Why are so many gun owners scared?

[3MTA3]

Hey Limeless, go tell these guys they are on the wrong side of the border.

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The preferred firearm for this occasion is an A-10 Warthog...

 

[Mor4us]

How do you ruin an Islamic bingo game?

B-52

 

[Ura-Ki]

Like Stomper pointed out, some times trouble finds you! When it does, It finds me armed! If I gotta go, they will find my body on top of a lot of spent brass! OP, The real world isn't a nice place, take a walk in down town PDX on a Friday night and see how much hate and ill content you see around you! How many wigged out on drugs? how many are begging? how many look like they are nothing but trouble? Sure, the best thing is to not go there and look for trouble, but why should you feel unsafe just walking down town? Now add in the mix a crazed group who have made it really clear that they don'e like us, do you think they will stop just because you yelled at them to stop? Me thinks not!

 

[nammac]

I find it interesting that places where I would fear this kind of "threat" tend to have the more strict gun laws. (California, New York, Chicago all come to mind)

Do ya think? Those are the liberals heavens... That's what they wanted... And all the halfway decent people who voted them in are trying to escape.. Cept, they keep trying to create more liberal heavens... Go figure...

 

[2A2Dend]

You need to watch the news once in a while

Better yet. Look around where you live. Observe people and what their doing. The threats are right under your nose. In your own community, or close to it.

I'm not surprised OP, of your post, but you yourself (among a LOT of people throughout communities all over the U.S.) need to step out of the bubble. Become aware of your surroundings.

Those laid back in their ways and their lifestyle, mindless, lost. What exactly do you expect from the numbers 911 in an emergency, a "Beam me up Scotty" appearance, and all will be fine?

The only advice I can give is, wake up. Educate yourself, and adapt to protect yourself and your loved ones.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

it is my right to protect myself and my family.

look at the last 15 years with all the crap thats happened. its because of the psychopaths driving their car into a crowd of people,blowing up airplanes, buildings, shooting up schools, random work places, tweekers, other drug addicts,homeless, and other criminals that make me feel like i may have to someday use deadly force to defend myself or my family. the likelyhood is small but being prepared and having situational awareness is better than being ignorant.


i go to seattle periodically for work training, i cringe everytime i drive by PDX and SEA-TAC...its not that i am afraid of airplanes now but, "what if??"

i truly believe after 9-11 that every American who remembers that day always has the "what if?" in the back of their mind when boarding a plane.

my .02

 

[Larrytpdx]

Police carry guns to protect themselves, not to protect you.

 

[albin25]

I never had a house/car/shop/RV/boat fire. I don't know anyone that has ever had one, I live in a nice newer neighborhood, with an excellent local Fire Dept. near by, and there's a hydrant 50 feet away from my front door...
...I own way more than several fire extinguishers of differing sizes/types and keep them everywhere from basement to boat...plus smoke and CO detectors.

What's your point???

 

[erudne]

Allow me to insert this pithy comment here:

 

[x2ndxall]

Police carry guns to protect themselves, not to protect you.

Some of them, I suppose.

 

[pietro beretta]

But why is it that so many gun owners talk about personal defense situations with a given firearm? .

I was in a situation where someone changed lanes into me - he was found at fault.

Make a long story short, he came over to my driver side door and tried to open it. Since it was locked, he proceed to attempt to punch out the glass.

Simply having a firearm could not and does not prevent this kind of thing from happening, so I am not delusional to think simply having a gun makes me safer.

This guy was obviously upset, perhaps unstable and if I were unable to calm the situation down by other means and he continued to pose a threat... By carrying, I have the means to end the situation if need be.

I did call 911, it took them 15 minutes to respond.

 

[NoLimePlease]

Better yet. Look around where you live. Observe people and what their doing. The threats are right under your nose. In your own community, or close to it.

I'm not surprised OP, of your post, but you yourself (among a LOT of people throughout communities all over the U.S.) need to step out of the bubble. Become aware of your surroundings.

Those laid back in their ways and their lifestyle, mindless, lost. What exactly do you expect from the numbers 911 in an emergency, a "Beam me up Scotty" appearance, and all will be fine?

The only advice I can give is, wake up. Educate yourself, and adapt to protect yourself and your loved ones.

I do look around. I do see things that make me slightly nervous, sometimes even situations that I would actively avoid based on a perceived possible threat. And I know that there are victims of violent crime right here in my own neighborhood. But I cannot see anything that would justify taking a life.
I'm a pretty big guy. Broad shoulders, young (ish), and very fit and definitely a mean look when provoked. I feel fortunate in this regard. I have no idea what it would feel like to be a person that walks in fear as such a timid woman might, or a smaller man, or just even me walking the wrong neighborhood, becomes I avoid those situations. But I do understand the fear.
Maybe I am trolling? I'm not looking to incite response based on emotion (I had to look up the definition of "troll" and this was a requirement).
I guess I'm just surprised how many people feel the actual need to be prepared to "protect" themselves with deadly force. And the violent situations that would warrant such force. I see it in the police force, as well.
My personal belief is that the only situation that would require the use of deadly force is a imminent and unavoidable use of deadly force against me or family. And I just never see it happening.
I would gladly buy a person's life for the $100 he thought he stole from me.

