WHO IN HERE, OWN'S A FIREARM?

[V. Barbarino]

gun owners come up with unrealistic senerios to justify owning a gun...

a bunch of ifs ... thats about it...

[Guest saintjohn]

gun owners come up with unrealistic senerios to justify owning a gun.

the same "unrealistic scenarios" you've come up with to justify owning a louisville slugger?

seriously, i don't have to come up with scenarios - they've come up on me. in broad daylight. when i was minding my own business.

your experiences are different from mine, and we've drawn different conclusions from our respective lives.

[Guest klit]

Good security system, martial arts, and whatever else is just not enough sometimes. If somebody enters my property with a gun I'm assuming he intends to use it and in that case I'd much rather have one of my own to defend myself. Like s.john said we all have our different experiences which lead to our views on this, where I'm from you don't want to drive without something on you let alone have something at your home on top of having a security system. Of course though this is assuming you know that when it comes to it you will be able to use it and not panic in a dangerous situation or else you've just endangered your life that much more. So guns are not for "pussies" by far, but if a "pussy" has one then yeah will probably do him more harm then good.

[Guest slamminshaun]

cite all the studies you want, even the news reports you are more likey to be killed with your own gun...

Didn't the news report on election day that John Kerry was going to be the next President? The media is liberal, thus, anti-gun. They'll report the news however it best suits their political interests.

[Guest swirlundergrounder]

And you call me the homicidal maniac?

i did not call you a "homicidal maniac."

what we have here is a failure to communicate.

in your previous post, you stated:

I wanted to shoot at a car driving by my apartment with a loud system while I was trying to sleep

if that's not homicide, such an act would at least be manslaughter, although maybe a hotshot defense attorney could work out a reckless endangerment plea if you had no prior history of violence.

you also classified that desire as a "small temptation" - your words, not mine. i described your "small temptation" as an urge.

"shoot at a car driving by my apartment" = homicide

"small temptation" = urge

of course, you resisted the "small temptation" to shoot at another human being who posed no threat to you, therefore you are not a "homicidal maniac."

again, i never said you were.

you did state, however, that you felt, on multiple occasions, the "small temptation" to "pull (a gun) on someone who cut (you) off on the freeway" and "shoot at a car driving by (your) apartment."

if you meant what you typed, and i have no reason to suspect otherwise, you were tempted - to some degree - to fire a gun in the direction of a person or persons who did not pose an immediate, otherwise unavoidable lethal threat to you or any other innocent person.

if you weren't worried about someday giving into that "small temptation," why make such a big deal about getting rid of your gun?

look, i think it's admirable that you carefully assessed your reactions to people cutting you off on the freeway and cars driving by your apartment with loud stereos while you're trying to sleep and decided, out of an abundance of caution, to get rid of a gun that you might - just might - use inappropriately. that takes a degree of self-awareness and maturity that not enough people possess.

good for you.

I never made a big deal about getting rid of my gun. It was something that I just out-grew over time. At the time I had it as a registered and legal gun owner with no criminal record or past, I felt more insecure and scared at the time. I carried it less and less and less, then it ended up in a gun box in my closet, the eventually I kept it a my parents house and then eventually sold it to a pawn shop. It wasn't like I was in dire need to get rid of it because I felt that I was going to pull it out on someone. It was never as if I pulled my gun out of my holster while I thought about shooting someone who cut me off on the freeway or whatever.

The bottom line is all gun owners have these whimsical thoughts, even you my dear Saint..But perhaps you're just to peaceful to admit it. But right now that's a moot point.

People who own a gun live in fear, some kind of fear in different degrees and that's the bottom line. I lived or still live in some kind of degree of fear and so do you. Everyone does. Can you admit to that? Is that not a fair assesment? So in feeling whatever degree of fear you now feel as a gun owner you have never imagined using it at some point in time not even the slightest? I can't believe that. Basically if you have no fear then you own a gun 'just to own a gun'. Isn't that senseless? Isn't owning a gun for a sensless reason a danger in even the slightest degree?

[Guest pod]

Security systems are nothing more than high priced noisemakers. Even if they automatically notify the cops, there's still the response time to worry about, by which moment the invader could have moved in on you.

As for living in fear, a gun won't offset that...I see a firearm as being an "if all else fails" method of personal and home defense. Sure there's times where you imagine, "man, I would love to just wax that stupid crackhead bugging me for change...", but if you are a responsible person, it remains just a fantasy. Now if said crackhead makes a move on you, destroy him.

