Are You A Gun Owner?

[KC]

Well, are you a gun owner?

[Mike AI]

Come on KC don't you know the ATF, FBI, CIA, NSA, FDA, FTC all monitor Oprano.... ( ask Lee Noga) who is going to answer yes? :P

[KC]

Maybe I should amend it to say...

"How many of you are LEGAL gun owners?"

[KC]

I forgot to add my icons..

[Peaches]

It says I already voted when all I did was look at the votes I'm not sure what it registered "my" vote as! :angry:

[Menace]

Guns, yes - legal, yes.




But for contrast, I don't like the NRA




-Dennis

[Winetalk.com]

"a gun, a have a few, but than again to few to mention.."
;-))

[Almighty Colin]

Originally posted by Peaches@Dec 11 2002, 09:26 AM
It says I already voted when all I did was look at the votes I'm not sure what it registered "my" vote as! :angry:

Yeah - someone stole my vote too!

[Dianna Vesta]

I won shot guns. I don't have a hand gun but I'm thinking about getting one. In Florida you have to have a permit I think.

I want it mainly for being in the woods. IN the swamps there's so much wildlife that can really fuck you up. A snake bite, a pissed off boar, mama gator, bears... It's a pain in the ass carrying a shot gun. A pistol would be so much easier.

If I had kids at home I would not keep one in the house.

[KC]

Peaches and Colin's votes were not counted correctly...

Is this server located in Florida by any chance? I hear they have trouble down there

[gigi]

Originally posted by Dianna Vesta@Dec 11 2002, 01:23 PM
I won shot guns. I don't have a hand gun but I'm thinking about getting one. In Florida you have to have a permit I think.

I want it mainly for being in the woods. IN the swamps there's so much wildlife that can really fuck you up. A snake bite, a pissed off boar, mama gator, bears... It's a pain in the ass carrying a shot gun. A pistol would be so much easier.

If I had kids at home I would not keep one in the house.

We have several rifles/shotguns. I'm in Canada so handguns are illegal. All of our rifles are legally licensed, and last year the Canadian government started a gun registry where you must register your guns or you cannot buy ammo.

DV,
I had a horrible time accepting our rifles in my house with my kids around. I bitched and whined for years. So, for xmas one year I got hubby a gun safe. The rifles are dismantled and/or the safety is on, and ammo is stored elsewhere.

I'm still leary...VERY leary....especially as my boys are so close to their teens....but I really don't know what's best. Keeping them out of the house completely, or teaching them how to use them.

I'm still arguing with myself over this one.....

What do you guys think? Better to get rid of all guns in a house with kids? Or when they 'come of age', teach them how they work, safety concerns and help them develop a healthy respect for guns??

[MikeFold]

Originally posted by gigi@Dec 11 2002, 05:13 PM
I'm still arguing with myself over this one.....

What do you guys think? Better to get rid of all guns in a house with kids? Or when they 'come of age', teach them how they work, safety concerns and help them develop a healthy respect for guns??

gigi,
i am a firm believer in teaching them....trying to "protect" kids/teens from the realities of the world usually induce them into thinking and acting directly the oposite of what you would prefer. You can apply the same question to explaining what we do for a living, or the 'birds and the bees' , drinking, or even the responsibility of getting a drivers license.

[Peaches]

Originally posted by gigi@Dec 11 2002, 05:13 PM
What do you guys think? Better to get rid of all guns in a house with kids? Or when they 'come of age', teach them how they work, safety concerns and help them develop a healthy respect for guns??

My brother and I grew up with guns - my Dad had a rifle and my Grandfather had a handgun on him ALWAYS - next to the bed, in the car, on him physically, etc. We were always taught the dangers of guns as well as how to shoot them.

That said, I did NOT have loaded guns in my home when mine was young. He thrived on disobeying me and I didn't want his "punishment" to be an accidental death. I had a boyfriend that lived with us for several years that had hunting guns that he kept in the house, but they weren't loaded - and the ammo wasn't in the house. Since these guns weren't used for protection, this was fine.

I have a young niece that will spending time at my house when she's older. I know my brother will teach her respect for guns, but I will still unload the guns while she's here. That's just my personal stance on the matter.

Something else to think about - even though we had been raised with guns, and knew the dangers, my brother admitted recently that when he was younger, he and a friend played with the friend's father's gun - not knowing if it was loaded or not. And my brother was the GOOD kid!

[VooMan]

We had guns in the house, and my dad taught us to respect them...

It's ALWAYS loaded (even if you know it isn't). ALWAYS treat it as such.

