I need to go get some nuclear arms, since my right is guarenteed by the constitution.

Whoever said that countries which do not allow their citizens to carry deadly weapons only have higher violence rates should take a look at the European countries that limit the use of guns. Violent crime is almost non-existant there.

People there know how to fight with fists or words, they don't have to blow away everyone that they quarrel with.

I'll have me a handgun as soon as I gets da money 😛

What are you going to use it for?

Peace of mind. If you heard helicopters over your house saying there was an armed suspect on the loose and to stay inside on a routine bases you would probably want one for peace of mind too.

I don't know that I'm necessarily against hand guns.

I hope you're well trained with it though. Statistics show that your chances of being shot and killed during a break in increases substantially when you pull a gun.

Yo bmellis:

"I hope you're well trained with it though. Statistics show that your chances of being shot and killed during a break in increases substantially when you pull a gun."

Tell that to all the women whose homes were broken into and were raped at knife point.

JonR

I would agree with those statistics because most people would hesitate to shoot and thats when you get shot instead.

JonR,

I don't get your point?

Did you somehow invalidate what I said about needing to be trained with guns?

I'm curious though, who are all these women who are raped when their houses are broken into by people with knives?

hmmm......I didn't see any statistics from anybody

Hesitation might be part of the problem, but a criminal will probably have more experience using a gun than someone who has one and had never had to use it.

I can understand the desire to have a gun if an armed criminal is roaming your neighborhood and trying to evade authorities, but I can't understand the desire to shoot someone just because they've broken into your home. Does that really need to be punished with death?

Mo'sMan,

I took what I said from other studies I've seen, but here is one that I found with a google search:

http://www.upenn.edu/researchatpenn/article.php?678&hlt 

Here's another I just found:

http://www.bradycampaign.org/facts/factsheets/?page=home 

I know a lot of people are anti-Brady, but they do list their sources.

shooting someone does not necessarily mean killing them. I have been robbed at gunpoint while working and I can tell you it was obvious he was nervous. I read a police report awhile back about a guy nearby who caught a guy breaking into a house...he said "stop or I will shoot you". The criminal continued so he shot him in the leg to disable him while the police were enroute. However if that criminal had pointed a gun at the man he would probably be dead as he should be. If a gun is pointed at you, especially by a criminal, I would assume he would fire and shoot accordingly. If you break into someones house with a gun your going to get what you asked for.

Do you think it would have been smart for you to try and use a gun when being robbed at gunpoint?

I know that sucks though, my sister was robbed at gun point last year.

In clarification...if you are in a situation like I was at my work it is best to let them rob you and then call the police. As we did. However, if you are at home and have the gun in the nightstand or something and hear someone break in I would think it best to annouce out loud that you are armed and will protect your property as the guy in my previous post did.

The study you referred to first included suicides. It simply doesn't matter what you choose to kill yourself with, you're equally dead. So toss out those figures.

The brady report is from an incredibly biased group.

Yo bmellis:

I did a google search of woman raped at knife point, too numerous to list.

Do a google search, type in "Women in the United States raped at knife point" and see for yourself.

And yes it should be mandatory that anyone who owns a firearm should be properly trained in using said firearm.

JonR

All knives should be taken away!

But making peanut butter sandwiches is going to be a real b!t@h.

(Couldn't help myself).

Mo,

Why are they an "incredibly biased group," and if they are so, does that invalidate their findings and statistics? This board is incredibly biased, and unlike the above quoted group, haven't backed up a single point of issue with fact. Who am I to have faith in?

My son was stabbed at school (if there were no schools this never would have happened?) by a pencil. The same kids sharpened a lollipop stick and stabbed him again the following year. A gun is a tool and can be used for good or bad.

Mo,

I trust those kids have been disciplined. If not, I would ensure they are. I'm sure that you have taken steps, and rightfully so.

On another note (and thank the gods this is just a "note"), had those pencil and popsicle thugs had access to daddy's gun, things might have worked out worse. Let's hope they never do.