Debate: - Gun Laws and Self Defence

[Charlotteee]

I can change the debate title?

 

[tasha41]

Also.. for the record... gun laws in Canada are much different than they are in the US. I don't even know where one would purchase a gun here... I guess at a hunting store... but you can't just walk in and buy one... there is an application process for a license and a training course etc you have to do... you have to have people vouch for you that you are not a danger to public safety etc. to get one. It is not easy to get a handgun here either (legally)... or any gun intended to be aimed/shot with one hand.

 

[MrHenry]

For the record for us as well, it's not as easy as it is made out to be to get a gun here.

 

[Nic1107]

I'm 5'3" and 120 lbs.- I'm not going to overestimate my chances of fending off a grown man (the most statistically likely intruder) with my fists. Or a knife for that matter, as it's quite easy to disarm someone smaller and weaker than you. Hence, a tazer as I don't feel comfortable handling a gun. They cause extreme pain with no permanent damage, which is why they are standard issue for police officers in the US.

Having a gun and letting an intruder know you have a gun isn't necessarily intent to use it, and certainly not intent to kill. If anything, it's the best way to get them to hightail it off your property at the speed of light. If they don't give you a reason to shoot them, the gun won't go off.

 

[tasha41]

^ RCMP officers killed a man by using a tazer on him at a Canadian airport in 2007. That sounds like permanent damage to me.

Actually if you google taser deaths tons come up. Mostly teenagers actually that I found tasered over shoplifting etc

 

[MrHenry]

Then they taser them in the temple!!!!!!! That's just stupid! (Or they have a heart condition!)

 

[marley2580]

The only protection I feel I need by my bed is my mobile phone. Almost everything is illegal here, which means that most burglars are unarmed. If you grab a weapon you should always bear in mind that it can also be used against you, they just have to get it off you (not that hard if they're bigger than you or if there's more than one).

 

[tasha41]

Yeah but in an emergency where you'd HAVE to use a taser can you say without a doubt that you would not taser someone in the wrong spot... or that a child wouldn't taser someone in the wrong spot if they got into it somehow.

Even teenagers who know and understand dangers of weapons have that invincibility complex... it won't happen to me etc... what if your child got in the way somehow in a circumstance where you had to use it...

 

[nightkd]

I think the UK is pretty good proof you don't need a gun in the house to live a fairly safe day to day life... the things we see on the news are the extremeties, not everyday occurences, so we wouldn't need guns IMO.

Defo think gun law should be added to the list....

Same in the US, imo... I've only lived here just over a year, but we haven't been broken into, or attacked or anything... You don't NEED a gun, but it's pretty handy to HAVE one available if you were put in a situation where you needed to defend yourself and your family.

I much prefer the idea of having the capability to shoot an intruder from across the room who may have the intent to harm myself or my daughter, than having to get within close proximity to said intruder, in order to stab or hit them - putting myself or my family at further risk.

 

[aly888]

A guy over here has been killed with a stun gun too, so they arent totally harmless. But obviously a lot less harmful than a gun!!

I agree having a gun and letting an intruder know you have a gun is a good way to get them to change their mind, but under those circumstances I dont think I would be thinking rationally and would probably pull the trigger when the situation wouldnt necessarily require it Especially highlighted in the case of Tony Martin (already mentioned in this thread). He had been tormented for months, then when he finally does snap when he finds two guys in his property he ends up killing one as they fled. He had reasons other than 'defence' to have a gun in his house, but it just shows that people will resort to using a gun even when it's not required, just because they have easy access to one!

MrHenry, you said of the three guns you possess, two were given to you. I dont know the gun law, but did you have to get a licence for them or anything? Or pass any tests etc etc? Just curious

 

[Hayley90]

With all due respect ... if someone with a heart condition wants to go robbing stores when they know full well your police are armed with tazers... they are even more dumb than they seem. Tazers seem lethal to me - i wouldn't want to be shocked with one, so a robber must be a pretty desperate idiot to put himself in the firing line of one. Police officers will do their job, regardless.

 

[Drazic<3]

I'm 5'3" and 120 lbs.- I'm not going to overestimate my chances of fending off a grown man (the most statistically likely intruder) with my fists. Or a knife for that matter, as it's quite easy to disarm someone smaller and weaker than you. Hence, a tazer as I don't feel comfortable handling a gun. They cause extreme pain with no permanent damage, which is why they are standard issue for police officers in the US.