There is ALWAYS one in the chamber (even if you know there isn't). ALWAYS treat it as such.

NEVER point it at anyone, EVER.

etc... etc... etc...

We used to go to the range once a month, and when I was a kid I was a great shot. Haven't been for many years now, but I always knew to respect a gun and what it can do. I also respected my father for teaching me, and trusting me from a pretty young age.

It was never a problem...

[JFK]

Yes I do as Well , all legaly h34r:

[Almighty Colin]

Originally posted by KC@Dec 11 2002, 03:47 PM
Peaches and Colin's votes were not counted correctly...

Is this server located in Florida by any chance? I hear they have trouble down there

Computers don't make mistakes.
People make mistakes.

[gigi]

Thanks for your comments guys.

MF, I'm not so sure the 'birds and the bees' is an appropriate comparison as they can't be used to kill anyone. (although I'm sure there are some who beg to differ...lol)

I can see the drinking and driver's license though....deadly mix when you're young and stupid.

It's a tough call....maybe I'll get a bit more comfortable as my boys show a bit more responsibility...okay, so at what age would you guys start educating your child about guns? 7? 9? 11? 13?

Inquiring minds want to know!

[SykkBoy]

gun owner? check
legal gun owner? check
concealed carry permit? check
educated kids? constantly ongoing education, so not quite yet...


Education is the key. Like so many others here, I was raised around guns and constantly educated to the dangers. My friends were likewise.

Where I grew up, basically everyone had a gun and knew how to use it. Gun violence was nil, robberies were limited to 3-4 per year, other than minor shoplifting type things. It was common to see guns highly visible in gunracks......hunting season or not. In Wyoming, a gun on the hip was fine, but always had to be visible. Obviously you couldn't strap one on and walk into a bar. We had our guns for hunting AND protection. In Wyoming, not protection from humans so much as wildlife...nothing like waking up at 3 am to see a moose eating from your haystacks...first warning shot either scared it of or caused it to charge straight for your house.

Because of the knowledge of gun ownership and the proper training of using those guns, human protection wasn't needed. No one was stupid enough to break into someone's house knowing they had a gun AND knew how to use it.

I realize Wyoming isn't exactly consistant with the crimes and nature of people in states with larger urban populations, but an EDUCATED gun owner is a potential criminals worst enemy. A cop has to follow rules, a gun owner facing an intruder at 3 am doesn't so much....sure in some jurisdictions there are little laws regardig such, but that's where education comes in...if you're going to shoot, shoot to kill...shooting to wound only leaves a bigger legal mess....I was taught "never point a gun unless you intend to shoot and if you plan on shooting, shoot to kill" This applied for animals or that elusive intruder...

Like Voo, we always treated a gun as if it were always loaded and there was always one in the chamber.

I'm an odd breed amongst a lot of my follow NRA lifetime members ;) I have no problems with registering my guns. I have no problems with mandatory training of gun owners. The problem is, the criminal isn't going to care no matter how many laws you pass. In a utopian society, guns wouldn't be necessary for hunting or protection, but we don't live in Utopia...

I'd like to ask my canadian friends, what if someone breaks into your home for a home invasion...what are you going to do? Yell at them? Ooooh, that'll put a stop to them I'm sure ;)))

or are home invasions only an American phenomenon? ;)



Last edited by SykkBoy at Dec 12 2002, 12:53 PM

[RawAlex]

Talking of education is good, and I am glad to know so many of the people around here are responsible with their firearms.

Sadly, there is a huge part of the American landscape made up of people who blame everyone else... their kid sees porn because someone else forced them to see it, not becuase you let your 12 year old have a computer with full internet connection in their bedroom behind a closed door... your 13 year old daughter gets stalked by a 40 year old man not because you let her into all the chat rooms and gave her a webcam and then let her lock herself in the bedroom, no, that is because Al Gore invented in the Internet.

The level of responsiblity shown by the posters on this board is probably 90% higher than the american average. That is scary.

Havin said that, I tend to prefer 9mm semi-auto pistols... small enough, powerful enough, and fast enough... and fast loading clips are your friend.

Alex

[sarettah]

...okay, so at what age would you guys start educating your child about guns? 7? 9? 11? 13?

************************************************** *

With my kids, from the beginning, I taught that guns are NEVER toys. They never had toy guns of any kind, with the exclusion of big old "super soakers" for the canoe trips ...

When they were 8 or 9, I let them shoot bb guns and taught them to handle them the same as any other gun, not as a toy...
At 10 I had my son on a .22.... My daughter (they are twins) did not want anything to do with guns at that point and I did not push her.

