All Hail the Second Amendment

[Gawdzilla]

You're grasping at straws.  I don't have to "find" the key.  I know where it is, if I didn't...how could I be sure my kids didn't have it?  

Look, I;m not defending their line, I'm suggesting that you find a better way to respond to it.

There's no problem with my response, except that it's a problem for gunners.

[The Grand Nudger]

If your idea of creating problems for gunners is to cite non-existent facts, theyre going to embarrass you at every turn - because even though you think they're morons....they probably know their gun lines. They memorized their NRA Hymnals, remember?

[Gawdzilla]

If your idea of creating problems for gunners is to cite non-existent facts, theyre going to embarrass you at every turn - because even though you think they're morons....they probably know their gun lines.  They memorized their NRA Hymnals, remember?

Namu amida butsu! 

When do you become aware of the burglar? When he slips into your house? When he plods quietly down the hall? When he's standing over your bed pointing a gun at you? What if he slips into the kids room first? 

Your plan requires the perp do what you expect him to do. Good luck with that.

[The Grand Nudger]

-My- plan is to let him come and go, and asssure him that I'm not a threat if we interact.  Get ahold of yourself.

[johan]

But that is the argument the gun nuts make.  "I've got to be ready to defend myself."  If you disable the gun you leave yourself at risk.

That is ONE of the arguments the gun nuts make. Its not the only argument. They make lots of arguments.  Thing is, some of them are valid. Not even close to all, but definitely some. 

There was a time in my life when I could not imagine why anyone would need to own a gun. But then I moved to the rural midwest and now I could not imagine living where I live without a gun or two. To give some perspective, or at least attempt to do so (the anti gun crowd tends to be pretty closed minded on the topic), I also could not imagine trying to live where I live without a good chain saw and a sharp ax and reliable tractor that has a front end loader on it. Which is to say the guns I own are tools and used as such. They serve a purpose. Raccoon in the chicken coop? I ain't going in after it armed with a butter knife. Or an ax or any other weapon other than a gun. Why? Because if I can't get it to leave on its own and therefore need to dispatch it, there is no better choice for me or it than a gun of the proper caliber. 

Yep I could beat it with an ax or a sharp stick and probably keep myself from getting bit. But the raccoon would have a very drawn out and painful death. And no, I'm not just going to let the raccoon kill my chickens. Fuck you. If I can get it out, I do. And then I fix the coop to try and prevent it from getting back in. But I don't approach it unless I'm armed because rabies don't fuck around and things can go south in a hurry in that situation. Again, if you haven't lived it, I don't expect you to understand because lord knows I didn't before I moved here.

If I moved back to suburban NJ tomorrow I'd probably sell the guns as I most likely would no longer have a use for them. But I now understand that there are people who have a legit need.

As for the home defense thing? Again, I used to not understand the need. I lived in a neighborhood where it was a relatively common thing that people would wake up to thugs in their bedroom going through their drawers. For the most part, they all lived. For the most part, but not always. Some got dead, others got raped, some got both.

Now? Knowing what I know about having the tools needed for where you live? If I had to live in a place where there was a real and present risk of waking up to thugs in my home, I would most definitely own a home defense weapon. And it would be kept loaded in a locked biosafe near my bed. 

Which is all to say yep, there are legit reasons people own weapons for home defense. Obviously lots who claim the need for home defense don't have a legit need, but there are some who do. But the bottom line is this. Regardless of how legit your need is, there is NO legit reason to keep a loaded weapon unlocked in your home. Ever. A Reliable Biosafe can be had for way less than $1000 and the life of even the most casual stranger is worth that no matter who you are.

[Wyrd of Gawd]

-My- plan is to let him come and go, and asssure him that I'm not a threat if we interact.  Get ahold of yourself.

If you're home when a burglar barges in you might be able to convince him to take all of the stuff you had been planning on getting rid of.

[The Grand Nudger]

Sure as hell beats paying for a special pickup.

[Minimalist]

Let's stick with Ricky Raccoon for a moment.  Do you keep your gun loaded and next to the front door so you can get to the chicken coop in a hurry if you hear something?  Or do you keep it in a safe, unloaded?  If the former are there other people in your home?

As far as the NRA Fantasy Scenario goes, I have an alarm system on my home.  At night, if someone tries to open a window or door they would set off a ear-splitting alarm and the monitoring company would call the cops.  Then I suppose all I would have to worry about is convincing the trigger-happy cop who shows up that I'm not robbing my own house.  Since I'm white, I figure that will go fairly easily.

All I have to do is remember to enter the alarm code and I never forget.

[Minimalist]

Meanwhile, in the daily drawing for Gun Nut Nation's Dead Kid Lottery:

New Jersey:

EAST ORANGE, N.J. — Officials say a 4-year-old boy who was accidentally shot by this 6-year-old brother playing with a gun in their East Orange home has died.

A spokeswoman for University Hospital in Newark said the boy was pronounced dead at 4:25 p.m., Saturday.

http://pix11.com/2016/06/25/official-6-y...r-brother/

[T.J.]

But America doesn't have a gun problem. No sir!