Could have been your mom, home alone.

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: GearheadTool
Originally Posted By: simple_gifts
A lot of people die in house fires; I guess I should carry an extinquisher around my home.


I am still waiting for the ban on sports cars, since they make it so easy for people to speed, endanger lives, and violate the law. You could even KILL somebody with one, too!


That is a ridiculous argument, and I made the points why in the other thread. Have a read, as Ill not paste it here.

 

[greenjp]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
That is a ridiculous argument, and I made the points why in the other thread. Have a read, as Ill not paste it here.

I'm actually a pretty strong supporter of gun ownership rights, but I hate reading the arguments of the true believers. They're generally idiotic and I don't like being associated with them.

jeff

 

[clarkflower]

I read an editorial from an ex commissioner of police in Baltimore and wrote:

Mr Bealefeld,

I am a democrat but I would like to start gun control with the felons who so freely walk around our city streets everyday shooting up the neighborhoods.
How about 25 years no parole for any prior felon caught with a gun.

Tonight in the same paper as your story I read about 4 shooting. I would bet they are all prior felons and for this man it's his second time:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/blog/[censored]-md-ar-glen-murder-homicide-20121230,0,6034964.story
a prosecutor argued that the incident for which he was convicted was the second time in 10 years that Gough used a gun to take out his rage on others over a fairly minor dispute.

We have 8,000 people killed every year by hand guns. 8,000! The vast majority of which are committed by prior felons.
Who is screaming about that?

How many times do I have to read a murder story and see the killer was just released from prison after serving 8 years for a murder in____

Newtown was tragic, make no mistake but lets go after the 8,000 elephants in the room instead of the mouse that runs through every once in a while.

He wrote me back and his words are sad and correct:

I do not disagree with you. When I was commissioner of police in Baltimore I advocated for tougher sentencing for gun offenders and drew opposition from my view that illegal gun possession is a crime of violence. Unfortunately the sentencing of these dangerous people falls short of what either you or I would like to see. A key component in this regard is the sentencing records of judges in Baltimore City- and when they send you the stats be sure to read the fine print on what time is suspended and what the actual jail terms are. Happy new year.



FHB

 

[clarkflower]

Originally Posted By: greenjp
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
That is a ridiculous argument, and I made the points why in the other thread. Have a read, as Ill not paste it here.

I'm actually a pretty strong supporter of gun ownership rights, but I hate reading the arguments of the true believers. They're generally idiotic and I don't like being associated with them.

jeff


yep- some get as stupid as the other side

 

[clarkflower]

Originally Posted By: rjundi
Do you folks with children use trigger locks on the weapons at home? I think that is what fears me most.

Not sure if it happens often but I know two (now messed up) people who killed their friends as children playing with a gun.


I had my children shoot my small 32 at about 5-6 years old so they would feel the huge boom to know that it's not a toy or "fun"
So they would know it's real and not like on TV.

I always keep my guns in a safe but there are plenty of idiots out there who keep their guns in a nightstand. If my children happen to be at their house and another child plays with a gun I wanted my kids to know they had to get away, that it's real and bad.

 

[clarkflower]

Originally Posted By: Darren270
Quote:
Agreed. I've never felt the need to cower behind a gun.


I always love these posts. Yes, we gun owners "cower" behind our guns, living in mortal fear. The irony of course is that when something bad does happen, who do you call? People with guns...

Quote:
Why would anyone be foolish enough to move to one of the crime ridden areas of the country?


Stop being naive. Not everyone moves to bad towns or to a bad part of a town by choice. Sometimes they don't have a choice and sometimes they're simply born there. Not everyone is born with a silver spoon in their mouth. Or has the luxury of living in an area where leaving your doors unlocked is a very intelligent thing to do.


+1
In a nice waterfront area in NC I was behind a guy in my Surburban.I had two kids in child seats in the car. He though my high beams were on. (but they were not)
At a light he came out with a bat like a madman charging my car.
At about 7 feet he saw the gun pointed at him and stopped dead in his tracks.

We have all seen the case where the EMT was put in a coma for 6 months at the Oakland Raiders game by two unamred prior felons.
This happens all the time. We have raised a generation of thugs. They are all out on parole.
Why should I, a vet with no record have to be at their mercy?
Why should my children

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: clarkflower
Originally Posted By: Darren270
Quote:
Agreed. I've never felt the need to cower behind a gun.


I always love these posts. Yes, we gun owners "cower" behind our guns, living in mortal fear. The irony of course is that when something bad does happen, who do you call? People with guns...

Quote:
Why would anyone be foolish enough to move to one of the crime ridden areas of the country?