 

[3MTA3]

My personal belief is that the only situation that would require the use of deadly force is a imminent and unavoidable use of deadly force against me or family.

And you are in agreement with probably everyone on this forum in this. We hope that none of us find ourselves in that position, but it happens hundreds of times each and every day to people who never thought it would happen to them.

It's not about looking for trouble. It's not about being paranoid or fearful that trouble will find you. It's about being prepared for trouble. That and nothing more.

 

[Flopsweat]

Not trying to stir the pot here. But why is it that so many gun owners talk about personal defense situations with a given firearm? In my 40 years on this planet, I've never been in a situation where a firearm would even have been a consideration to use against another human being. I realize most media outlets sell fear, and a great majority of the weapons that people carry and own are for person assault of sorts. But I'm not at war, nor are they. And my wallet or $3000 car is not worth taking a life over, no matter what kind of scum the perp may be. Hell, legal fees would be much more substantial for the use of deadly force to protect anything I own than the item itself is worth.
I understand then the last thing (IMO) to protect is my person. Or those that I care for. But when? Where? Why? These things just don't happen. Am I really that lucky? That a situation that would truly justify killing another human being has never happened to me, or anyone I have ever talked to? It seems the majority of violent crime happens to those who are involved in that level of crime itself.
Why do so many gun owners invest so much thought and practice into the idea that they may have to someday "defend themselves"? I know this idea I spin will set off lots of fire on this forum. But it's just a discussion, an opinion I am curious about.
I am a gun owner, by the way. Yes, I have a CCP. Lots of "black guns" in my safe.
They are fun to shoot.

Here's the thing. You came here with 8 total posts and worded your thread title the way an anti-gun wing nut would. I'm not saying that you're any such thing, but how often do people talk about being afraid when they talk about training? I hardly ever see that. So folks are bound to think that you inferred fear where none was, and their next guess is probably going to be that preconception could be involved. Maybe next time lurk for a little while, get the lay of the land, and figure out how to get along. I'm sure you're still welcome here, but you may not have gotten off to a great start.

Now just in case you were sincere I'll give you my take. I'm probably going to take an advanced self defense firearms course later this year or early next year. Not because I'm concerned that 6 ninjas will break into my house one night to steal back the Emperor's jade statue and invoke their ghastly revenge, but because it sounds like fun. I'm probably going to take an advanced driving class pretty soon too, not because I'm afraid of driving slow, but because it sounds like fun.

I have a CPL and I've taken some classes. I check my fire extinguishers and smoke detectors yearly. I don't open email from strangers and I keep my antivirus software up to date. I take vitamins and I don't drink in excess. I lock my doors and leave outside lights on at night. I do these things out of common sense. I think you know where I'm going here. My only real "fears" surrounding firearms are of Clinton, Bloomberg, Sanders, Pelosi and their ilk. They and their kind will never listen to reason, never stop chipping away at our rights, never stop trying to convince people that we're the bad guys. Now that is scary.

 

[pietro beretta]

My personal belief is that the only situation that would require the use of deadly force is a imminent and unavoidable use of deadly force against me or family. And I just never see it happening.

You can't anticipate if you or your family livelihood will be threatened.

Waiting for a police response, takes time, time you don't have that time if your life is threatened.

Carrying a firearm, is like a tool.

Its similar to those people who prepare for natural disasters. Those people that store a certain amount of water and food for that day something just might happen and they need it. They may have never needed it before, they may never need to use it in the future, but they have it anyway.

Why not?

 

[boogerhook]

You have a fire extinguisher at home, don't you? Never had a single fire in my house for over 50 years. So what are you afraid of? BTW, I am a fire extinguisher owner, multiple of them. ;-)

On a more serious note, most defensive gun uses solve the issue at hand without any shots fired. True for cops. True for armed citizen.

 

[erudne]

"When guns are outlawed, only outlaws have guns"
Hugo Chavez outlawed guns in 2012. Today Venezuelans are being shot-down in the streets because they are guilty of starving to death.
BTW there are over 50,000 Cubans in Venezuela.

 

[Libertas7]

I've never been in a fire, so should I not keep fire extinguishers in my home? After all there are fire departments and I could get myself burned...

As for why people talk and spend time/money on training is if you are/going to be carrying you should be able to put the bullets where they need to go, and not in to people or property. It's also a good idea be aware of the ways some "people" could try to bypass your defense.

