This is someone else's FB post from a few years ago, but obviously it still applies.
“We have a gun problem and a bullshit problem in the United States. Let me start by saying I am a gun owner. I have been since I was 6. I’ve had jobs that required me to carry a weapon. I’ve been shot at more than once. I’ve disarmed people who were trying to kill me. This isn’t coming from someone who doesn’t understand guns. It’s precisely because I do understand them that I’m going to call out the bullshit that stops us from having the reforms to gun laws that we needed years ago. If you want to debate any of the points below, I have no problem. These are simple facts.
“I need an assault rifle for home defense.” No, you don’t. A short barreled shotgun is the best tool for home defense. And that only counts if you’re insanely proficient with it and you get incredibly lucky. The likelihood you will get the chance to use it is next to zero. If you do, you’re very likely to kill a member of your family accidentally. In a REAL altercation, you don’t get to choose your field of fire. It happens incredibly fast, usually in the dark. If you’re popping off with a rifle, you are going to hit things you don’t intend to. Guns are tools. Period. Assault Rifles are intended to be used on a battlefield. Battlefield tactics don’t work in your house. It’s a bullshit argument.
“I need to protect myself from a tyrannical Government”... Holy Shit that’s stupid. That idea was from a time when the state of war was much more level. It isn’t now. At all. If an armored transport shows up on your front lawn with a 50 cal on the roof, you and your AK are fucking toast. Soldiers train, and their weapons are an extension of their body. You will instantly lose. And before you bring up guerrilla fighters in Afghanistan or Iraq... you need a reality check. Those people were born in a country that was at war, on their soil, for their entire lives. You don’t compare to that on your best day. And they die in FAR greater numbers than they kill.
Gun registration, background checks, etc are a slippery slope to confiscation. Bullshit. We register cars. We have to prove proficiency to operate them. We are required to have insurance in the event we cause damage with them. It’s been that way for decades, and no one is “coming to take your car”. Making sure people have the barest minimum of responsibility doesn’t lead to loss. Fear of loss leads to fundraising and bullshit. It’s not rational.
My gun is a right that can’t be modified. Again, utter bullshit. You can’t own a howitzer unless the barrel is full of concrete. You can’t own a cannon manufactured in the last century. You can’t own a fully automatic weapon without a FFL. That’s why those things are rarely used in crimes. And all of that is based on an amendment to our constitution that can be changed if we as a country see fit to do so. We have changed amendments before and we will again. If you don’t understand that you need a history lesson and a dictionary.
Creating common sense laws that put speed bumps in the way of lunatics helps. Every time. Automobile licenses, speed limits, etc don’t end accidents, but they make them less frequent and less deadly. It’s a proven concept. The time for bullshit excuses is over. It’s time to step up and take responsibility. Fuck this stupidity."
I grew up in a republican household. My mother had a gun. She would use it for "plinking" out in the woods. She hid it under a planter box in our family room book case. It was hidden in this special place in between the master bedroom and our back door. It wasn't locked up, just under a very heavy object, so difficult to get to for a kid. We all knew where it was. It wasn't really there for self defense, but it could be if needed, I guess.
While playing with the neighbor kids, as a child, I think one of us siblings mentioned to some other kids that we had a gun hidden there... Then several years later, someone broke into our house, through the back door and stole the gun, obviously knowing where it was. It was used in a bank robbery. My mom got it back after that incident.
I don't really see the need for me to have a gun. If an intruder come into my home WITH a gun, I doubt that me having one somewhere would be of any use.
In my opinion, the fewer guns we have, the less gun violence there will be. Yes, a person can do damage with a knife, or a rock, or a stick, but that is more personal and is only going to get one person at a time. I don't see the need for everyone to have a gun.
I keep hearing "we need the AR's to shoot all the Razorback Hogs that are running rampant on our property"...ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? The only thing running rampant on your property is GUN CRAZY MORONS LIKE YOU...smfh. Haven't heard or read about "throngs of Razorback Hogs" running roughshod over Denver...or Albuquerque...or Miami...I say 5 round clip is Max allowable...Full background check...60 day waiting period and you have to pass a written AND practical test by at LEAST 85%. ANY record of violence and NO LICENSE...time to get SERIOUS with this. How many KIDS have to DIE? OUTLAW THE NRA
The statistics of guns deaths in countries where guns are strictly controlled speak for themselves.
When I worked in Tempe, AZ, we had a guy who wasn't all that bright but he had a shotgun in his home for protection.
One night he woke up and heard someone inside. For him it was a dream come true -- he was going to get to shoot someone.
He quietly got up and got his gun. He, quietly again, snuck out and took careful aim -- and blew a big hole in his ceiling. The intruder got away.
People think situations happen like on TV -- no they don't.
I worked as a department store security guard when I was in college in Atlanta. We didn't carry guns because not too long before I started a guard got surprised by a mannequin at night. He shot it 6 times. Hey, it was moving after the first shot.
We were all safer with the guns gone.
That, anti bullying, full employment & self respect education campaigns.