If you own a gun for security, can you provide a link that shows you are safer with a gun?

Tony_USA

I don't have a gun for protection. It's a 12gage shotgun for dove/quail hunting. I'm not against having one for protection, but (to answer your question) I can't offer a link that would support my stand.

This topic has generated much well-deserved debate. Guns are easily accessible, by just about everyone, even kids. So I can empathize with your concern and agony over it.

Can you provide a link that says having a gun isn't safer? How many times has it been proven to be unsafe to have a gun for protection? I know of hunting accidents that ended in injuries and deaths, but we're talking about guns used for protection.

I have read of kids playing with guns in the home, and accidentally shooting each other, and that's tragic. Does that mean we shouldn't have guns at all? No, it means we should be more responsible in the home. This same logic applies with the existence of medication in the home. Family members need it, but if a child gets ahold of it, and manages to ingest a large amount of 'pretty' pills, that doesn't mean we should get rid of medication. It means we should be more careful and put the medication out of reach, or lock it up, or watch kids more closely.

I can go further and mention solvents, cleaners, pesticides, herbicides, etc. Just about all households use those, and there are many cases of kids ingesting those, as well. (Probably more than guns, I would think, but I could be wrong.) But we keep those, too, instead of banning them.

I know your intentions are good, and I'm not criticizing you, but I don't have a good, feasible answer for the 'gun' situation.

D-Rod

Here is positive self defense with a gun:

"According to the National Self Defense Survey conducted by Florida State University criminologists in 1994, the rate of Defensive Gun Uses can be projected nationwide to approximately 2.5 million per year -- one Defensive Gun Use every 13 seconds.

Among 15.7% of gun defenders interviewed nationwide during The National Self Defense Survey, the defender believed that someone "almost certainly" would have died had the gun not been used for protection -- a life saved by a privately held gun about once every 1.3 minutes. (In another 14.2% cases, the defender believed someone "probably" would have died if the gun hadn't been used in defense.)

In 83.5% of these successful gun defenses, the attacker either threatened or used force first -- disproving the myth that having a gun available for defense wouldn't make any difference.

In 91.7% of these incidents the defensive use of a gun did not wound or kill the criminal attacker (and the gun defense wouldn't be called "newsworthy" by newspaper or TV news editors). In 64.2% of these gun-defense cases, the police learned of the defense, which means that the media could also find out and report on them if they chose to.

In 73.4% of these gun-defense incidents, the attacker was a stranger to the intended victim. (Defenses against a family member or intimate were rare -- well under 10%.) This disproves the myth that a gun kept for defense will most likely be used against a family member or someone you love.

In over half of these gun defense incidents, the defender was facing two or more attackers -- and three or more attackers in over a quarter of these cases. (No means of defense other than a firearm -- martial arts, pepper spray, or stun guns -- gives a potential victim a decent chance of getting away uninjured when facing multiple attackers.)

In 79.7% of these gun defenses, the defender used a concealable handgun. A quarter of the gun defenses occured in places away from the defender's home." SEE SOURCE 1

According to statistics from the year the above article was published, there were 1,400 gun accidents that had a 1.5% fatality rate. SEE SOURCE 2

MY CONCLUSION- The amount of lives and property protected from firearms outweighs the self-inflicted injuries and deaths from those defensive weapons. It's funny how the news likes to cover the accidents more than the inspirational stories.

Robin

guns are to provide a free people
increased security in the home is probably true
but that is not material to the reason that we keep guns
guns are kept to protect from government

whimzy

yes,the fact that i answered your question is my link .will you be there to protect me and my family when the glass breaks at 3 am? no,and neither will the police or the government.just the fact that there are well over 200 million guns in america with less than 1% ever used in a crime.performing legal abortions has a higher risk of death to the patient yet you are not trying to ban them.or the fact that cars kill 10 times as many people a year.and you don't want to ban them either. and you know what? neither do i. i happen to appreciate your rights to freedom.please respect mine.

Crazy Dave

The NRA web sight! Look up the difference in crime rates by state from before and after concealed and carry laws were introduced!

Suicides do not count because if someone really wants to off themselves they can find another way!

How about this come and break into my home and lets see the outcome.

poppyg

www.mcsm.org/moreuse.html

Floyd

There are no studies because you're absolutely right. But the problem arises when you lump responsible gun-owners in with all the idiots of the world who leave their gun loaded and poorly hidden for their kids to find, or have severe temper issues, or a seriously messed up domestic situation, or whatever. I have confidence in my ability to own a gun properly and never find myself in a situation where it could be used against me. So I don't want my rights restricted because morons can't be responsible. But honestly, either way, I don't really care, because if I want a gun, I'm getting one regardless of the legal issues.

Spock (rhp)

i'm sure as Hxxx safer from an arbitrary government that might want to conclude that the 'needs' of the many outweigh the rights of the few.

=)

ilitrt

How about you back up your claim? That oft-repeated line that guns are most often used against yourself, family etc. was debunked long ago. Every month the Armed Citizen chronicles cases from around the country where people have successfully used guns to defend themselves and prevent crime often without firing a shot. Get educated and stop spewing ignorant sound bites from the Brady Bunch.

Buck Fush

Look, it's in the Second Amendment. Right to bear arms. I just have issues with the idea that folks who are not law-abiding citizens can access guns so easily. I also have issues with the fact that Mexicans drug lords use guns that were purchased from American gun dealers.

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