Stop being naive. Not everyone moves to bad towns or to a bad part of a town by choice. Sometimes they don't have a choice and sometimes they're simply born there. Not everyone is born with a silver spoon in their mouth. Or has the luxury of living in an area where leaving your doors unlocked is a very intelligent thing to do.


+1
In a nice waterfront area in NC I was behind a guy in my Surburban.I had two kids in child seats in the car. He though my high beams were on. (but they were not)
At a light he came out with a bat like a madman charging my car.
At about 7 feet he saw the gun pointed at him and stopped dead in his tracks.

We have all seen the case where the EMT was put in a coma for 6 months at the Oakland Raiders game by two unamred prior felons.
This happens all the time. We have raised a generation of thugs. They are all out on parole.
Why should I, a vet with no record have to be at their mercy?
Why should my children


Exactly. The simple answer is some of us will not.

My guns are safely locked in a gun safe except for my trusty .45, which is almost always by my side. My wife carries, as well as two of my 3 children.

We do not cower anywhere.

 

[rjundi]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8

We do not cower anywhere.


I don't either and choose not to carry.

 

[carwreck]

Originally Posted By: rjundi
Maybe I am naive.

However I am beyond comfortable living without concealed or usable weapons in my home. I do not lock my house either. Life is good in my area. ...

The mass media seems to completely ignore the daily murders and crimes that are only reported on the local news channels.
You may want to look at the city level instead of just national or state levels to understand how high the crime stats are in some areas.
For example, Bridgeport, CT (20 mi south of Newtown) actually has a higher murder rate than Chicago (murder rate per 100,000), about 20 per 100,000 or 22 per year.
If we leave out the Sandy Hook event, Newtown normally has a zero rate.
For comparison, the rate in Chicago is about 16 per 100,0000 or 500 per year. (Chicago for comparison since it is a well known city, and has very detailed stats online for reference)

[ Disclaimer: external websites cited as data sources that I do not own, maintain, or guarantee accuracy. Data sources:
bridgeport.areaconnect.com/crime/compare.htm?c1=bridgeport&s1=CT&c2=chicago&s2=IL
wtnh.com/generic/news/crime/bridgeport-homicide-map-2012
data.cityofchicago.org/Public-Safety/Crimes-2001-to-present/ijzp-q8t2?
portal.chicagopolice.org/portal/page/portal/ChicagoPolice/GET_INFORMED/Reports%20%20Statistics/Annual%20Reports/2002%20Annual%20Reports/02Crime.pdf ]

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: greenjp
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
That is a ridiculous argument, and I made the points why in the other thread. Have a read, as Ill not paste it here.

I'm actually a pretty strong supporter of gun ownership rights, but I hate reading the arguments of the true believers. They're generally idiotic and I don't like being associated with them.

jeff


Ditto

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: rjundi
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8

We do not cower anywhere.


I don't either and choose not to carry.


Bravo to you, sir. I respect your decision. I certainly will hope you never regret it.

Where I live home invasions are common, and there is very high unemployment and drug use. Plus I work with the public and frequently go alone to vacant houses.

 

[Tempest]

Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit

Why would anyone be foolish enough to move to one of the crime ridden areas of the country?

Many people are already there and they don't have the means to get out. Just because any given person feels safe in their area doesn't mean that another person feels very different in another.

 

[clarkflower]

Originally Posted By: Tempest
Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit

Why would anyone be foolish enough to move to one of the crime ridden areas of the country?

Many people are already there and they don't have the means to get out. Just because any given person feels safe in their area doesn't mean that another person feels very different in another.


It's almost funny. I think I'd like to go experience living in Harlem for a year or two.
My uncle worked 2 jobs all his life and his ssi income was about 800 ssi. He put two kids through school`and had no savings

 

[wtd]

A gun is not the ultimate solution but just one other option to have when someone bad comes your way. I view a gun just like I view any other type of equipment and treat it like any other object that can be dangerous.

If someone breaks into your house while you are there armed with a gun, don't you want to at least be on an even playing field. If you are relying on the cops to come save your butt, it's probably not going to happen. Here is a good example from my area.

A couple of years ago, an elderly woman made a 911 call saying an intruder armed with a knife had broke into their home and the man was attacking her husband. About 15 minutes later the cops showed up and found both the husband and wife dead and the criminal no where to be found and to this day has not been found.

The bottom line is your protection is up to you. The supreme court has also affirmed in many court cases that the police have no duty to protect you as an individual, only to protect society as a whole. In the case I gave above, the cops arrived too late to save the homeowners.

