What’s The Point of Gun Ownership?
Posted on: March 14, 2013
- In: Life
- 12 Comments
I’ll be straight forward in saying, I don’t own a gun. But I still have opinions about gun ownership. I’m not writing this post to be offensive {or defensive}, but as a means to open up some conversation.
I don’t like guns. I don’t feel comfortable around them {or people openly handling them}. But honestly, I don’t even know how a gun works.
That, my friends, is why I fear them. I believe that a lot of our fears are based on ignorance. We tend to fear what we don’t understand. And so, I fear guns, because I don’t understand them. While I fear them, I am moving forward to understand them. Jonathan has suggested we go to a shooting range {something that frightens me a lot} so that I can see how guns work and perhaps even shoot one.
Even in my ignorance, I stand behind the 2nd amendment to own a gun. I think people should be able to arm themselves, to feel like they can defend their family. But I wonder… what are saying when we have pictures like this floating around the internet ::
I’m not even sure where to begin on my disdain for this photo. The fact that it sexualizes war, or that it’s equating our need to own a semi-automatic rifle to needing toilet paper? Either way, I find it highly disturbing.
And this is where y’all come in.
What is the point of civilians owning a weapon used by the military? I’m not being snarking, I really do want to know. I understand owning handguns and shotguns. But why does someone ever need a semi-automatic weapon? I’ve heard it said that they are for hunting. Really, if you can’t shoot and kill a deer with 30 rounds of ammo, chances are good you shouldn’t be hunting. What’s the true point then? What’s our need for civilian semi-automatic gun ownership?
Let me make this clear – I’m open to conversation and discussion on this matter, because I really do want to better understand this issue. If you choose to comment, keep your comments respectful. I’m not here to argue, so don’t try using my post as a sounding board to be mean. I have a low tolerance for mean people and your comment will be removed.
12 Responses to "What’s The Point of Gun Ownership?"
March 14, 2013 at 6:44 pm
So funny you’d post this. Josh and I were just talking about this exact subject. In my opinion, I think we should be able to own weapons, but I do think everyone is caught up in this subject and forgetting that the constitution was written in an age when firearms were pretty much it when it came to protection. In my opinion, we live in an age where the power no longer lies strictly in firearms, but rather, in technology. Which might sound kind of funny, but really, you can own all the weapons you want, but we live in a digital world now and I honestly think if you have the knowledge, it would only take a few hackers and a whole country could be taken down. Again, these are just my opinions, and I have hardly any knowledge about hackers and the internets and such, but I feel like owning a firearm, while beneficial in certain cases, might not be the most effective means of protection these days. And it does kind of scare me that no one is really mentioning that when it comes to this type of dialog. Whether you’re for owning weapons as a means to protect your country or protect yourself from your government, I think it’s wise for us all to realize that a lot of the attack (should there ever be one) could really come down to being a technological war. I doubt I’m making much sense…I’m also pretty tired. 🙂 Also, I am so, so not having that photo either! I’m curious other’s opinions on this.
March 14, 2013 at 6:50 pm
Ha! I love this reply. Mostly because you and Jonathan think the exact same. He thinks things will come down to a digital war. Which when I first think about doesn’t seem scary, but then when I really start realizing what that means, kinda scares the pants off me.
And the photo. Oh that stupid, stupid photo. Drives me nuts.
March 14, 2013 at 6:56 pm
Seriously, I didn’t really think it was that big of a deal until I started realizing, on a personal level, how much of my life is online and also, our livelihood (Josh’s career is in technology) and then thinking of that only on a national level…gah! And yeah, blerg! that photo. 🙂
Andy White
March 14, 2013 at 7:19 pm
We are already in a digital war. Very little is ever mentioned, but it is constantly happening. It is rumored that many computer viruses that we must contend with are governments attacking one another.
I am a computer tech, and through the last few years I have started to grow my life outside my job. If push comes to shove, I might need to have useful knowledge outside my current field.
If we have no electricity (which has been hacked on a very large scale up north a few years ago), what would I do? Do I sit and starve, or do I thrive as a member of my local community? If money has no value, how do I obtain my needed goods?
Questions I ask myself every day.
March 14, 2013 at 8:40 pm
Face it, the picture was created for effect. My parents live in the country. The police force is the county sheriff’s department. At night there are 4 patrol cars for 815 square miles. Average response time could be 5 minutes or 45. With that said.
2 years ago, I was working in the shop (MIG welding something) when I heard my dog bark in a tone that typically means “hey, wake up” . I flipped up my helmet and saw a big guy, dirty, wearing a stocking cap about 40′ from me and walking real fast towards me. That day, I just happened to be wearing a 9mm on my hip, so when I stepped out of the shop, his eyes went immediately to the pistol. He turned and started running back to the street where a truck raced up and picked him up. He might have been wanting to use the phone, but I doubt it. (I shutter to think what could have happened it that would have been my Dad instead of me.) I called the County and the eventually had a car out there. I didn’t have much of a description or a license plate. I know how to shoot, I have a CHP, I shoot 250+ rounds a month.
