with mass shootings that we don't have here in Canada - not to say we haven't had them, but they aren't nearly as common.)

I'll agree that Canada has less mass shootings, but that could be more of an issue of having ~11% the amount of people we do.

Khao

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 185
  • Age: 33
  • Location: Montreal - Canada
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #28 on: January 24, 2013, 11:32:46 AM »
I'll agree that Canada has less mass shootings, but that could be more of an issue of having ~11% the amount of people we do.

Proportionnally, U.S. kicks Canada's ass at 10.2 firearm-related deaths per 100,000 population vs Canada's 2.13 deaths per 100,000 population.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_firearm-related_death_rate

unitsinc

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 188
  • Age: 38
  • Location: Houston/Denver
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #29 on: January 24, 2013, 11:34:10 AM »
I'll agree that Canada has less mass shootings, but that could be more of an issue of having ~11% the amount of people we do.

Proportionnally, U.S. kicks Canada's ass at 10.2 firearm-related deaths per 100,000 population vs Canada's 2.13 deaths per 100,000 population.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_firearm-related_death_rate

Haha, yeah, I knew that. I was just referring to the mass shooting aspect.
I know per capita we're pretty terrible.

cbr shadow

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 478
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #30 on: January 24, 2013, 11:40:32 AM »
This probably comes off as insensitive to many, but it's not meant to be.  Mass shootings in the US are a comparitively VERY small problem.  Compare the number of deaths by mass shooting to something like accidental drownings or falling and you'd be surprised.  How about mass shootings with "Assault weapons" compared to those numbers?  I dont remember the exact numbers so I'm not going to state some that are definitely wrong, but the media woudl have to believe mass shootings are quickly brinigng down our population.

Also the main point that many on the pro-gun side is that our country was founded by breaking away from a tyranical govt.     Our founders put the 2nd amendment in our constitution so that future generations could always do the same should the need arise.  Most people reading this will probably write me off as a crazy person (esp those in Canada?) but this is what I (and many others) believe.
The constitution's 2nd amendment says nothing about hunting, and in many places where people have guns (where I live for instance) there is very little hunting that you can do!  People here have guns for hunting, home defense, collecting, competition shooting, etc.

This single sentence in the constitution is always put under a magnifying glass to see how it can be applied to the current times, but recently (last month) the US Supreme Court ruled that it's unconstitutional for my state (Illinois) to not allow anyone to concealed carry.  This probably sounds insane to the posters above, but again it's a culture thing that's probably very different from yours.


atlbrew

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 14
  • Location: Atlanta, GA
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #31 on: January 24, 2013, 11:48:24 AM »
Southerner here:

I have a hunting rifle (7mm Mag) and 2 pistols for home defense (9x18 Makarov and a 38 special).

My family has land in Alabama that we use for hunting/growing trees and both pistols were given to me as gifts.

cbr shadow

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 478
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #32 on: January 24, 2013, 11:50:18 AM »
I'll agree that Canada has less mass shootings, but that could be more of an issue of having ~11% the amount of people we do.

Proportionnally, U.S. kicks Canada's ass at 10.2 firearm-related deaths per 100,000 population vs Canada's 2.13 deaths per 100,000 population.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_firearm-related_death_rate

It cracks me up when I hear these statistics.  Of course there will be less firearm related deaths where they're illegal to have.  This doesn't mean there's less violent crimes (which may also be the case with Canada vs. USA, but isn't the rule). Canada has just under half the "intentional suicides" as the USA, which is a MUCH more fair comparison. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate
How about we compare ice skating related deaths between Canada and Mexico per capita? 

That's something Piers Morgan loves to bring up, but he can't explain why countries like Russia, Mexico, most of South America where you aren't allowed to have a gun still have very high gun violence.


Khao

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 185
  • Age: 33
  • Location: Montreal - Canada
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #33 on: January 24, 2013, 11:54:49 AM »
Haha, yeah, I knew that. I was just referring to the mass shooting aspect.
I know per capita we're pretty terrible.

