Redalgo
Sr. Member
Posts: 2,681
|
 |
« on: January 17, 2011, 07:48:43 PM » |
|
|
« edited: January 17, 2011, 08:25:48 PM by Redalgo »
|
Using a gun for self-defense is fine. It's just that I don't think it should be a person's first or only line of defense. There are a lot of reasons why a person should be hesitant to use one.
For instance, say that you get mugged on the street. Trying to resist could very easily get you shot, stabbed, or bludgeoned faster than you can brandish a concealed weapon. A criminal knows their trade and is highly-motivated to get what they came for and leave as quickly as possible. Heroic delusions of grandeur on the part of a would-be victim can lead to more problems than it solves. Not to mention, is it really worth risking your life to save your dignity, a handful of bills, and some plastic? Also, what if you fire off shots while in a struggle, or otherwise miss the aggressor, putting bullets in the air that could conceivably hit innocent people? While a gun can be useful under a number of circumstances I think it would be much wiser for a person to focus on learning what kind of places to avoid and how to spot and quickly remove oneself from suspicious, potentially dangerous scenes.
Likewise, say someone breaks into your home. Once again, resisting will not go over well with the aggressor. To use a gun for self-defense you have to find it, load it and switch off the safety if applicable, and competently handle it while somewhat impaired by the adrenaline rush. Even then, if you have a semi-automatic weapon, a big clip, poor marksmanship, and/or a twitchy finger you may quickly find yourself doling out a lot of damage to your own property or innocent people caught up in the action. If the firearm is powerful enough, bullets may pass through walls and various objects to strike a friend, family member, pet, or (if in an apartment) a neighbor. I would think the more rational approach to home defense would be to fortify entry points and set up several visible layers of security features designed to impede the progress of and deter a criminal. If your property is protected elaborately enough the bloke in question may not think your place is worth all the trouble to break into.
Using a gun in self-defense is more glorified and conceptually simple to certain elements of America's gun culture than it actually is in practice. If you feel that possessing such a weapon will make you more safe - which it certainly can under the right circumstances - then by all means get one... just don't get cocky about it, go stereotypically alpha-male or cling to your pride when confronting a violent criminal, or expect for the gun to be a guaranteed golden ticket out of the tough bind. Call the police if at all possible and try not to do anything too reckless or stupid while waiting for them to arrive. If you are forced to act that is fine but do what you can to avoid having to get to that point in the first place, yeah? Most of us are not soldiers, cops, expert martial artists, or otherwise prepared for combat.
Being legally entitled to use a gun in self-defense does not necessarily mean one should use that gun unless he or she has been forced into a situation where it is the only reasonable option left.
|