I’ve only removed it from a holster once and it probably saved my life. There are bad p”eople who do not care about laws, they know how to survive in jail so that’s no threat, they have nothing to lose and the want things that other people have. First time I ever shot a gun was when I was 5 (BB bun). You are on the right track. First, join the NRA and learn about firearms from a qualified source. Next, take lessons at a range with a qualified instructor using a gun that is comfortable to handle and has a manageable recoil. (if it hurts to shoot, you won’t do it. Get some real good hearing protection devices also!) After that, purchase your own gun and learn everything about it, so in pitch black, you can pick it up, unload/load, cock it, de-cock it without having to think about it.
The first time I really needed to carry a firearm was when I worked as a pharmacy apprentice in Washington Park, Illinois (a suburb of East St. Louis) back in 1982-1984. The store was located in a low income area in a strip center. Next to us was a liquor store. The pharmacist and I each wore our pistols in holsters under our lab jackets. The store next door was robbed 11 times in the two years we were there. We were never robber. Everytime a “suspicious” person came in, either he or I would immediately approach him offering assistance. Of course, our guns were exposed to see. The police department supported what we were doing because we would have closed the store and moved out if it had ever been robbed. Too many elderly people would have lost the only pharmacy in that town.
July 2009, I was in my garage at my house, during the day, when I heard a car door “chime” going off. I walked down to the end of my driveway (in the alley) and saw a car pulled into my neighbor’s driveway. 3 young, “underprivileged” men saw me and immediately started walking towards me. (I live in an middle-upper class neighborhood) I told them to stay back and asked them what they were doing there. The trunk was open and on the ground was a crowbar. One of them started to approach me again, when I turned sideways so he could see my pistol on my hip. He yelled at the other two, they got into their car and sped off. I called 911 and gave them the license plate (which came back as a stolen plate) 5 police vehicles responded to my call, but the car got away.
The police said I did the right thing (Doh!)
People can be sheep and allow wolves to prey on them or then can defend themselves. The last thing a criminal wants to see or hear is a gun or a gun being cocked. The rely on the fact that most people will just submit to being beat/hurt/intimidated and/or worse, killed. They simply don’t care.
I could go on and on and I don’t even go looking for trouble. I go out of my way to avoid situations that could be dangerous. I am extremely self-aware of where I am and who is around me. I always look behind me, look people in the eye (never look down or look away) When I’m in a “tough situation” I use my “outside” voice so there is no mistaking my intent.
(Probably helps that I was in the Security business for 29 years…..)
I a couple of friends who have been mugged and have lost their valuables (one got hurt)
March 18, 2013 at 12:08 pm
Phil, my ultimate point wasn’t necessarily for gun ownership. I get why people own guns. I’m wondering, why a semi-automatic rifle? Which in my opinion is a lot different than a handgun. Andy explained it well, and I appreciate that. Yes, the picture was meant to make an effect. It did just that. It pissed me off. But frankly, under no circumstance, am I ever going to think that war is sexy or glamorous. It’s not. And when some gun activist tries to make it that way, I think they are down right absurd and clearly wrong.
March 20, 2013 at 9:13 pm
I also own 2 semi-automatic rifles. One is a 30-30 (5 shot clip) with a scope, The other is a Wyndham Arms AR15 Semi automatic .223 rifle with a 15 shot clip. I use both of these guns to kill feral hogs. The 30-30 at long range, the .223 at shorter range. The ability to shoot multiple rounds in a short period of time allows me to kill multiple hogs. A single shot rifle would only allow one kill. At one time there were over 25 hogs (all over 250lbs) destroying one of the pastures. That night I killed 8. The hogs had destroyed over 5 acres of grazing pasture that the cattle need.
March 19, 2013 at 10:55 pm
Hi Sarah! My hubby has explained this very thing to me recently. He gave me three reasons:
1) A semi-automatic weapon is honestly the only sure way for honest business men and families (good people) to protect themselves against riots, mobs or large groups of assailants (bad people). Read this blog (http://www.seraphicpress.com/jew-without-a-gun/) of a survivors account, it was good for me to see that for some, the threat of mob violence is real. The police are the experts on the current criminal trends. If they have determined that a “high capacity” semi-automatic pistol and a .223 semi-automatic rifle with 30-round magazines are the best firearms for them to use to protect people like me and my family, they are obviously the best things for us to use to protect ourselves and our families from those same bad people. Police stations rarely have more than 2-4 cops on duty at night in our town. It can take anywhere from 5-25 minutes to reach someone’s house, given the location. Citizens need to be able to protect themselves until the authorities arrive.
2) The founding fathers of our country put the right to bear arms in our constitution not only for personal protection against individuals who may want to cause our family harm, but also against corrupt government. They had all experienced corruption from the very people who were supposedly there to protect them back in their homeland. If you read their autobiographies and memoirs, you will see that they wanted a nation that allowed its citizens to defend their freedom to live an honest, God-fearing life without fear that their own government could one day force them to live in tyranny.