 

[etrain16]

Not trying to stir the pot here. But why is it that so many gun owners talk about personal defense situations with a given firearm? In my 40 years on this planet, I've never been in a situation where a firearm would even have been a consideration to use against another human being. I realize most media outlets sell fear, and a great majority of the weapons that people carry and own are for person assault of sorts. But I'm not at war, nor are they. And my wallet or $3000 car is not worth taking a life over, no matter what kind of scum the perp may be. Hell, legal fees would be much more substantial for the use of deadly force to protect anything I own than the item itself is worth.
I understand then the last thing (IMO) to protect is my person. Or those that I care for. But when? Where? Why? These things just don't happen. Am I really that lucky? That a situation that would truly justify killing another human being has never happened to me, or anyone I have ever talked to? It seems the majority of violent crime happens to those who are involved in that level of crime itself.
Why do so many gun owners invest so much thought and practice into the idea that they may have to someday "defend themselves"? I know this idea I spin will set off lots of fire on this forum. But it's just a discussion, an opinion I am curious about.
I am a gun owner, by the way. Yes, I have a CCP. Lots of "black guns" in my safe.
They are fun to shoot.

Fear? I don't think you properly understand why gun owners own guns for self-defense or who carry choose to carry.

First, let me ask you this - do you lock your doors? Do you own a fire extinguisher? Do you wear a seat belt? Do you cross the road only when you have a walk signal? If so, why? Are you afraid of someone coming into your home? Are you afraid you're going to have a fire? Are you afraid you're going to have a car accident? Are you afraid you'll get run over crossing the street? My guess is you don't fear these things, but in your mind, these are rational concerns that warrant reasonable measures to avoid them.

No person has to have their home broken into, or even have a home invasion robbery to know it's just a good idea to lock your doors. Why? Because those things DO happen, and they happen quite regularly, all across the country. Just because it hasn't happened to you doesn't mean it won't happen to you - some day. And there is absolutely no way that you can ever know when and how it will happen, if it does. Are you prepared for such an event? What would you do if it happened to you today? In 5 minutes? And if that lock doesn't stop them? Just turn on the news for a reminder that it does happen.

But even knowing it happens, you likely don't live in fear of it happening, because in the grand scheme, you are likely not going to experience it in your lifetime. But even though the odds may favor you not experiencing a violent event, does that mean you never take steps to help prevent it from happening? Or even taking steps to fight back if needed?

Gun owners, particularly those that choose to own and carry guns for self defense simply acknowledge the fact that events like these happen. Mass shootings, while rare, happen. Assaults, robberies, rapes, murders, all happen, daily, across the country. It doesn't stop me from going out the door each day. And honestly, I don't think much about it. I am vigilant, I watch my surroundings, I keep an eye on suspicious people, I stay away from situations and places that might put me at greater risk. But I don't worry, I don't walk around fearful. I walk around prepared, trained and observant - THAT is a big difference than walking around in a state of fear.

I also know several folks that have experienced events that made them realize that these things do happen, to everyday folks, and that they could never have known it was coming. My mother was robbed at gunpoint at one of her jobs about 20 years ago. Thankfully no one was hurt. My grandparents experienced TWO home invasion break-ins in Portland back in the early 80's. Each time, 4 men kicked in the front door, each time, my grandfather stood them off with a shotgun. No shots were fired, and after the 2nd event, they never came back. And my grandfather and grandmother were un-harmed.

I would be concerned, personally, that you believe that since none of these things have happened to you, that you have no reason to be prepared. I ask again, if someone approached you right now, this very minute, with a knife or a gun, with the intent to cause you harm, would you be prepared to do something in response? Do you think you'll have time to call 911 and wait for the police? Or would you suddenly realize that what's about to happen will all be over in a matter of about a minute and you'd had nothing in your plan to fight back or defend yourself or your family.

I don't think about my gun when I walk around each day. I put it on in the morning and take it off at night. It's a tool I carry, like my Leatherman, like my pocket knife, like my pen, like my wallet. All serve a purpose. If I make it through this life and never have to pull the gun on another person, I will be a very happy person. But if something does happen, I'll be even happier that I at least have a chance to fight back, to defend myself.

What do I really fear? People like Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Val Hoyle, Michael Bloomberg, Kate Brown, Floyd Prozanski and others that think my right to self-defense needs to be legislated away, my tools for self-defense, taken away or restricted so far as to make them difficult, expensive or impossible to own. THAT is my real fear. And that is what really pisses me off.

 

[Libertas7]

You have a fire extinguisher at home, don't you? Never had a single fire in my house for over 50 years. So what are you afraid of? BTW, I am a fire extinguisher owner, multiple of them. ;-)

Damn, if I could type and spell worth a darn I would have beat you.