My son had only shot the .22 until he went into the navy... He does weapon systems, so now he gets to shoot big stuff.

My youngest daughter is now 10. She has been tught the same as her older siblings that "Guns are NEVER toys". She has not shot yet because her mother does not want her too... and I like avoiding court whenever possible

My wife is proficient with my .380 and with HER M1... She loves shooting the M1..lol....

We are currently trying to get my daughter out with us to shoot the .380 and my Ruger Blackhawk (.357/38sp), just so she will know how to handle them if she ever needs too.

So, how old do you start.. You start on the attitude from the gitgo... On actual firearms training, shooting, etc. That would depend on the child. Some are probably ready to go at 5 or 6, some probably not until they are in their teens

[JFK]

Originally posted by SykkBoy@Dec 12 2002, 09:53 AM
I'd like to ask my canadian friends, what if someone breaks into your home for a home invasion...what are you going to do? Yell at them? Ooooh, that'll put a stop to them I'm sure ))

or are home invasions only an American phenomenon?

We would Probably get in more shit than the intruder, for trying to protect ourselfes! I would probably loose my permit, if I ever used it to defend my family. Home invasions around here mostly center around oriental emigrant neighborhoods, done by the chinese gangs.

[Menace]

...okay, so at what age would you guys start educating your child about guns? 7? 9? 11? 13?
---------------------------


My opinion is the moment the kid learns the word gun.

I think part of the "problem" is exposure and conditioning that makes taking someone else's life seem trivial. Everywhere you look someone is killing someone else and unless it's someone you know - it seems the true depth of death or murder isn't appreciated.

The news alone is great for this.. Reports almost every night of, "nice shoes, you die now" - "he cut me off in traffic, so I killed him" - "I've got a small dick, so you've gotta die"..

I think it's important that people be taught early and well that life is all we've got and one life touches many. Combined with that, the purpose, use and safety issues involved with any form of self defense or weapon.

I don't have any kids though, so you may just want to ignore everything I said


-Dennis

[gigi]

LOL Dennis

Thanks for the comments guys.

JFK, I beleive you are in Vancouver right? LMAO The 'asian gangs' gave it away...lol. I just moved to Kamloops to get away from the 'gang' mentality that Vancouver seems to be developing more and more of.

You are soooo right in that the home owner would have to go through HELL to prove s/he used force 'equal to that of the aggressor' or some such and it was done in self defense. Canadian law is fucked when it comes to this issue. If my dog bit an intruder the intruder could (and probably would) sue me...and s/he'd win. It's pathetic.

I'd like to ask my canadian friends, what if someone breaks into your home for a home invasion...what are you going to do? Yell at them? Ooooh, that'll put a stop to them I'm sure ))

or are home invasions only an American phenomenon?

Home invasions happen here too. In fact about a month ago I had one. 2:30am on a Saturday night. I fell asleep on my downstairs couch. (ground level) Hubby had taken my older two boys down to Vancouver and it was just me and my 1 year old here.

For some reason I 'felt' like I should open my eyes, I did, and low and behold there's some kid (16ish) standing in the door frame of my recroom.

I won't go into detail, but basically I just stood up to him and told him to get the f*ck out of my house. He did. He came back again for a second time (through the back door this time) and asked for some chick....I told him to get out again...he apologized and left.

And just when you think you are moving away from shit like that huh? lol

Our guns were locked away. I had a phone, a baseball bat, 2 dogs (english mastiff and a boxer puppy) and my smokes...lol.

Luckily nothing happened, he was drunk and looking for some chick....I called the cops, they came, they found him close by, he spent the night in jail...end of story.

I was petrified for a couple of weeks after that. Every sound had me waking hubby to check out...lol. It's getting better now though.

If hubby was home with the bat, that kid would probably still be in the hospital nursing his wounds....but ultimately, if hubby was home and had a gun close by, that kid could be dead right now....and for a drunken stupid mistake?

I don't condone anyone making a stupid drunk mistake....laying the blame on booze doesn't cut it for me. You are always responsible for your own actions...drunk or not drunk. But do you think he deserved to be shot?

Scary thought.

To answer your question though...lol....I don't have statistics, but I do know that it is rare you will hear about a home invasion that included the use of a gun here. Mostly it's knives that are used....and all households have lots of those right? lol The playing field is still pretty equal in so far as accessibility to weapons used....it's the element of surprise that puts the home owner at a disadvantage.

Guns are mostly used for drive bys here.

(well, that and disgruntled government workers....lol)



Last edited by gigi at Dec 13 2002, 01:53 AM