Related Information to Having A Gun In The House

Having A Gun In The House

To Have A Gun or Not To Have A Gun

More and more children are dying every year from firearms. Homeowners have guns in the house for different reasons. Some have them for protection or some are just gun collector's. What are your thoughts on having a gun in the house for protection ?

Image from MorgueFile public domain.

House The Gun Having

I fully intend to take instruction on the use of firearms, and purchase a gun for home protection in the near future. I've been putting it off for some time, but it will happen within the next year. The world is going to get much, much worse before it gets better. I plan to protect my family in any way I can.

The news reports of so many children dying each year from gunshot wounds from their parent's guns is just fodder for the anti-gun agenda, and in my opinion is more a commentary on irresponsible and negligent parenting than gun ownership. If TPTB can convince you that a gun, in and of itself, is evil and dangerous enough that you won't want to own one, then they have effectively disarmed you.

Responsible ownership of a gun means that you keep it in a safe place, you teach your children -- when they are old enough to understand it -- the safe handling of, and respect for, guns in the home. Until that time, you store that weapon where kids can't access it. I don't intend that my daughter will be aware of its presence until she's old enough that I can teach her about it.

Before civilization became so "civilized," very young children on homesteads around the country knew how to handle the family shotgun for protection from strangers and predators when the parents had gone into town. Now, most grown men and women are very nervous about handling guns, even unloaded. Because that's what we're *taught.*

In my opinion, of course.
Roz

Having A Gun In The House History & Civil Business Politics

Now this may take some length to go into....

Firstly, the figures are very deceptive:

Gun-control advocates often include "children" of anywhere up to 21 years of age; many of these are killed in drug- and crime-related incidents - either by gangs or by the police.

As of AD 2000, the daily death rate for children 14 yrs and under was 2.6, for children 10 and under, it's 0.4 per day.

Gun-control advocates often cite around 11 (or as high as 17) children killed by gunshot per day. Utterly misleading.

The fact is that such fatalities have *dropped* since such figures began to be recorded in 1903.

Just to put this in some perspective:

1995 causes of death among children aged 14 and under in the US, include...

car crashes: 2900
drowning: 950
burns: 1000
gunshot wounds: 200

Secondly...

Now, how many children die every year because they do *not* have access to firearms?
The press is not so quick to report such things.

The reality is that children are safer with firearms than without them, that accidents are rare, and that responsible parents are far superior to governments and lobbying groups which are putting more and more people (including children) in greater danger every year - directly and indirectly.

Consider these two effects of keeping firearms our of sight of children:

1. Children cannot defend themselves against criminals who may break in when their parents are unable for whatever reason to do so (there have been some very tragic examples of this, which perhaps more than anything else shows the utter evil of those forces trying to strip people of the God-given to keep and bear arms).

2. Children grow up not knowing about and being trained in weapons as much as they should and become soft targets for crime and for being killed in time of war. We do not live in paradise (yet), we must be prepared - not in some zealous way, but in a common-sense way (and that includes being taught how to defend yourself from a young age).


Then consider all the effects on society generally if adults are untrained or do not possess firearms (whether through lack of familiarity or unjust laws banning the same).

Statistically and by way of principle, the gun-control advocates have no foundation for their claims.



Dubhdara.

House The Gun Having

Wow, thanks for the statistical viewpoint dubhdara. It really puts everything into persepctive. I am of the notion that owning a gun may become a necessity with the amount of crime in the world today. If I were to own a gun in the near future, I would go to great lengths to make it as inaccessible to my kids as I could, and also educate them when they were of the right age. I have not heard of many accidental gun-related deaths of children recently and wont fault anyone who decides to keep a gun in their house, so long as they make an effort to protect their children from it.

House The Gun Having

I am currently in the process of getting my concealed weapon permit here in Utah. My neighborhood is not the best, and I don't like feeling nervous about going for a walk with my children. No matter what neighborhood you live in, the criminals can get to you if you let them, and I choose not to let them get me without a fight. In this society, I would guess that most criminals don't try to mug you with a bat, or stick, I know if roles were switched, I would use a gun. Therefore, I choose not to bring a knife to a gunfight. Now, this is a little more dramatized than needed, but I'm not going to let the anti-gun folks out there tell me that my right to bear arms isn't meant for today, that it was meant for people that actually used guns for protection. It's a bunch of bull to me, I will be carrying everywhere I can. I am an active supporter of gun carrying, as long as it is done in a safe manner, and given the respect it deserves. Even carrying a gun legally, the laws are not on my side. Drawing my weapon is the very last option I will use (just so you don't think I'm going to run around town drawing my gun )

My daughters will be taught how to shoot my guns, starting at a young age, and when appropriate, I will show them where they are stored, for their protection as well. They will attend all the gun safety classes offered, as well as when they are at an appropriate age, they will own a gun if they want to. If someone chooses to attack my family in my home, or elsewhere, they will be surprised to find us all prepared.

Having A Gun In The House

Must of us in Canada simple can't understand why Americans are so attached to their fire arms and what are you protecting yourself against, yourself?, invaders? Is it really that bad in the great USA that must arm yourself???? Are not the days of the far west over??

I sure hope this is not one part of your culture to you intend to export to peace loving countries.

Having Gun The House

MrB, it would seem you have more to say about the culture of people in the US than the topic at hand, which is gun safety in the home. I find it difficult to believe there is no crime in Canada or that no one there has guns in their homes. Plus, guns are not only used for protection, they are also used for hunting, collecting and sports.

No, some people choose to protect themselves from criminals and intruders. I would like to see someone attempt to invade the US and see how far they get.

I dont think any mention was made in this post about imposing gun laws on other countries, and I havent heard of any ammendments being made to the constitution to enforce gun use.
We understand your position on US foreign policies, if that was what was implied by your comments, please let us know if you agree/disagree with having guns in the home for personal protection.

Having Gun The House Politics Business Civil & History

I believe:

1. All guns except those used for sports/collections should be banned from public use;
2. There should be a zero tolerance when guns are involved in committing a crime ie; mandatory minimum and/or greater sentences;
3. Guns should not be in the home, if they are, they should be under lock and key;
4. No hunter should be allowed to use his/her gun unless he/she follows some type of gun safety course;
5 That under NO circumstance should automatic riffles/guns be made available to the general public. The simple possession of such a firearm should be illegal
6. That the right to bare arms is terrible in a civilized society and should be scratched from the books

We do not have the crime rate the US as and it is very difficult to talk about fire arms in a USA context without refering to US culture. Sorry for that.

My opinion is only one of many points of view on the subject shared by Canadians. I'm sure the majority of people from our western provinces would not agree with my views and that OK it's called democracy.

P.S. where is the spell check?. My English is not the best so it is of great help

Edited: MrB on 11th Jun, 2004 - 12:07am