Holy fucking shit. By capita the U.S. are worse than the Canada nearly 5 times, which isn't that bad but if we compare the list of school shootings... it's scary as shit. I never thought it was this bad.

List of school shootings : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_shooting
Canada : 11 since 1907

Main article for U.S. school shootings (yep, got their own wiki page!) : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_school_shootings_in_the_United_States
The list just goes on and on and on and on, I can't even count how many there are.

It is NOT proportionate to the population.

This probably comes off as insensitive to many, but it's not meant to be.  Mass shootings in the US are a comparitively VERY small problem.  Compare the number of deaths by mass shooting to something like accidental drownings or falling and you'd be surprised.  How about mass shootings with "Assault weapons" compared to those numbers?  I dont remember the exact numbers so I'm not going to state some that are definitely wrong, but the media woudl have to believe mass shootings are quickly brinigng down our population.

Mass shootings don't decimate the U.S. population more than cancer or driving accidents, sure, but they are somewhat a symptom of how that "guns for everybody" mentality is not appropriate, in my opinion.

Jack

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4725
  • Location: Atlanta, GA
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #34 on: January 24, 2013, 11:55:28 AM »
I'll agree that Canada has less mass shootings, but that could be more of an issue of having ~11% the amount of people we do.

Proportionnally, U.S. kicks Canada's ass at 10.2 firearm-related deaths per 100,000 population vs Canada's 2.13 deaths per 100,000 population.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_firearm-related_death_rate

It cracks me up when I hear these statistics.  Of course there will be less firearm related deaths where they're illegal to have.  This doesn't mean there's less violent crimes (which may also be the case with Canada vs. USA, but isn't the rule). Canada has just under half the "intentional suicides" as the USA, which is a MUCH more fair comparison. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate
How about we compare ice skating related deaths between Canada and Mexico per capita? 

That's something Piers Morgan loves to bring up, but he can't explain why countries like Russia, Mexico, most of South America where you aren't allowed to have a gun still have very high gun violence.



Dangit, you beat me to it! I'm going to post anyway, since I spent the effort writing it:

The thing about statistics like that is that they make it easy for people to equate guns with crime without accounting for the substitution effect. I would argue that it's the overall homicide rate that matters, not the firearm-related-homicide rate.

For example, the US has a 10x "worse" firearm-related homicide rate than Belarus, at 3.6 deaths per 100,000 people vs. 0.38 deaths per 100,000 people. However, the overall homicide rate is nearly equal, at 4.8 for the US vs 4.9 for Belarus. Am I supposed to irrationally fear guns because we in the US choose to kill each other with them instead of bludgeoning each other with sticks (or however they do it in Belarus)?

Jamesqf

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4038
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #35 on: January 24, 2013, 12:11:26 PM »
For example, the US has a 10x "worse" firearm-related homicide rate than Belarus, at 3.6 deaths per 100,000 people vs. 0.38 deaths per 100,000 people. However, the overall homicide rate is nearly equal, at 4.8 for the US vs 4.9 for Belarus. Am I supposed to irrationally fear guns because we in the US choose to kill each other with them instead of bludgeoning each other with sticks (or however they do it in Belarus)?

Exactly!  I may, statistically, be more likely to be shot to death in the US, but I'm very unlikely to be killed by e.g. rampaging football hooligans.

Then there's a basic quality of life aspect.  I have friends who spend a decade living in nearly gun-free England.  They lived on the outskirts of a small city (St. Albans), and (like their neighbors) lived behind barred windows, had an electronics security alarm that they set whenever they left the house, and still suffered about one property crime per year.  I live where most if not all of my neighbors own guns, and haven't bothered to lock my door in so long that I'm not even sure where the key is.

DoubleDown

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2075
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #36 on: January 24, 2013, 01:47:12 PM »
Man it would be great if we could put the genie back in the bottle and have a world where there are no guns, knives, brass knuckles, nuclear weapons, chemical/biological weapons, and so on. But given that those things exist, and always will exist despite our best efforts to mutually disarm everyone, I want the good guys to be able to reasonably defend themselves.