I own a gun because I want to at least have a chance if a bad guy comes my way. Will having a gun ensure that I won't become a victim? No, but at least it places me on a better playing field.

Working in a prison for the past 21+ years gives me the knowledge of the kind of people we have in society that can do you and your family harm. Having a sister murdered also pushes that knowledge home. I don't want to be one of those people you read about in the newspaper on hear about on the news that was harmed by a criminal if I can help it. To each is own.

Wayne

 

[Mystic]

This is a good example of the kind of world we live in today. The intruders could have taken whatever they wanted, without trying to kill the woman. If all they wanted to do was steal, they could have stolen whatever. But they choose to also try to kill and try to kill even without need or any reason.

And then people here come back with sarcastic comments about carrying a fire extinguisher around in case there is a fire (common sense says have fire alarms and one or more fire extinguishers in the house) and how they leave their house unlocked ( not many do that in the modern world). I guess you could leave your house unlocked if you lived in a gated, closed community.

And the woman did call 911. Some might say, just let the police handle it. Well, the police did not come in time to handle it, did they?

You could almost say this is a perfect example of why people need a gun to defend themselves. And yet some people here will still argue that all guns need to be taken away from LAW ABIDING citizens.

 

[wtd]

A lot of people think the world is all roses and sunshine and that bad things only happen to someone else. To these people I say, go to the state of Texas's death row website and read the details about the people on there. Go to my State's and read those. These are only a small sample of the kind of people we have in society and doesn't take into consideration the people that are not on death row that will at some point get out of prison. The majority of incarcerated criminals eventually get out of prison. True, the odds of this happening to someone is probably small but why not have a tool that might prevent this type of thing from happening to you.

I'm sure most of you have heard or read about the Conn. Home invasion that happened some years back where most of the Petit family was murdered. Do you think that family ever thought they would be in the situation they ended up in?

Read about the Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom carjacking and murder. A horrible crime that could happen to anyone.

Read about the Meredith Emerson kidnapping and murder. This too could happen to anyone.

These are just a few examples of many, of People going about their everyday lives when someone decided to make it the worst and last day of their lives. Cases like these are why I own and carry a gun. You just never know.

 

[MinamiKotaro]

Originally Posted By: wtd
Read about the Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom carjacking and murder. A horrible crime that could happen to anyone.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murders_of_Channon_Christian_and_Christopher_Newsom

I'll never forget this. It was not a crime, it was a monstrosity. The creatures that committed it do not deserve to exist. Life imprisonment is too lenient.

It happened in my hometown, and was what pushed me into the pro-gun camp. To those who'd argue that guns always make a bad situation worse, take a look at what happened here. HOW could it possibly have been any worse if Channon and Christopher had been armed?

 

[rjundi]

Originally Posted By: wtd
A lot of people think the world is all roses and sunshine and that bad things only happen to someone else. To these people I say, go to the state of Texas's death row website and read the details about the people on there. Go to my State's and read those. These are only a small sample of the kind of people we have in society and doesn't take into consideration the people that are not on death row that will at some point get out of prison. The majority of incarcerated criminals eventually get out of prison. True, the odds of this happening to someone is probably small but why not have a tool that might prevent this type of thing from happening to you.



Death row in my state has person who happened to kill a cop. The previous person there was 1939. I like my roses and sunshine view better. Chances are quite low anything happening here at least.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: Tempest
Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit

Why would anyone be foolish enough to move to one of the crime ridden areas of the country?

Many people are already there and they don't have the means to get out. Just because any given person feels safe in their area doesn't mean that another person feels very different in another.



Free market, right? Those that dont want to leave are just lazy and not trying hard enough to get themselves into a situation to get out.

 

[wtd]

Originally Posted By: MinamiKotaro
Originally Posted By: wtd
Read about the Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom carjacking and murder. A horrible crime that could happen to anyone.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murders_of_Channon_Christian_and_Christopher_Newsom

I'll never forget this. It was not a crime, it was a monstrosity. The creatures that committed it do not deserve to exist. Life imprisonment is too lenient.

It happened in my hometown, and was what pushed me into the pro-gun camp. To those who'd argue that guns always make a bad situation worse, take a look at what happened here. HOW could it possibly have been any worse if Channon and Christopher had been armed?


That crime has really stuck with me over the years. I followed the trials of everyone involved. I agree that life imprisonment is too good for those animals. They deserve to be tortured to death. I watched all of the court room videos of the trials and I don't know how her dad controlled himself. I don't think I could have.

rjundi,
I'm glad you live in what you think is a rose and sunshine state but I'm sure your state prisons are filled with people like the ones in the cases that I reference above.