Having a gun and letting an intruder know you have a gun isn't necessarily intent to use it, and certainly not intent to kill. If anything, it's the best way to get them to hightail it off your property at the speed of light. If they don't give you a reason to shoot them, the gun won't go off.

But if they also have a gun, it gives them a great reason to shoot you first.

 

[MrHenry]

(Actual statistics given at a CC class in Oklahoma city, USA)

There is a 90% chance of getting stabbed when the attacker is within 25 feet of you! 90%!!!! I don't know how big your house is...but in mine it's hard to get 25 feet away from me! that is a surprisingly long distance. I don't know how difficult it is to get a knife over there...but here we have them in ALL KITCHENS!

 

[tasha41]

Ok but what are the statistics that someone will actually break into your home... if you lock your doors, windows, etc.

Especially with intent to harm

Obviously it can happen and does...

 

[aly888]

I'm 5'3" and 120 lbs.- I'm not going to overestimate my chances of fending off a grown man (the most statistically likely intruder) with my fists. Or a knife for that matter, as it's quite easy to disarm someone smaller and weaker than you. Hence, a tazer as I don't feel comfortable handling a gun. They cause extreme pain with no permanent damage, which is why they are standard issue for police officers in the US.

Having a gun and letting an intruder know you have a gun isn't necessarily intent to use it, and certainly not intent to kill. If anything, it's the best way to get them to hightail it off your property at the speed of light. If they don't give you a reason to shoot them, the gun won't go off.

But if they also have a gun, it gives them a great reason to shoot you first.

I agree

 

[Hayley90]

I'm all for buying a BIG scary dog, getting a decent lock on my door & living my life knowing statistics say i probably will never be robbed in my own home.

Im more likely to have my bag stolen on a day to day basis wandering around london, or the town, and i'm not going to whack out a gun and shoot them...

I think firearms are a tad too much.

 

[tasha41]

I'm all for buying a BIG scary dog, getting a decent lock on my door & living my life knowing statistics say i probably will never be robbed in my own home.

Im more likely to have my bag stolen on a day to day basis wandering around london, or the town, and i'm not going to whack out a gun and shoot them...

I think firearms are a tad too much.

My thoughts exactly!!!

Being honest though our new place I feel totally safe in, we just bought new locks that I am pleased with, it's a very quiet street and my neighbours are always out on their porches... esp the one next door to me, she knows EVERYTHING that is going on in the neighbourhood.. and already introduced me to the cop living 3 doors down lol

 

[stephx]

I think you should have the right to protect yourself by any means. IMO anyone who breaks into somewhere leaves there human rights at the door!

I know if someone broke into my house my OH would have no hesitation attacking them to protect his family (Well thats if my dog didnt get to them first )

xx

 

[Hayley90]

I'm all for buying a BIG scary dog, getting a decent lock on my door & living my life knowing statistics say i probably will never be robbed in my own home.

Im more likely to have my bag stolen on a day to day basis wandering around london, or the town, and i'm not going to whack out a gun and shoot them...

I think firearms are a tad too much.

My thoughts exactly!!!

Even when someones in my house... i hate guns. id never lower myself to that, (no offence to those with guns) i couldnt bear the responsibility of using it reasonably, and i couldnt bear to hold what is, a killing machine. thats what guns are made for. i wouldnt be able to guarantee MY safety with it, let alone some druggy burglar.....

 

[Nic1107]

Tazers can be lethal, but so can a fist. There was a case a couple months back where two local men got into a fight outside a pub; one punched the other in the wrong spot and the guy died. Happened to a girl in my high school too, she was punched in the chest. I really don't care if I cause permanent harm to someone who intends to harm me. If they're just taking me stuff, fine they can have it as it's replaceable. But if someone comes near me or my daughter, I'm not going to worry about hurting them.

As far as alarms, they only alert the police to the break-in and the intruder will likely be long gone before anyone shows up. Locks can be and are broken, of course we lock our house up at night. And I don't like dogs.

As far as the intruder having a gun, he's not gonna see my hubby or his gun (if it gets to that point) until he opens the bedroom door- if he gets that far he's losing a kneecap as soon as the door opens. If he has a gun and intended harm in the first place, chances are he's going to shoot anyway so I'd rather have a fighting chance with an equal weapon. Although this is all hypothetical atm since I don't live with DH and he doesn't have a gun.