In locales where gun ownership has been outlawed in the U.S., law-abiding (i.e., non-gun owning) citizens have had terrifying situations of people attempting (or succeeding) in home invasions, but the citizens were unable to protect themselves. These don't happen every day, but they do happen. They had to rely instead on calling the police and waiting for them to arrive, as the perpetrators are literally breaking down their door or coming through a window. Often the police don't arrive in time to help. I wish a well-trained, armed good guy had been in that theater in Aurora or the school in Newtown to shoot and kill those murderous cowards as soon as they pulled out a weapon.

If we could guarantee that no one with bad intentions could ever get their hands on a dangerous weapon, I'd be content to hand mine over. It's easy for me to say that since no such guarantee can (or ever will) be provided.

Similarly, I don't see the U.S. disarming itself of devastating weapons as long as countries like North Korea and Iran exist. I don't know why we'd expect the good guys to willingly disarm themselves when bad guys have weapons or an interest in acquiring them.

All that said, I do believe in "reasonable" restrictions. We don't allow regular folks to go around toting nuclear weapons or anthrax, so we all buy into the notion that there can exist SOME regulation/restrictions on owning weapons. It's just a question of what restrictions.

adam

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 419
  • Age: 43
  • Location: SC
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #37 on: January 24, 2013, 01:52:01 PM »
Hey, I did not intend this to be another debate thread, there is already one of those.  I just wanted to see the ratio of gun toting mustaches.

For the record, I too own guns.  My in laws are hunters and I want to get in on the action to fill up my chest freezer on the cheap.

yolfer

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 553
  • Age: 43
  • Location: Seattle, WA, USA
    • Camp Mustache
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #38 on: January 24, 2013, 02:18:46 PM »
Hey, I did not intend this to be another debate thread, there is already one of those.  I just wanted to see the ratio of gun toting mustaches.

For the record, I too own guns.  My in laws are hunters and I want to get in on the action to fill up my chest freezer on the cheap.

You thought you could take a poll on gun ownership without it getting political? :)

Norman Johnson

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 174
  • Location: Moving around, currently in Florida!
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #39 on: January 24, 2013, 02:24:09 PM »
Hey, I did not intend this to be another debate thread, there is already one of those.  I just wanted to see the ratio of gun toting mustaches.

For the record, I too own guns.  My in laws are hunters and I want to get in on the action to fill up my chest freezer on the cheap.

You thought you could take a poll on gun ownership without it getting political? :)

LOL, +1

Khao

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 185
  • Age: 33
  • Location: Montreal - Canada
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #40 on: January 24, 2013, 02:26:35 PM »
You thought you could take a poll on gun ownership without it getting political? :)

Rookie mistake :)

But at least it didn't turn into a shitstorm internet arguing (not yet)

tooqk4u22

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2833
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #41 on: January 24, 2013, 03:08:02 PM »
Hey, I did not intend this to be another debate thread, there is already one of those.  I just wanted to see the ratio of gun toting mustaches.

Yeah....I started that other thread and for the record it wasn't meant to be about gun control, it was meant as a comment about everything that washington does requires endless spending (the spending in question just happen to be for gun control) and then it took off from there.

Oh well. 

strider3700

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 516
  • Location: northern BC
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #42 on: January 24, 2013, 04:35:31 PM »

b) No one I know has a gun for "personal protection"


Are you sure?  I was once invited to an anti gun protest planning party because "I'm not a gun owner and have experience with the logistics of protests"     Umm sorry, Not only am I not anti gun I own numerous.  I didn't tell them that though I just declined and said I was too busy.  I don't share that I have guns with people in real life.   Most people I know don't.  I ran into a good friend at the range about 6 months ago.  I had no idea he shot and he had no idea I did even though we where both at the range every few weeks. We just normally go on different days....   

Guns are that dirty little secret many Canadians keep.

