Got Ambushed Last Night and Shot!

[firefighter9208]

If anybody cares read the following report: List of Birmingham homicides in 2007 - Bhamwiki

I remember the bumper sticker that my grandfather had back in the 80's.

It read: If guns were outlawed, only outlaws would have guns.


Chris

 

[Soundguy]

I live in Rural Iowa. The violent crime rate, based on data provided online, puts the odds of my family (four people) of having a physical confrontation on my property at about 10,000:1.

Violent crime is not 'all crime'. Many times a gun may come in handy other than a 'violent crime.. just about any property crime or forceable felony in progress can/might be stopped.. before any violence occours... so that is a skewed statistic, if you only count the situations that are termed violent.

If I invest in risk prevention for the family for all risks that have a 10,000:1 or greater statistical chance of occurring during the course of a year, I would go broke fairly quickly. Drunk drivers result in 10x the deaths per year. Obesity is probably 100x the homicide rate in Iowa.

Not all risks can be mitigated or prevented.. only a few can.. might as well take care of the few you can.. of the ones that can be mitigated.. few of them are as easy as a 'single purchase' set and forget type scenerio that a gun may provide...

My point is that as protectors of our families, a gun only addresses a very VERY small subset of risks we face during our lives. Unfortunately, I have several neighbors who own guns, take a VERY protective approach to protecting their families, and yet don't own a single smoke detector for their home. They also smoke inside the home with children. They can't see the irony of their choices...

Sure it only addresses a small subset.. but it's one you can address. A plane might fall out of the sky and kill me in my house. there IS a stastistic on that.. I've seen it.. it WAY small... I'm not in any way going to plan to mitigate it... it would be too hard and difficult. and expensive. Home invasion? might still be low .. but for 100$ i can have a shotgun in the bedroom .. sure might be a low chance. but it was also inexpensive and 'easy' to implement.

My recommendation, when considering steps to further protect your family and property, is to list ALL of the potential risks. Rank them NOT on emotion, but on the likelihood of occurrence, cost to mitigate, and timeframe to complete. There are MANY communities in the US that justify the need to keep a firearm for self protection. Just like there are many states that justify a basement for tornadoes, or fire retardant shingles for forest fires. Its important to consider ALL risks, not just the ones that strike the strongest emotional chord...

IowaAndy

My recomendation is for you to not own a gun if it bothers you.. and to NOT advise others TO not own guns because YOU feel a certain way about them. It doesn't always boil down to an emotion.. it can simply be a 'choice'.. remember.. sometimes a cigar is a cigar...

soundguy

 

[Soundguy]

, I have several neighbors who own guns, take a VERY protective approach to protecting their families, and yet don't own a single smoke detector for their home. They also smoke inside the home with children. They can't see the irony of their choices... IowaAndy

sounds like a great opportunity to be an awesome neighbor and buy them neighbors a 15$ smoke detector for christmas!

soundguy

 

[Skyco]

My recomendation is for you to not own a gun if it bothers you.. and to NOT advise others TO not own guns because YOU feel a certain way about them.

Heh. SC recently had a legislative battle over publishing the list of CWP holders. One of the newspapers IIRC sued wanting to publish the list. They maintained that any list of government license holders should be public knowledge. Fortunately it got shot down.
One of the ironic twists during one of the protests was the non-gun owners/gun haters were asked to put signs in their front yards advising that they did NOT have guns in that house. ie "Criminals welcome- nobody in this house is armed!"
For some reason they didn't want to do that

 

[Soundguy]

I got no probelem with the next guy not wanting to own a gun.. What I got a problem with is the non gun owners wanting to impose their will on me...

Like I said.. they don't feel warm and fuzzy with a gun.. no problem.. just keep 911 on speed dial and be ready to go fistacuffs with the guy that breaks in to kill your familly.. either that or start pleading with them... me... I'll feel MUCH safer with my 'theif dispatcher' ready to go... no begging or pleading needed

soundguy

 

[Skyco]

Agreed. As for calling 911 Remember - when seconds count, the police are only minutes away.

 

[KeithInSpace]

Texas and Iowa are definitely much different! In 2005, for example, we had 38 statewide homicides.

So they are quite different...the STATE of Texas (as in, the Death Penalty) put 26 inmates to their doom in 2007...70% of ALL the folks who met their demise by homocide in Iowa.

Of course that probably doesn't mean much on a per-capita basis. Neither does the fact that 1,384 people were murdered in Texas in 2006...a tidy 3,642% increase over the number of murders in Iowa.

You Iowa folk are pretty docile people. No wonder you don't have a gun. Probably sleep with your doors unlocked and your keys in the car! Bread probably still costs 10 cents.

I know where I need to move!!!

This really is a great discussion. I still sure hope Mr. Double Orange is OK.

 

[AndyinIowa]

Its interesting that multiple people concluded I don't own any guns, and that I'm recommending people NOT have guns. I'm a gunowner, hunter, and spend most of my time outdoors (well, when work lets me).


Anyway, this sub-topic in a topic has hijacked the orignal topic enough. Double Orange, what's the latest update!?


IowaAndy

 

[Skyco]

Its interesting that multiple people concluded I don't own any guns, and that I'm recommending people NOT have guns. I'm a gunowner, hunter, and spend most of my time outdoors (well, when work lets me).


Anyway, this sub-topic in a topic has hijacked the orignal topic enough. Double Orange, what's the latest update!?


IowaAndy

Funny-- I read back and I don't see where anyone concluded you didn't have guns

 

[gemini5362]

Agreed. As for calling 911 Remember - when seconds count, the police are only minutes away.

Somewhere in my general education I have neglected something this is the first time I have seen that quote and I love it.

I dont know about the rest of you but I have poisonous reptiles living on my place. Most notably are copperheads, water moccasins, and although I have not seen any there are rattlesnakes in my part of arkansas. Along with the poisonous reptiles are the many wild animals that have not been vacinated for rabies. ( I know that is hard to believe) There also have been a few bears, panthers, and wolves that hang out now and then. I kind of like the idea of having something that will make me not have to tackle a poisonous snake close enough that if i miss him (like with a shovel or something) he might get a shot at me. And I sure dont want to tangle physically with that cute little red squirrel that is foaming at the mouth and a grumpy bear or hungry panther. Not on my dance card. There are a lot of reasons for owning a gun besides planning on shooting the criminal that likes easy pickens.