Here is a reason to own a gun

[Ali G. 37]

you continue to ignore the fact that europe does not have 15 million illegal mexican and central americans in country, and that the violent crime rate is largely a product of their presence. you ignore the FBI UCS documented evidence that hispanics are 18 times as likely to commit violent crime as whites.

wanna dramatically reduce violent crime in the USA? deport all hispanic males 17-35.

I don't ignore that fact at all. Actually the ratio of murders by black Americans is currently at 1:8 versus Caucasians. Unfortunately since people will cry racism if we take guns away from the demographic responsible for a large portion of crimes, all guns need to be restricted.

That is not the point though. The reality is that year after year, the United Sates homicide rate proves that owning a gun does not correlate into a safer society. No other way to cut it or bend the facts.

[Ali G. 37]

As to all the gun nuts that want me to be a victim of violent crime just so you can have your 'gotcha' moment, despite the fact that the possibility of that is far less than my getting run over or involved in a car accident, I'll make sure the last thing I think before I die is how right you were.

Interesting thing is that 12% of homicide victims in the United States were killed by strangers. Some may even advocate we all have a finger on the trigger ready to fire. Unfortunately, if someone known to you intends to harm you, they too will have their finger on the trigger ready to kill. Maybe some folks here sleep with their eyes open.

[Ali G. 37]

There is no such thing as " avoid getting yourself into a dangerous situation".

If you're in public (anywhere, anytime), you could be in a dangerous situation.

Scenario 1:

Three people approach you yielding a gun each. What's the chance that you kill them all? What's the chance that you can get away? I'll answer for you - a big fat ZERO. What happens if another person has a rifle or a weapon used by a sniper? Are you guys still going to defend yourselves? Good luck with that one.

Scenario 2:

Three people approach you yielding a knife, as guns are heavily restricted. What chance do you have to get away? Even if you end up stabbed or with a few cuts - quite a reasonable chance actually. Cannot exactly stab someone further than four feet. How far away can someone be yet still be within range to be shoot and killed?

The second Scenario is why every other first world country has a significantly lower homicide rate.

Edited March 22, 2010 by Ali G.

[Ban Hammer 13,408]

Scenario 1:

Three people approach you yielding a gun. What's the chance that you kill them all? What's the chance that you can get away? I'll answer for you - a big fat ZERO. What happens if another person has a riffle or a sniper? Are you guys still going to defend yourselves? Good luck with that one.

Scenario 2:

Three people approach you yielding a knife, as guns are heavily restricted. What chance do you have to get away? Even if you end up stabbed or with a few cuts - quite a reasonable chance actually. Cannot exactly stab someone further than four feet. How far away can someone be yet still be within range to be shoot and killed?

The second Scenario is why every other first world country has a significantly lower homicide rate.

if they are yielding, they are giving way....

i'm also not sure how 3 people can hold a gun or knife at the same time, but hey, it's your fantasy, run with it.

[Ali G. 37]

if they are yielding, they are giving way....

i'm also not sure how 3 people can hold a gun or knife at the same time, but hey, it's your fantasy, run with it.

Each Charles..

[Ban Hammer 13,408]

Each Charles..

i quoted it before you edited

[CDAgirlMI 51]

Do you plan every outing as if it might be your last? That just tells me you suffer from paranoia.

Nowhere in my comment did I say I was afraid.

Have you never heard of being "Streetwise"?

Being "streetwise" doesn't prevent anything. It makes you aware, but it doesn't prevent people confronting you.

[Peikko 1,575]

Nowhere in my comment did I say I was afraid.

Being "streetwise" doesn't prevent anything. It makes you aware, but it doesn't prevent people confronting you.

Clearly you are, because you need to take a gun out with you to feel safe. I feel quite safe engaging in all kinds of public activities without the need for a gun and, somewhat surprisingly, I have survived all this dangerous activity without coming to any harm for quite some years now. That doesn't mean I am going to go out and buying lottery ticket because I am the luckiest person alive, that simply means I know what actions to take that realistically mitigate against possible harm, and what actions are just playing to the slimmest of what if's.

Life will end, if I am lucky it will end in a way that causes the least possible distress, if I am unlucky I will suffer. I can take care to try to avoid reasonable perils, for example, if I smoked, I would be far more likely to die of lung cancer or thrombosis or stroke than if I don't smoke. I don't smoke. Even though I don't smoke I am still more likely to die of those diseases than at the hands of a random stranger intent on gunning me down in the pursuit of some crime.

Edited March 22, 2010 by Madame Cleo

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Being "streetwise" doesn't prevent anything. It makes you aware, but it doesn't prevent people confronting you.

It makes you aware to the point that you can reasonably avoid taking unnecessary risks. But I am sure, on some level, that everyone accepts that $hit can happen.

[CDAgirlMI 51]

Clearly you are, because you need to take a gun out with you to feel safe. I feel quite safe engaging in all kinds of public activities without the need for a gun and, somewhat surprisingly, I have survived all this dangerous activity without coming to any harm for quite some years now. That doesn't mean I am going to go out and buying lottery ticket because I am the luckiest person alive, that simply means I know what actions to take that realistically mitigate against possible harm, and what actions are just playing to the slimmest of what if's.

Being scared & being prepared are 2 different things.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Being scared & being prepared are 2 different things.

Against an eventuality that is overwhelmingly unlikely to take place, I'm sure you believe that.

[Ban Hammer 13,408]

Against an eventuality that is overwhelmingly unlikely to take place, I'm sure you believe that.

kinda like having a tornado hit one's house. but we have a storm room just the same.

[Peikko 1,575]

Being scared & being prepared are 2 different things.

Prepared? Do you take your gun to the bank when you go? To the store? Do you take a gun out jogging? On your bicycle? Out swimming? Or, do you simply not engage in some activities because you can't take your gun with you? I am prepared for all reasonable eventualities, for the rest, well, I might get run over by a bus, I might get hit by lightening, I might die in an earthquake, but I can't possibly mitigate against all possible eventualities and having a gun really does not significantly reduce my chances of staying healthy and alive. Not smoking, or reducing the amount of salt I eat, or ensuring I don't drink too much or taking first aid courses actually does.

Edited March 22, 2010 by Madame Cleo

[Peikko 1,575]

kinda like having a tornado hit one's house. but we have a storm room just the same.

If you live in the tornado belt the risk of that eventuality is either realistically significant, in which case you are taking a reasonable precaution, or it's not, and you have bought into a similar type of fear mongering. The reality of my being saved from some harm because I carry a gun is infinitesimally small. Go figure why I can't be bothered with it.

[Peikko 1,575]

When and if I have time for a new hobby, I'll consider shooting. Until then, you are not doing me any favours by having guns in your home and I don't respect you because you have them, capiche?