[Guest saintjohn]

It wasn't like I was in dire need to get rid of it because I felt that I was going to pull it out on someone. It was never as if I pulled my gun out of my holster while I thought about shooting someone who cut me off on the freeway or whatever.

thanks for the clarification.

as for the rest of your post, i think we're starting to argue over semantics.

i'm aware of potential threats, and i'm prepared to respond appropriately. you say i live in fear.

i've got smoke detectors and fire extinguishers in my house. i fasten my seatbelt before i drive anywhere. i have a first aid kit in my vehicle. for me, a firearm is just another tool for dealing with certain emergencies. if that's "living in fear" to you, then too bad. i call it being prepared.

condition yellow. learn it, live it.

[Guest slamminshaun]

I do not own a firearm at this time, but as a homeowner, do plan to in the next month or so.

[Guest swirlundergrounder]

I do not own a firearm at this time, but as a homeowner, do plan to in the next month or so.

I bet you're going to get a big gun..even a rifle with a scope maybe, to hang up in the back of your truck along with your yellow street sign that says "GOP on board"...LOL....I'm just kidding man!!!!! ;D

[Guest swirlundergrounder]

It wasn't like I was in dire need to get rid of it because I felt that I was going to pull it out on someone. It was never as if I pulled my gun out of my holster while I thought about shooting someone who cut me off on the freeway or whatever.

thanks for the clarification.

as for the rest of your post, i think we're starting to argue over semantics.

i'm aware of potential threats, and i'm prepared to respond appropriately. you say i live in fear.

i've got smoke detectors and fire extinguishers in my house. i fasten my seatbelt before i drive anywhere. i have a first aid kit in my vehicle. for me, a firearm is just another tool for dealing with certain emergencies. if that's "living in fear" to you, then too bad. i call it being prepared.

condition yellow. learn it, live it.

You're probably right about us starting to argue over semantics. Don't get me wrong. I don't think you're a bad person because you own a gun. We obviously have different reasons why we either own one or not at this time.

[Guest saintjohn]

Don't get me wrong. I don't think you're a bad person because you own a gun.

thanks. i was starting to wonder.

j/k.

We obviously have different reasons why we either own one or not at this time.

and those reasons seem, well, reasonable. to each his own, then? it's friday night - let's agree to disagree (to a degree) and go have some fun.

thanks, again, for clarifying your views on the subject.

[tgibson]

All this talk about "stats" and "self defense"?

All the while, no talk about numchuks and ninjas?

This thread is whack.

[Guest pod]

Umm martial arts takes years to master to the point of not needing a weapon. Most people I know don't have the time to do that.

If you can take down an invader bare-handed, whether he be armed or not, good for you. For the rest of us, there's Glock.

I hope that this thread at least proves that not all firearm owners are lunatics.

[Guest saintjohn]

All the while, no talk about numchuks and ninjas?

you want talk about ninjas?

from realultimatepower.net:

Facts:

1. Ninjas are mammals.

2. Ninjas fight ALL the time.

3. The purpose of the ninja is to flip out and kill people.

Ninjas can kill anyone they want! Ninjas cut off heads ALL the time and don't even think twice about it. These guys are so crazy and awesome that they flip out ALL the time. I heard that there was this ninja who was eating at a diner. And when some dude dropped a spoon the ninja killed the whole town. My friend Mark said that he saw a ninja totally uppercut some kid just because the kid opened a window.

And that's what I call REAL Ultimate Power!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you don't believe that ninjas have REAL Ultimate Power you better get a life right now or they will chop your head off!!! It's an easy choice, if you ask me.

Q and A:.

Q: Why is everyone so obsessed about ninjas?

A: Ninjas are the ultimate paradox. On the one hand they don't give a crap, but on the other hand, ninjas are very careful and precise.

Q: I heard that ninjas are always cruel or mean. What's their problem?

A: Whoever told you that is a total liar. Just like other mammals, ninjas can be mean OR totally awesome.

Q: What do ninjas do when they're not cutting off heads or flipping out?

A: Most of their free time is spent flying, but sometime they stab. (Ask Mark if you don't believe me.)

http://www.realultimatepower.net/index3.htm

[tgibson]

Umm martial arts takes years to master to the point of not needing a weapon. Most people I know don't have the time to do that.

Unless you are gifted with the way of the ninja.

Then it's immediate.