CarrieMpls said:

Actually, yeah it would have. She was in her upstairs bedroom when her alarm went off so if she'd had a gun she could have fired at the intruders as they came up the stairs. Even a warning shot would have probably been sufficient to scare them off. But, I'm not trynta convince you.

Again, the purpose of this thread was not to engage in a debate over gun ownership rather to solicit input on the benefits and features of handguns.
[Edited 8/5/08 14:38pm]

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

There's nothing wrong with that and you have to do what's best for YOU.

I am very happy I am living in a country where not everybody is allowed to own guns and even more so after reading this thread. I grew up in a household with a gun for some years and we all were happy when it wasn't there anymore.

SCNDLS said:

and i wouldn't exactly categorize SCNDLS as an uncontrollable hothead who will be a danger to society just because she has a gun.

JasmineFire said:

I couldn't agree more .

Cinnie said:

REGULATOOOOORS!!


MOUNT UP.

Cinnie said:

CarrieMpls said:

Explain.

JasmineFire said:

Ok, and if the owner has a gun, don't you think that evens the odds a bit?

I mean, it's almost as if some of you are saying to just "do nothing and let the criminal have his way".

MuthaFunka said:

no. i'd get him with a bat.

i just don't think guns are safe and i don't think that civilians should own them.

JasmineFire said:

exactly. everyone is more likely to get hurt the more guns there are. I feel safer with less guns around than more guns around. it's pretty simple math, really.

and what did ghandi say? something along the lines of "be the change you want to see". i don't want to perpetuate gun violence. i think there are far better ways to reduce violent crime than to own my own gun. or for anyone to own their own for that matter.

JasmineFire said:

And how many bats have beaten a gun again?

CarrieMpls said:

So, you think the criminal(s) coming through your door - with guns - follow Ghandi? Wow.

MuthaFunka said:

um...i've lived alone for while and no criminals have ever come through my door.

i know several other women who have lived alone and no criminals have ever come through their doors.

i personally know no one who has had a criminal come through their door and every story that i've heard of that happening has been in the paper or from a questionable looking addict on a subway.

I have, however, had classmates injured or killed by unnecessary gun violence. And these guns were owned by their parents, not some criminal coming through their door.

i refuse to keep a gun in my house. it's far too likely to kill me or a member of my family than any criminal coming through my door.

i don't live in fear for my life and i don't have a gun in my house.

JasmineFire said:

That's fine and dadny, but just so you'll know - A bat ain't gonna do a damn thang vs a gun. That was my point. Hopefully, you won't ever have anything like that happen to you, that's the overall issue though. Plus, you don't have to "live in fear" to own a gun.

MuthaFunka said:

chances are better for someone to get hurt accidentally with a gun than for someone to break into your house where you need to defend your life and actually need to use it in some form of self defense.

and if we're talking me personally, I doubt even in that situation I could pull the trigger.

MuthaFunka said:

i wasn't serious with the bat.

and

most criminals who break into your house aren't there to kill you. they're there to take your flatscreen TV or some shit.

and

i believe that living in fear is a part of owning a gun. people act as if nothing bad will ever happen to them because they can just kill "the bad guy" when in reality their gun will probably just be used to take their own life away or the life of someone they love.

there's just no need.
[Edited 8/5/08 17:23pm]

CarrieMpls said:

That's why gun safety/education is a must if people are going to own a gun, especially if there are children around. It's all about education. People fear what they don't know or are accustomed to, and guns is a true example of that.

JasmineFire said:

Whew! Ok, cool. I was about to say!

And criminals are unpredictable, so no one can say what they're prone to do and not do - they're criminals. If they don't any witnesses, you can best believe they're gonna do whatever it takes to NOT have any.

MuthaFunka said:

ok you know people do take those educational courses and deadly accidents still happen! it seems like the more comfortable people are with guns the more likely these accidents are.

MuthaFunka said:

but most criminals who break into your house will run before they kill you. usually.

you're more likely to get shot at or murdered during a mugging or sexual assault outside of your home than in it.

and

women are more likely to get sexually assaulted and murdered by their own husband or boyfriend, just to put that into perspective.

JasmineFire said:

Well, nothing's fool proof. People take driving lessons and they still get into accidents, right? Same with pilots. Same divers and so on and so forth. The best you can do is make sure you're educated-up to the best of your ability.

MuthaFunka said:

true...but the point of a car or a plane is not to kill or miam, while the point of a gun is.

i know this sounds a but strange but i believe that negative energy attracts more negative energy and owning an weapon that sole purpose is to kill is to attract some major negativity.

i just can't see any good coming out of it.

JasmineFire said:

No, I can definitely dig where you're coming from, so it doesn't sound strange.

JasmineFire said:

the person that I'm referring to in my scenario is someone my family knows He runs around my city, beating people up, causing car crashes, doing drugs, terrorizing my family and he gets away with all of it. I don't understand it. It's because the cops never do anything to him that emboldens him to feel like he can terrorize us and the reality is they aren't there to help us. Not for the last 20 years even though we repeatedly call the cops. Sometimes it feels like a gun would be the best solution but I don't ever want to feel backed into that corner. It's a horrible feeling.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

That sounds scary as hell.

Here, there have been a rash of home invasions for the past 3 years done by one gang in particular and several copycat gangs. Their ring has committed these invasions in mostly suburban, upscale neighborhoods across a SIX county area of North Texas. In every case they brutalized the homeowners, even cutting off the ear of an elderly man that I think was a former DA. When he told them he didn't have any cash in the house they made him go to his girlfriend's house, whom they robbed and beat up as well.

One of the ways they'd find victims is to search their vehicle for their home addresses on insurance cards and in some cases make copies of their house keys when folks valeted their cars at the club owned by the ringleader, a club I've been to myself. After they've got your address they can look it up to see, where you live, the value of your home, and if there's more than one person on the mortgage. Then they'd case the house to see who's there and the comings and goings. They did this for 3 years and amassed over $3 million in loot. And although most of the gang has been arrested there are several copycat gangs running the same game. So yeah, I'll sleep much better at night knowing that I have Roscoe to protect me.

MuthaFunka said:

I can dig where you're coming from, too. It's just that owning a gun isn't for me.

purplekitty said:

damn! you people need to move!

JasmineFire said:

OK, realistically this isn't possible. My parents are of modest means. I mean how can the cops pull you over (in front of our house the last time he flipped out on us) and then find drugs in your posession, in your car and you are HIGH and they let you go? This is why whenever I hear about cops being killed and gunned down, I never give a shit and I'm glad it's happened to them. I have no trust of the cops and in my experience there are way more fucked up cops than those doing good.

I mean how sad for my mom to have worked as a single mother to buy that house and to be forced out by some fucking punk. He was shot at last year point blank and all 5 shots missed him. He has the fortune of the devil and more lives than a herd of wild cats. I'm so discouraged by it all....

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Obviously, THIS shooter didn't attend the proper training or else he wouldn't have missed.