I was reading the contingency planning thread, and I realized that some of the posters feel the need to keep firearms in their house for protection. I'm really not trolling, I'd like to understand your point of view better, because this seems foreign to me.
1. Why don't you move to a less dangerous area? It can't be much fun, being constantly on edge that someone is going to invade your house or assault you on the street.
I'm not constantly on edge, but I am aware that even in good neighborhoods crazy things happen. That being said, I've got guns more for fun than protection. The protection is a bonus. There are certainly more efficient/effective ways to improve my security, but I just like having them.
2. Do you regularly practice with your firearm? (I used to shoot cans with a .22 when I was a kid, but that's about the limit of my experience. When I eventually FIRE, I'd like to try some practical shooting if I can find a good range. But I don't have time for another hobby right now.)
Probably around once every couple of months. Not as often as I'd like, but regular working (9-5) hours means I'm going to ranges at peak times.
3. If you have children or a spouse, how have you trained them to stay out of the way if there's an incident? i.e. so they don't get shot?
My girlfriend uses and enjoys the guns too. I can't imagine a situation where she'd ever be in the way, as we live in a 1 bedroom apartment.
4. How to you plan to deal with the first responders after an incident? Will the police arrest you? Do you have a lawyer ready to call on your phone? Or does your jurisdiction take the view that you're allowed to shoot in your home, so you don't expect to have issues with the authorities?
By cooperating with them, and not saying much/anything until I talk to a lawyer. I don't have one on call, because I don't suspect it'll ever happen.
For the record, we don't have any firearms in the house. In fact, DW can't stand them, so we're not likely to anytime soon.
Fair enough. You'll most likely be fine.
I think there are plenty of times in history where things would have gone very differently with an armed populace. Some people alluded to the government turning on us, and while unlikely, it's not unprecedented historically. Invasion is similar. Sure, the US (or whatever invading country) could destroy us all with missiles, but if war was that easy we would've been in and out of the Middle East in a few weeks. Is it much of a deterrent? Probably not, but I sure wouldn't want to be the one trying to take over the United States.
Guns being the equalizer they are, I do appreciate them for leveling the playing field for smaller/older/frailer citizens. In a world without firearms, large young people have a very significant advantage in any violent encounter.
Are there accidents with firearms? Of course. I think that self protection is important enough that accidents are something that is worth it. We should work on reducing them where possible while retaining the right to bear arms. I often compare it to breathalizers or cameras. Would we live in a safer place if everyone had breathalizers in their cars, cameras on their chests, and cameras in their homes that the police could watch? Of course, we'd prevent and catch all sorts of abuse, rape, drunk driving, child abuse, etc etc. We're reaching a point where the technology wouldn't be THAT expensive. Yet how many of you would want to live in that world? I can hear the political ads now: "Won't you think of the children?! This is Timmy, he was beat viciously by his father for 3 years before he was killed. If we'd simply had mandatory cameras in homes, Timmy could've been saved. Why don't you want to save Timmy? If you're not doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about!"