As such, our government agencies and local police own semi-automatic rifles. We all are so used to a long history of government without tyranny that the average citizen laughs at the idea that we may in our lifetime ever face it. I am not saying that this will happen, but how can citizens defend themselves against such firepower? By owning similar firepower.
3) In WWII, one of the only European countries that Hitler did not attempt to invade was Switzerland. Why might you ask? There were multiple reasons, but one of the biggest is that every able bodied man was military trained and ready. Their government for years had their male citizens trained and even gave them firearms. In fact, when Hitler first started invading surrounding countries, Switzerland was able to mobilize their entire fighting male population (over 450000) in just 3 days. Every bridge and railway was supposedly rigged with explosives, and Switzerland refused to take sides or join the war. This deterred a crazed, egotistical maniac.
I think, in our time, if every responsible citizen who passed background checks (and maybe some basic psych evals) were trained and then given an incentive to own a semi-automatic firearm, there would be a lot less crime (this is my personal thought). Seriously, what robber in his deranged little mind would consider entering a home in a city where even 60% of the citizens had such training and might own a high-capacity firearm?
In summary, there are really bad people out there, and the number of them is just going to increase as our family structure and fear of God crumble. Bad people who are determined to hurt your family won’t be stopped easily. When hopped up on drugs, many can take multiple rounds before slowing down. If they are carrying a firearm, you will need something better and faster in order to protect your younglings. You are your kids’ only line of defense, because really bad people don’t show restraint towards innocents, they purposely hurt them.
March 20, 2013 at 9:18 pm
Here is a story with a great ending for two homeowners. This just happened. http://www.myfoxdfw.com/story/21749563/two-would-be-robbers-shot-dead-in-maypearl#at_pco=cfd-1.0
A Wife Loved Like The Church 
March 14, 2013 at 6:31 pm
Let’s be clear about one thing first. The weapons are not used by any military. An M16 is used, but not an AR-15. The media has driven up this theory of these being military weapons.
“Assault” weapons is a term widely mis-used. The only assault weapons are military, full auto weapons. Full auto weapons have been banned for a very long time with exception to those that pass a very thorough background check and then possess a license and tax stamp to own one. Now add to the fact that the cheapest full auto weapon is $16,000, it isn’t something that the average Joe is even going to be able to consider.
The AR-15 rifle which is catching so much flack is a popular rifle for a multitude of reasons. One is the ability to easily customize it to suit your needs and body size (makes it popular with women). They are easily field dressed, so if you are hunting and drop it in the mud, it can be quickly cleaned. They can be purchased in a variety of chamber sizes. The most popular chamber is a .223, which is a good round for hunting small game, and hog hunting. It is also a good round for target practice as the pricing is typically cheap compared to other ammo.
It is worth noting here that .223 is considered a SMALL round in the gun world. Now the big massive man slayers they are made out to be.
A semi-automatic action is what nearly all rifles and handguns use. It allows for a controlled rapid fire rate. One round for each pull of the trigger. This is used for hunting small game that can either run rapidly or fly. If you miss with your first shot you are able to quickly make another attempt. It also allows you to stay on target, as you don’t have to move your hands to chamber the next round.
Pump action, lever action, bolt action, and even revolving weapons can be fired nearly as quick but require more motion and movement to fire. I don’t know about you, but if I have shot at something tasty to eat and didn’t kill it, I don’t want to fiddle with any sort of action, if the creature has now become angry and decided to make me it’s next meal.
In a personal defense situation, multiple rounds is a life saving feature. Someone hopped up on drugs isn’t going to be stop with a single round. There have been police reports of criminals having 40 or more direct hits and still fighting. There was a recent a report of a burglar taking 6 rounds from a 6 round revolver and still not phased.
As you said, most people that are afraid of weapons because they have no first hand knowledge. I would advise you to move forward with your idea to go to a local gun range. See if you can find a class given on gun safety, or make sure the gun range has someone there capable of showing you how the weapon is used. After you pull the trigger the first time, your fear will end and likely, you will have a new addiction. Ask for either a 9mm or .22LR handgun to shoot. They are great to learn on and provide just as much experience as a bigger gun .
March 14, 2013 at 6:49 pm
Andy, thank you so much for your thorough reply. I really appreciate it. I think when I try to do research {via the internet} things tend to get really one sided and I end up more confused than when I started. Ha! So, I really do appreciate you breaking these things down for me.
Also, my husband recommended I take a gun safety class. So, maybe that’s something I’ll look into more.
March 14, 2013 at 7:14 pm
I always enjoy a good discussion where people can make valid points and there are no hurt feelings.
If you were near me, I would gladly take you out and teach you how to shoot a firearm. I have taught my 5 and 7 year old daughters to shoot. They even have their own rifle (locked up and unloaded until we are ready to shoot it).