Weapons. Yes or No? Why?

[DragonflyWing]

I don't think it's safe to have thease things in your home especially a loaded air riffle... WTF? Also why do you need these things is there folk out to get you? It's crazy! I do believe you can defend yourself in your own home but don't think you should keep a weapon "just incase".

Like I said before is there a reason you keep a weapon? X

Sorry about typos on mobile.

How do you plan to defend yourself in your home without a weapon? The reason we keep weapons in our house is this: if someone were to break into our home, they would most likely have a gun. Home invaders don't tend to break in unarmed around here. If someone illegally enters my home and threatens the safety of my family, they have voluntarily given up their right to their own safety and will be shot.

As to whether it's safe to keep guns in the house, that is completely dependent on the gun owners. If you learn how to safely use and store your weapons, it is 100% safe to keep them in your home. It's when people don't follow safety and storage guidelines that it becomes dangerous.

My dad taught me how to shoot when I was 14, and he has kept handguns and rifles in the house since I was quite young. He always had them locked up in a safe in a locked room where my siblings and I couldn't get to them. Now that I have my own house, DH and I have several guns that we keep locked up as well. We use rifles and shotguns for target shooting at the range, and we keep a handgun for protection. When our children are old enough, we'll teach them how to safely handle and store guns as well. In the meantime, they'll stay locked up and away from curious little hands.

 

[Pearls18]

I don't think it's safe to have thease things in your home especially a loaded air riffle... WTF? Also why do you need these things is there folk out to get you? It's crazy! I do believe you can defend yourself in your own home but don't think you should keep a weapon "just incase".

Like I said before is there a reason you keep a weapon? X

Sorry about typos on mobile.

How do you plan to defend yourself in your home without a weapon? The reason we keep weapons in our house is this: if someone were to break into our home, they would most likely have a gun. Home invaders don't tend to break in unarmed around here. If someone illegally enters my home and threatens the safety of my family, they have voluntarily given up their right to their own safety and will be shot.

As to whether it's safe to keep guns in the house, that is completely dependent on the gun owners. If you learn how to safely use and store your weapons, it is 100% safe to keep them in your home. It's when people don't follow safety and storage guidelines that it becomes dangerous.

My dad taught me how to shoot when I was 14, and he has kept handguns and rifles in the house since I was quite young. He always had them locked up in a safe in a locked room where my siblings and I couldn't get to them. Now that I have my own house, DH and I have several guns that we keep locked up as well. We use rifles and shotguns for target shooting at the range, and we keep a handgun for protection. When our children are old enough, we'll teach them how to safely handle and store guns as well. In the meantime, they'll stay locked up and away from curious little hands.

In the UK the chances of someone breaking in with a gun is extremely minimal, gun laws are very strict here, I think there is less of a 'tit for tat' culture as well. I for one am not that scared that I feel the need to protect myself, I don't assume someone is going to break in, if you look at statistics (I don't know about where you're from) but break ins are very minimal but it's just when you hear about them in the media it feels like it happens all the time but it just doesn't. So I think lots of people just don't feel the need to feel protected let alone actually think about what protection they need iykwim? It is a bit of a contentious issue in the UK though because it is sometimes felt the burglar has more rights than the home occupier, there's been stories in the press where someone has broken in, been attacked by the home owner, but the home owner gets punished more severely. So I think some people are scared to protect themselves in case they get in trouble!

I don't know how I'd feel in the US, my husband loves guns so if he could he would have them without a doubt, but for a hobby than protection really.

 

[xemmax]

I agree with MarineWAG. I know there are huge cultural differences so this is always an ongoing debate but I don't live in fear of attack and therefore I don't feel the need to keep a weapon for protection. Generally I feel very safe, I think the media gives us a disproportionate view of crime.

To me it's a cycle - if you're allowed to keep firearms to protect yourself from burglars then burglars are more likely to carry them too. Even if we could keep firearms here I wouldn't want them in my home.

 

[Noelle610]

I think this is largely a cultural issues. The US is much more gun friendly than Europe and a lot of that has to do with our history. That's another conversation, but it's hard to understand if you don't live here to an extent.

I come from a place (upstate New York) where hunting is very popular. And I'm talking hunting for food - not necessarily for sport. If you're going to eat meat, hunting is actually more humane than buying meat from a grocery store in many ways, so I'm okay with that. Many of my relatives have rifles. They know how to use them, they're locked up safely and children would never have access to them.

I'm not quite sure how I feel about guns for "protection". Unfortunately I think many people who own guns in the US don't really know how to use them. During a break-in, it's actually quite likely that the criminal will use your own gun against you.

