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Are you afraid of guns?

When I see a random stranger walk into my workplace with a gun I feel the same as I would if he had a sword. Well, except that the gun is more dangerous and a less awesome way to die.
 
I do not think of any weapon as a good way to die. But many are good ways to end the life of an assailant.
 
fuelair said:
I do not think of any weapon as a good way to die. But many are good ways to end the life of an assailant.
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True, just yesterday I had to cap a zombie and double tap some assailant who wanted change. Without my trusty, beloved and always faithful Sig Saur P226 I'd just be fair game in life's jungle.
 
Totovader said:
How do you think that supports the argument that throwing all the guns into the sea from private citizens is the best option?
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US: Highest rate of private gun ownership in Western World*

Intentional homicide rate is 5.0 per 100,000

Japan: Private gun ownership effectively zero, police are armed

Intentional homicide rate is 0.5 per 100,000

Need I say more?

* Yes, I know that in Switzerland civilian gun ownership is even higher. But these guns are issued by Swiss government, their owners must undergo regular training, and the government always know where these guns are. They are more "on loan from the government" than "privately owned".
 
Totovader said:
Maybe after all this you still think: "I would rather eat in a restaurant where nobody is armed versus a restaurant where everyone is armed!"
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Yes, I prefer to eat in a restaurant in the middle of a polity where nobody is armed. Failing that, I prefer to eat in a restaurant where exactly one person is armed -- a trained and alert security guard whose job is to watch for signs of trouble.

Guns do not scare me -- I spent time in the military, and owned a gun (a rifle) for a while afterwards. What scares me is untrained fools who, consciously or not, are hoping to use their guns.

I know how a gun feels, from personal experience. It makes you think you can deal with any trouble, and makes you want to do so. It is a very common and very human emotion, and I think there is evolutionary reason for it -- there was time when the desire to confront and defeat the "not-us" was a survival trait. It is not any more.
 
Mark6 said:
US: Highest rate of private gun ownership in Western World*

Intentional homicide rate is 5.0 per 100,000

Japan: Private gun ownership effectively zero, police are armed

Intentional homicide rate is 0.5 per 100,000

Need I say more?

* Yes, I know that in Switzerland civilian gun ownership is even higher. But these guns are issued by Swiss government, their owners must undergo regular training, and the government always know where these guns are. They are more "on loan from the government" than "privately owned".
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Yeah, you need to say a lot more. How does this follow from what I'm assuming your argument is?
 
Mark6 said:
Yes, I prefer to eat in a restaurant in the middle of a polity where nobody is armed. Failing that, I prefer to eat in a restaurant where exactly one person is armed -- a trained and alert security guard whose job is to watch for signs of trouble.

Guns do not scare me -- I spent time in the military, and owned a gun (a rifle) for a while afterwards. What scares me is untrained fools who, consciously or not, are hoping to use their guns.

I know how a gun feels, from personal experience. It makes you think you can deal with any trouble, and makes you want to do so. It is a very common and very human emotion, and I think there is evolutionary reason for it -- there was time when the desire to confront and defeat the "not-us" was a survival trait. It is not any more.
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Do you have anything besides anecdotal evidence to support the assertion that individuals are safer if only one person is armed? I addressed the myth of "trained and alert security guards" in the OP.
 
This thread is rife with breaches of the Membership Agreement and is being closed for clean up. As always, do not start other threads on the subject or carry the discussion to other threads in the interim. You'll have to wait until a Mod has time to clean up and re-open this thread.
Replying to this modbox in thread will be off topic  Posted By: LashL
 
This thread is being reopened, but be warned: any further incivility, personalization, off-topic bickering, or other rule breaches will result in infractions and/or suspensions so keep your Membership Agreement in mind before you hit that "submit reply" button.
Replying to this modbox in thread will be off topic  Posted By: LashL
 
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Totovader said:
Do you have anything besides anecdotal evidence to support the assertion that individuals are safer if only one person is armed? I addressed the myth of "trained and alert security guards" in the OP.
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He never made that assertion. Read again what he said. He said it was a "Preference".
 
BenBurch said:
I don't fear guns. I fear the people for whom guns are not a deadly object to be treated with respect and kept locked away except in great need. And because so few gun owners are like that, I would rather nobody was allowed to have them.
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How many of these people do you fear? How many gun owners are like that? Please provide some attempt at demographics rather than tar them all with the 'too few of them', 'all of them' or 'too many of them' brushes.
 
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Totovader said:
Sorry, this was somewhat of a continuation of a bunch of different threads- some of them went off topic. I assumed the audience would come from those.

Essentially, I'm interested in this part: Why is there a massive disparity between what a person carrying a gun means to a proponent of gun control versus a proponent of gun ownership. One looks at that scenario and recoils in fear, the other looks at that scenario and feels relative safety.

I attempted to answer that here.
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To me it's very simple.

I could not under any circumstance pull the trigger and kill someone. No matter what. I would rather die than take someone's life.

People who own guns obviously don't feel that way and it is a completely alien way of thinking to me.

Not to be intentionally insulting or trolling, but to me they are obviously mentally deranged for wanting to have a gun. I have no other explanation as a result of how I feel about it.
 
Molinaro said:
Not to be intentionally insulting or trolling, but to me they are obviously mentally deranged for wanting to have a gun. I have no other explanation as a result of how I feel about it.
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You're entitled to your opinion. I've owned a few pieces of historical interest, one dated to 1851. I also like target shooting.
 
Molinaro said:
To me it's very simple.

I could not under any circumstance pull the trigger and kill someone. No matter what. I would rather die than take someone's life.

People who own guns obviously don't feel that way and it is a completely alien way of thinking to me.

Not to be intentionally insulting or trolling, but to me they are obviously mentally deranged for wanting to have a gun. I have no other explanation as a result of how I feel about it.
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What? You don't think there are Gun Owners out there who would be loathe to shoot someone? Do you think all Gun Owners would be just fine blowing someone away?

It doesn't work like that. See...I can't prove it...but I believe that the Human Psyche was made to feel pain when killing takes place - a lot of pain. I believe this is a survival mechanism.

Any time someone is shot and killed it's a tragedy for everyone involved. A Tragedy that is not soon forgotten. A Tragedy that will haunt the survivor.

And then there will be the legal aspect. Even in a clean shoot, it's going to be expensive, possibly bankrupting. If there is any question whatsoever that it was not a clean shoot...then expect bankruptcy as naturally as the sun rising...and possibly worse.

There are many stories of people pulling their gun out and whacking a so-called bad Guy....who probably was an ******** to say the least. Never the less, in most cases I believe a gun was probably not the best answer - and the people who pulled that gun and made the shot are paying dearly for it. As a result, a strong warning is sent to other Gun Owners.

The best a shooter can do in an emergency is to make damed sure there were no other reasonable alternatives before they drop the hammer...and perhaps this fact may help assuage their consciousness somewhat in the years to come. It will certainly reduce the legal bills. Outside of an Emergency, the Gun owner can take many precautions to insure such a tragic event does not come to pass.
 
Any time someone is shot and killed it's a tragedy for everyone involved. A Tragedy that is not soon forgotten. A Tragedy that will haunt the survivor.
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Are you saying that everyone who kills another human feels remorse?
 
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