Jamesqf

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4038
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #43 on: January 24, 2013, 04:43:55 PM »
For the record, I too own guns.  My in laws are hunters and I want to get in on the action to fill up my chest freezer on the cheap.

Bowhunting.

Ozstache

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 866
  • Age: 56
  • Location: Oztralia
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #44 on: January 24, 2013, 05:01:53 PM »
I am the only weapon in my house.

StarswirlTheMustached

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 475
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #45 on: January 24, 2013, 05:54:43 PM »
For the record, I too own guns.  My in laws are hunters and I want to get in on the action to fill up my chest freezer on the cheap.

Bowhunting.
I was about to reply that I do not own any firearms, but want a bow. But being the city cousin, I do not know how to "murder bambi" as we say in my family. (no, we really do. It's pretty funny when a vegan comes over.)

cbr shadow

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 478
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #46 on: January 25, 2013, 08:37:20 AM »
I am the only weapon in my house.
LOL you must be like Steven Segal and register your hands as lethal weapons.

I do own guns, but even if I didn't I'm pretty sure my house is the safest house on the block.

He's the friendliest dog you'll ever meet and loves attention, but is very protective of the house with strangers until we introduce them.

Khao

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 185
  • Age: 33
  • Location: Montreal - Canada
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #47 on: January 25, 2013, 09:25:17 AM »
He's the friendliest dog you'll ever meet and loves attention, but is very protective of the house with strangers until we introduce them.

I remember reading somewhere that thieves would bring packs of hot dog sausages or things like that to houses they were breaking in just in case there was a dog and then would become best friends instantly :P

Lagom

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1258
  • Age: 40
  • Location: SF Bay Area
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #48 on: January 25, 2013, 10:36:39 AM »
Anecdotes are not particularly good evidence, and if baffles me why people love to use them so much in debates as controversial as this one. Does the number of incidents in which someone fends off a home invader make up for the accidental gun deaths or the times an invader gets ahold of the homeowner's gun and shoots them (when they might otherwise have left them alive)? If I have a gun, am I that much more likely to protect myself from a home invader than if I have a baseball bat, or a burglar alarm, or a dog? Answering those questions with data is more important than going on about how some woman shot a guy in her house one time or about some other guy got killed while waiting for the cops to arrive.

My bias is probably transparent here, but either way, let's elevate the debate if we're going to have it. For the record, I find target shooting to be very enjoyable, but I would never keep a loaded gun in my house. I am totally confident that despite that fact, I am in no way affecting my expected lifespan. I get guns as a hobby like I get doomsday prepping as a hobby. Both can be equally fun if you're into that sort of thing, but neither is particularly likely to save your life.

BlueMR2

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2313
Re: Are you a gun owner?
« Reply #49 on: January 25, 2013, 10:59:42 AM »
Anecdotes are not particularly good evidence, and if baffles me why people love to use them so much in debates as controversial as this one. Does the number of incidents in which someone fends off a home invader make up for the accidental gun deaths or the times an invader gets ahold of the homeowner's gun and shoots them (when they might otherwise have left them alive)? If I have a gun, am I that much more likely to protect myself from a home invader than if I have a baseball bat, or a burglar alarm, or a dog? Answering those questions with data is more important than going on about how some woman shot a guy in her house one time or about some other guy got killed while waiting for the cops to arrive.

I think it's due to the feeling of control.  No options (no gun or other weapon available) means that you have no control over the situation.  Add a weapon and you gain at least a little control.  Now, will anything effective come out of that?  Will it be better or worse overall?  Doesn't really matter.  Automakers continue to make big $$$ selling SUVs to people that buy them thinking they'll be safer (despite the statistics that say that they're more likely to get into a rollover and die)...  And of course, personal skill does have an impact.  No training and you're definitely unsafe.  Add training and you can be safer.  So, if you keep a gun at home you NEED to commit to training to be safer than the non-gun owner.  Do not commit to that and you'll be less safe by default.