I am definitely in favor of requiring background checks for gun owners. I don't think any civilian needs an automatic rifle.

 

[Noelle610]

I don't think it's safe to have thease things in your home especially a loaded air riffle... WTF? Also why do you need these things is there folk out to get you? It's crazy! I do believe you can defend yourself in your own home but don't think you should keep a weapon "just incase".

Like I said before is there a reason you keep a weapon? X

Sorry about typos on mobile.

How do you plan to defend yourself in your home without a weapon? The reason we keep weapons in our house is this: if someone were to break into our home, they would most likely have a gun. Home invaders don't tend to break in unarmed around here. If someone illegally enters my home and threatens the safety of my family, they have voluntarily given up their right to their own safety and will be shot.

As to whether it's safe to keep guns in the house, that is completely dependent on the gun owners. If you learn how to safely use and store your weapons, it is 100% safe to keep them in your home. It's when people don't follow safety and storage guidelines that it becomes dangerous.

My dad taught me how to shoot when I was 14, and he has kept handguns and rifles in the house since I was quite young. He always had them locked up in a safe in a locked room where my siblings and I couldn't get to them. Now that I have my own house, DH and I have several guns that we keep locked up as well. We use rifles and shotguns for target shooting at the range, and we keep a handgun for protection. When our children are old enough, we'll teach them how to safely handle and store guns as well. In the meantime, they'll stay locked up and away from curious little hands.

In the UK the chances of someone breaking in with a gun is extremely minimal, gun laws are very strict here, I think there is less of a 'tit for tat' culture as well. I for one am not that scared that I feel the need to protect myself, I don't assume someone is going to break in, if you look at statistics (I don't know about where you're from) but break ins are very minimal but it's just when you hear about them in the media it feels like it happens all the time but it just doesn't. So I think lots of people just don't feel the need to feel protected let alone actually think about what protection they need iykwim? It is a bit of a contentious issue in the UK though because it is sometimes felt the burglar has more rights than the home occupier, there's been stories in the press where someone has broken in, been attacked by the home owner, but the home owner gets punished more severely. So I think some people are scared to protect themselves in case they get in trouble!

I don't know how I'd feel in the US, my husband loves guns so if he could he would have them without a doubt, but for a hobby than protection really.

Why is the chance of someone breaking into your house in the UK minimal? If a person is willing to break into someones house, it's unlikely that they're adhering to very strict gun laws. I imagine you can get guns on the black market in the UK. Hard drugs are illigal in the UK, but people still manage to get them.

 

[Pearls18]

I don't think it's safe to have thease things in your home especially a loaded air riffle... WTF? Also why do you need these things is there folk out to get you? It's crazy! I do believe you can defend yourself in your own home but don't think you should keep a weapon "just incase".

Like I said before is there a reason you keep a weapon? X

Sorry about typos on mobile.

How do you plan to defend yourself in your home without a weapon? The reason we keep weapons in our house is this: if someone were to break into our home, they would most likely have a gun. Home invaders don't tend to break in unarmed around here. If someone illegally enters my home and threatens the safety of my family, they have voluntarily given up their right to their own safety and will be shot.

As to whether it's safe to keep guns in the house, that is completely dependent on the gun owners. If you learn how to safely use and store your weapons, it is 100% safe to keep them in your home. It's when people don't follow safety and storage guidelines that it becomes dangerous.

My dad taught me how to shoot when I was 14, and he has kept handguns and rifles in the house since I was quite young. He always had them locked up in a safe in a locked room where my siblings and I couldn't get to them. Now that I have my own house, DH and I have several guns that we keep locked up as well. We use rifles and shotguns for target shooting at the range, and we keep a handgun for protection. When our children are old enough, we'll teach them how to safely handle and store guns as well. In the meantime, they'll stay locked up and away from curious little hands.

In the UK the chances of someone breaking in with a gun is extremely minimal, gun laws are very strict here, I think there is less of a 'tit for tat' culture as well. I for one am not that scared that I feel the need to protect myself, I don't assume someone is going to break in, if you look at statistics (I don't know about where you're from) but break ins are very minimal but it's just when you hear about them in the media it feels like it happens all the time but it just doesn't. So I think lots of people just don't feel the need to feel protected let alone actually think about what protection they need iykwim? It is a bit of a contentious issue in the UK though because it is sometimes felt the burglar has more rights than the home occupier, there's been stories in the press where someone has broken in, been attacked by the home owner, but the home owner gets punished more severely. So I think some people are scared to protect themselves in case they get in trouble!

