I read the news today oh boy! Page 309

Quote: Nat Wicks @ January 15 2011, 4:36 PM GMT

I think that's really telling and rather sad that you say you would RATHER cause a fatality through shooting. Until this point you've maintained that the guns were for protection, but never said that you would shoot with the intention of killing.

View original

What I'd RATHER happen would be for nobody to break into my house, but if they do I'm not going to bet my life on them being beer buddies like Kenneth's intruders instead of budding Charles Mansons. If they run away at the sound of the slide on my pistol being racked then good for them, but if they confront me I'm going to shoot to kill.

I'm trained in the use of firearms and there is not an instructor on the planet who would train someone to shoot to wound. You always shoot to kill. There are 3 simple rules:

Don't carry a firearm unless you intend to use it.
Don't point a firearm at something unless you intend to kill it.
Don't stop shooting until the threat is neutralized.

Quote: Matthew Stott @ January 15 2011, 4:37 PM GMT

What if a rope net scoops them up, so they're not killed or injured, but are merely made secure whilst you call the police? Obviously, as they hung in the net, swinging from side to side, you could jab at them with a stick, hard enough to leave a bruise but not penetrate flesh.

View original

Illegal, I'm afraid, but it sounds like a lot of fun.

Lovely way to live your life. :/

I'm shocked to the point of disgust.

Quote: zooo @ January 15 2011, 4:53 PM GMT

Lovely way to live your life. :/

View original

It's not as if I spend all my time thinking about stuff like this. There's a pistol in a locked case in my bedroom. If someone kicks down my door in the middle of the night I'll call the cops, grab the pistol and shoot the intruder if he threatens me. It's simple self-protection.

Quote: Nat Wicks @ January 15 2011, 5:00 PM GMT

I'm shocked to the point of disgust.

View original

You've watched too many movies if you think you can just shoot a weapon out of a guys hand or give him a flesh wound in his little toe and defuse the situation. That's not how things work.

This is how things go down in the real world: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXem0mACyAU

It's really quite shocking that you would naturally assume a burglar would be carrying a gun. I imagine that scenario would be VERY rare in the UK. That's because there are far, far less guns in this country than there are in yours. Which in my opinion is a valid argument for banning them.

But yes, if I lived in the US, I'd get a gun too. But only because every Tom, Dick and Dirty Harry has a bloody great hand-cannon nestling 'neath their pillow. It's shocking to us Brits because the majority of us can't imagine living in a country where we'd have to own a gun to feel safe. It's just...wrong.

Quote: Lee Henman @ January 15 2011, 5:51 PM GMT

It's really quite shocking that you would naturally assume a burglar would be carrying a gun.

View original

I've said this several times already, but I'll say it again: I don't assume that any burglar has a gun. I do assume that he realizes that I might be armed yet he still decided to kick in my door. I also assume that he probably has a prior criminal record and knows that he may spend life in prison for breaking into my house. I also assume that there is more than one intruder and they are likely to be young, stronger and more violent than myself. Then I remember that there are rapists and psycho killers on the streets and decide that I'd rather protect myself and my son than risk being injured or killed by them. If there's any threat to our safety I will do whatever it takes to defend us. It's quite simple, really.

Quote: Lee Henman @ January 15 2011, 5:51 PM GMT

But yes, if I lived in the US, I'd get a gun too. But only because every Tom, Dick and Dirty Harry has a bloody great hand-cannon nestling 'neath their pillow. It's shocking to us Brits because the majority of us can't imagine living in a country where we'd have to own a gun to feel safe. It's just...wrong.

View original

Only 25% of American adults own a firearm. They don't own them to be safe, they own them so that they have an option in the event of a violent threat to their safety. Nobody is cowering under the sheets, they just want something to turn to in the event of a worst case scenario. It's not much different than keeping a fire extinguisher in the kitchen: you'll probably never use it but it's invaluable in certain situations.

I'm fairly certain that you wouldn't mind having access to a gun if three knife-wielding thugs kicked down your bedroom door and announced their intention to rape and murder your wife. That's the kind of situation I'm talking about.

Quote: DaButt @ January 15 2011, 6:11 PM GMT

I'm fairly certain that you wouldn't mind having access to a gun if three knife-wielding thugs kicked down your bedroom door and announced their intention to rape and murder your wife. That's the kind of situation I'm talking about.

View original

Again, something I'm constantly worrying about.

Quote: Schwen @ January 15 2011, 6:17 PM GMT

Again, something I'm constantly worrying about.

View original

From the last 24-hour news cycle:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-12191939

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-12192305

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bradford-west-yorkshire-12198666

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-12194851

It's sometimes advised that you're best NOT to take a knife if you think you hear somebody in the house because they might snatch the knife and turn it on YOU. So the gun could provoke the burglar to use his if he has one, and what if he's a better shot?

Well the top three are all occasions which happened out of someones' home, and the fourth is a conflict between two people who knew each other. Hardly the best examples of a murderous rapist entering someones' home, are they?

Quote: keewik @ January 15 2011, 6:24 PM GMT

It's sometimes advised that you're best NOT to take a knife if you think you hear somebody in the house because they might snatch the knife and turn it on YOU.

View original

Yes, more people are injured with their own knives than by other peoples'. I'd be interested to see a statistic relating to gun-ownership.

Da Butt, you said "I waited until my kids were grown before I bought one". What was the thinking there? Why was that a factor?

Quote: Nat Wicks @ January 15 2011, 6:25 PM GMT

Well the top three are all occasions which happened out of someones' home, and the fourth is a conflict between two people who knew each other. Hardly the best examples of a murderous rapist entering someones' home, are they?

View original

Rapes and stabbings are rapes and stabbings and they happen everywhere, even in the UK. I can legally carry a weapon to protect myself from such crimes and you can't. That's my only point.

Quote: keewik @ January 15 2011, 6:26 PM GMT

Da Butt, you said "I waited until my kids were grown before I bought one". What was the thinking there? Why was that a factor?

View original

Well, I suppose because there's always the chance a small child may find it somehow, even if well hidden and secure, and end up shooting their own face off!

If you have a gun in your house you do granted have a better chance of fending off a burglar

and DaButt you sound like a most responsible firearms owner

problem is you have exponentially increased your chance of impulse suicide or murder

both more likely than being burgled