I don't know how I'd feel in the US, my husband loves guns so if he could he would have them without a doubt, but for a hobby than protection really.

Why is the chance of someone breaking into your house in the UK minimal? If a person is willing to break into someones house, it's unlikely that they're adhering to very strict gun laws. I imagine you can get guns on the black market in the UK. Hard drugs are illigal in the UK, but people still manage to get them.

The chances of someone breaking into the UK with a gun is minimal, and because our gun laws are so strict there are very, very few guns around, they are not easy to get hold of even if you are a criminal, just look at our statistics for gun crime especially compared with the US. There are over 300 million guns in the US, we have nothing like that. I have never seen, heard about, or witnessed a gun crime locally to me and I live in London....it just does not happen here much. Stabbings is what we hear a lot about though, but as a PP the media gives a disproportionate view of crime.

 

[Noelle610]

I don't think it's safe to have thease things in your home especially a loaded air riffle... WTF? Also why do you need these things is there folk out to get you? It's crazy! I do believe you can defend yourself in your own home but don't think you should keep a weapon "just incase".

Like I said before is there a reason you keep a weapon? X

Sorry about typos on mobile.

How do you plan to defend yourself in your home without a weapon? The reason we keep weapons in our house is this: if someone were to break into our home, they would most likely have a gun. Home invaders don't tend to break in unarmed around here. If someone illegally enters my home and threatens the safety of my family, they have voluntarily given up their right to their own safety and will be shot.

As to whether it's safe to keep guns in the house, that is completely dependent on the gun owners. If you learn how to safely use and store your weapons, it is 100% safe to keep them in your home. It's when people don't follow safety and storage guidelines that it becomes dangerous.

My dad taught me how to shoot when I was 14, and he has kept handguns and rifles in the house since I was quite young. He always had them locked up in a safe in a locked room where my siblings and I couldn't get to them. Now that I have my own house, DH and I have several guns that we keep locked up as well. We use rifles and shotguns for target shooting at the range, and we keep a handgun for protection. When our children are old enough, we'll teach them how to safely handle and store guns as well. In the meantime, they'll stay locked up and away from curious little hands.

In the UK the chances of someone breaking in with a gun is extremely minimal, gun laws are very strict here, I think there is less of a 'tit for tat' culture as well. I for one am not that scared that I feel the need to protect myself, I don't assume someone is going to break in, if you look at statistics (I don't know about where you're from) but break ins are very minimal but it's just when you hear about them in the media it feels like it happens all the time but it just doesn't. So I think lots of people just don't feel the need to feel protected let alone actually think about what protection they need iykwim? It is a bit of a contentious issue in the UK though because it is sometimes felt the burglar has more rights than the home occupier, there's been stories in the press where someone has broken in, been attacked by the home owner, but the home owner gets punished more severely. So I think some people are scared to protect themselves in case they get in trouble!

I don't know how I'd feel in the US, my husband loves guns so if he could he would have them without a doubt, but for a hobby than protection really.

Why is the chance of someone breaking into your house in the UK minimal? If a person is willing to break into someones house, it's unlikely that they're adhering to very strict gun laws. I imagine you can get guns on the black market in the UK. Hard drugs are illigal in the UK, but people still manage to get them.

The chances of someone breaking into the UK with a gun is minimal, and because our gun laws are so strict there are very, very few guns around, they are not easy to get hold of even if you are a criminal, just look at our statistics for gun crime especially compared with the US. There are over 300 million guns in the US, we have nothing like that. I have never seen, heard about, or witnessed a gun crime locally to me and I live in London....it just does not happen here much. Stabbings is what we hear a lot about though, but as a PP the media gives a disproportionate view of crime.

Thanks for your perspective. It's just so interesting to hear about this from someone who lives there. I was under the impression that London was similar to one of our large cities (like New York) in terms of violent crime, but that may just be my misconception.

I don't even know how they would go about reducing the number of guns in the US. For one, there are just so many here already. You would also have people up in arms about personal freedom. Many people here very it's their right to own a gun. It's a very touchy subject.

 

[xemmax]

Why is the chance of someone breaking into your house in the UK minimal? If a person is willing to break into someones house, it's unlikely that they're adhering to very strict gun laws. I imagine you can get guns on the black market in the UK. Hard drugs are illigal in the UK, but people still manage to get them.

Burglars are seldom reported to carry guns in the UK, it just doesn't happen; potentially knives and other weapons, but not guns. Firearms just aren't prevalent in the UK. Of course there is gun crime here and firearms are definitely available on the black market, but it isn't comparable to hard drugs which are much more prevalent. Residential burglaries and theft is much more likely to be committed by petty criminals and/or drug users who would be unlikely to carry a gun. Gun crime in the UK is more associated with gangs/more professional criminals.

 

[Noelle610]

Why is the chance of someone breaking into your house in the UK minimal? If a person is willing to break into someones house, it's unlikely that they're adhering to very strict gun laws. I imagine you can get guns on the black market in the UK. Hard drugs are illigal in the UK, but people still manage to get them.

Burglars are seldom reported to carry guns in the UK, it just doesn't happen; potentially knives and other weapons, but not guns. Firearms just aren't prevalent in the UK. Of course there is gun crime here and firearms are definitely available on the black market, but it isn't comparable to hard drugs which are much more prevalent. Residential burglaries and theft is much more likely to be committed by petty criminals and/or drug users who would be unlikely to carry a gun. Gun crime in the UK is more associated with gangs/more professional criminals.

Thanks for sharing this. Do you have instances of violence in schools, like some of the shootings we've had here in the US? Or is that unheard of in the UK?

 

[xemmax]

Why is the chance of someone breaking into your house in the UK minimal? If a person is willing to break into someones house, it's unlikely that they're adhering to very strict gun laws. I imagine you can get guns on the black market in the UK. Hard drugs are illigal in the UK, but people still manage to get them.

Burglars are seldom reported to carry guns in the UK, it just doesn't happen; potentially knives and other weapons, but not guns. Firearms just aren't prevalent in the UK. Of course there is gun crime here and firearms are definitely available on the black market, but it isn't comparable to hard drugs which are much more prevalent. Residential burglaries and theft is much more likely to be committed by petty criminals and/or drug users who would be unlikely to carry a gun. Gun crime in the UK is more associated with gangs/more professional criminals.

Thanks for sharing this. Do you have instances of violence in schools, like some of the shootings we've had here in the US? Or is that unheard of in the UK?

I'm sure there has been some violent instances but none spring to mind.

I'm sure the last school shooting was in 1996, at Dunblane:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunblane_massacre

That was what lead to firearms being banned in the UK.

I hasten to add that there is still violent crime in the UK just not with guns, I'm not sure whether the levels are high on a global scale though.

 

[Pearls18]

Yeah I'm not making out UK is a safe haven, we have our fair share of violent crime and I don't always feel safe, but guns aren't something I worry about. I do live in a nice area of London, I'm sure there are certain areas where guns might be a little more heard of particularly with gangs, but I would say they would be isolated areas. Unfortunately as the PP says we have had a school massacre which is why our gun laws changed so much, I believe hand guns were banned as a result from that.

 

[Noelle610]

Yeah I'm not making out UK is a safe haven, we have our fair share of violent crime and I don't always feel safe, but guns aren't something I worry about. I do live in a nice area of London, I'm sure there are certain areas where guns might be a little more heard of particularly with gangs, but I would say they would be isolated areas. Unfortunately as the PP says we have had a school massacre which is why our gun laws changed so much, I believe hand guns were banned as a result from that.

Interestingly, I feel pretty safe in Baltimore despite guns being prevelent in the US. My city has a pretty bad reputation in terms of crime thanks to a TV show called "The Wire", which seems to be all people know about Baltimore if they haven't been here. I live in a pretty nice neighborhood, but this city is diverse and nice neighborhoods often intersect with not-so-nice neighborhoods. Gun violence does seem to be prevelent here, but I've found it's mostly gang-related. I actually don't know anyone who has had their house broken into and been held at gun-point, but for some reason Americans do seem quite obsessed with this situation and insist that they must own guns to defend themselves. I'm not arguing that they don't have the right, but I find it interesting that this argument comes up so often when it's just not something that happens all the time. At least not in my experience.

 

[Natsku]

Have a bit of gun crime over here but I still don't worry about it. I think its mostly crime on people who know each other and I don't know anyone with a gun apart from my uncle. And the odd school shooting too.

 

[LisaL79]

DH wants to buy a shotgun. I'm fine with it, but he is going to get more comfortable around guns first and of course we'll be buying something to safely put it in so kid's or whoever else can't access it.

Guns aren't my favorite thing and I get nervous around them, but I really don't care if responsible people own them.

FiL owns a bunch. He hunts and just collects them. SiL owns 1 and all of DHs friends have guns.

 

[Larkspur]

Glad I live in New Zealand where this just isn't an issue. I can't think of a case of someone being shot in a home invasion in years. Occasional armed robberies at service stations or bars, and family members shooting each other aside, we just don't have gun violence here.

 

[Scottish mum]

I don't think it's safe to have thease things in your home especially a loaded air riffle... WTF? Also why do you need these things is there folk out to get you? It's crazy! I do believe you can defend yourself in your own home but don't think you should keep a weapon "just incase".

Like I said before is there a reason you keep a weapon? X

Sorry about typos on mobile.

How do you plan to defend yourself in your home without a weapon? The reason we keep weapons in our house is this: if someone were to break into our home, they would most likely have
a gun. Home invaders don't tend to
break in unarmed around here. If
someone illegally enters my home
and threatens the safety of my
family, they have voluntarily given
up their right to their own safety
and will be shot

As to whether it's safe to keep guns in the house, that is completely dependent on the gun owners. If you learn how to safely
use and store your weapons, it is
100% safe to keep them in your
home. It's when people don't follow
safety and storage guidelines that
it becomes dangerous.

My dad taught me how to shoot when I was 14, and he has kept handguns and rifles in the house since I was quite young. He
always had them locked up in a
safe in a locked room where my
siblings and I couldn't get to them.
Now that I have my own house,
DH and I have several guns that
we keep locked up as well. We
use rifles and shotguns for target
shooting at the range, and we
keep a handgun for protection.
When our children are old enough, we'll teach them how to safely handle and store guns as well. In
the meantime, they'll stay locked
up and away from curious little
hands.

Depends where you live? In the uk people do not keep fire arms willy nilly!! People have firearms here if they are farmers, if they hunt! It's not like the US we don't carry firearms or routinely have firearms in our homes!! People in the uk who generally have weapons behind there doors, under beds and things are either drug dealers or in gangs. (unless you've had a very bad experience of course) but that's few and far between.

I don't however agree that you should defend your family and home no disputing that but not by shoving a fire arm under YOUR BED!! In the uk if you own firearms and have a license the firearm must be kept in a proper locked gun cabinet!!!

 

[Scottish mum]

I ment I agree you SHOULD defend your family ; ) sorry on my phone x

 

[Pearls18]

I don't think it's safe to have thease things in your home especially a loaded air riffle... WTF? Also why do you need these things is there folk out to get you? It's crazy! I do believe you can defend yourself in your own home but don't think you should keep a weapon "just incase".

Like I said before is there a reason you keep a weapon? X

Sorry about typos on mobile.

How do you plan to defend yourself in your home without a weapon? The reason we keep weapons in our house is this: if someone were to break into our home, they would most likely have
a gun. Home invaders don't tend to
break in unarmed around here. If
someone illegally enters my home
and threatens the safety of my
family, they have voluntarily given
up their right to their own safety
and will be shot

As to whether it's safe to keep guns in the house, that is completely dependent on the gun owners. If you learn how to safely
use and store your weapons, it is
100% safe to keep them in your
home. It's when people don't follow
safety and storage guidelines that
it becomes dangerous.

My dad taught me how to shoot when I was 14, and he has kept handguns and rifles in the house since I was quite young. He
always had them locked up in a
safe in a locked room where my
siblings and I couldn't get to them.
Now that I have my own house,
DH and I have several guns that
we keep locked up as well. We
use rifles and shotguns for target
shooting at the range, and we
keep a handgun for protection.
When our children are old enough, we'll teach them how to safely handle and store guns as well. In
the meantime, they'll stay locked
up and away from curious little
hands.

Depends where you live? In the uk people do not keep fire arms willy nilly!! People have firearms here if they are farmers, if they hunt! It's not like the US we don't carry firearms or routinely have firearms in our homes!! People in the uk who generally have weapons behind there doors, under beds and things are either drug dealers or in gangs. (unless you've had a very bad experience of course) but that's few and far between.

I don't however agree that you should defend your family and home no disputing that but not by shoving a fire arm under YOUR BED!! In the uk if you own firearms and have a license the firearm must be kept in a proper locked gun cabinet!!!

And that cabinet has to be bolted to the floor so most likely wouldn't be in a bedroom!!

 

[steph.]

I dont agree with people having guns. I think it causes a lot more unnecessary deaths than it prevents. What about installing a house alarm, or investing in more secure windows and doors? I have two small but very loud dogs and if anyone broke into the house they would raise the alarm so i feel safe.

 

[SerenityNow]

There was a study done by the Journal of Trauma Medicine that looked at every single firearm related death in 3 different metropolitan areas in the US. It found that if you have a gun in your home it is 22 times more likely to kill someone living in that home than it is to be used in self defense. That includes accidental shootings, domestic violence, homicides and suicides.

I would not keep a gun in my home while the kids are still living here. The evidence simply does not support it making my family safer.