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Does owning a hand gun for protection make you more safe or less safe?

Does owning a hand gun for protection make you more safe or less safe?


  • Total voters
    81
I still disagree with your (bolded above) assertion. That makes as much (or as little) sense as saying that circular saw, speed square and pencil ownership makes you a good carpenter. My point was that mere tool possession is only one facet of an effective self defense plan. Given that (nearly) everyone has the constitutional right to own and carry a gun it simply makes good sense to include firearms (at least safety) training as a normal part of public school education. When I went to public HS, I received driver eduction but not any gun education and yet we seem amazed that too many folks are ignorant about gun safety.

Not really. There was a time when kids grew up with guns and knew how to operate them. Government education isn't the key to safe gun ownership.
 
The woman who was shot and killed by her two-year-old son at a Walmart in Idaho wasn't safe, if she didn't take her gun she would be alive today. She was less safe.
I loathe handguns for reasons like this. They are so convenient -she had one in a special purse with a zipper for EZ access.
So EZ a 2 year old got to it and killed her/

I realize people want protection, but lock the dang things up with a trigger lock when you aren't actively using it.
Meaning not lugging it around in a purse just because you can do so.
 
It looks like all the choices have been spamed. How in hell does somebody do that? I would think that only one vote per ip would be allowed.

I think you can limit votes to members only

maybe some bored stoners came upon DP or some monkeys on acid got access to the net

There are hundreds of guests on at any one time. It's not beyond belief that the poll has drawn the votes of lots of guests given the polarizing nature of the question.
 
There are hundreds of guests on at any one time. It's not beyond belief that the poll has drawn the votes of lots of guests given the polarizing nature of the question.

I sort of doubt the imbalance.
 
More Safe
Less Safe
I don't know

(This thread is not about the 2nd Amendment or banning guns, its about personal choices.)



It all depends on what you do with that gun.

If you keep it secure and out of the hands of others it might save your life.

Otherwise it might cost you your life.
 
It all depends on what you do with that gun.

If you keep it secure and out of the hands of others it might save your life.

Otherwise it might cost you your life.

true enough

when a mope sees the gun you should already be ready to shoot him

Hunter Thompson noted people who pulled guns on Hells angels often got seriously hurt because they weren't ready to use the gun. on the other hand, those who were ready to use it-the bikers almost always backed down. mopes are good at telling that. I've been around enough of them to know that. its like that scene in Tombstone when Wyatt Earp said he was gonna make a canoe out of one of the cowboy's head. and another said he's just bluffing and the almost wasted victim said no-he's not bluffing. and they all backed down. I walked through Central park past people I knew were mopes. and they knew that I knew they were mopes. and I never got hassled. and when I told a former NYC cop about that he noted-hell you look like you could kill a few of them (he knew I was packing but I also was a pro squash player at the time-6-1 175 and the best shape of my life). he said those guys read people really well and its not worth picking a fight with a guy who will probably take one or two of them with him. and all sorts of studies prove that
 
481 votes for less safe

here are the actual members who voted this way

Declan, fred68, Painter, pbrauer, Ryan5, Unrepresented

six leftwing votes

now who do you think makes up the other 475 votes

1) non members

2) left-wingers who logged out and voted dozens of times

any thoughts?

SOMEONE or SOMEONES is/are "gaming the poll. I have access to the actual numbers. As of the time of my post:

8 members voted for Less Safe.
9 members voted for Other.
24 members voted for More Safe.
1 member voted for I Don't Know.

I will alter the poll numbers to reflect this. I HATE it when people do this to polls. It is certainly deliberate. Times past, I used to have access to figure out who, but the software update prevents me from doing so.

Inform me if this happens again.
 
It looks like all the choices have been spamed. How in hell does somebody do that? I would think that only one vote per ip would be allowed.

There are ways. I've seen this before, often in gay rights polls. I'm not going to post how, but it does take some tenacity. When someone alerts me, I'm happy to fix it. I hate it when people do this crap.
 
SOMEONE or SOMEONES is/are "gaming the poll. I have access to the actual numbers. As of the time of my post:

8 members voted for Less Safe.
9 members voted for Other.
24 members voted for More Safe.
1 member voted for I Don't Know.

I will alter the poll numbers to reflect this. I HATE it when people do this to polls. It is certainly deliberate. Times past, I used to have access to figure out who, but the software update prevents me from doing so.

Inform me if this happens again.

Its also happened in my Al Sharpton poll and the JFK/Embargo poll.
 
Its also happened in my Al Sharpton poll and the JFK/Embargo poll.

I'll take a look and alter the numbers. Are they still active threads? Also, link me to them. I need the EXACT spelling of the thread title.
 
I dont know how you define active threads. It would be nice if we could have public votes without outside viewers being able to vote.

Can't. The owner wants it that way.


OK. I'll fix them. I already found the Sharpton thread and you are correct... the numbers have been screwed with.
 
Thanks, shame you have to go back and fit these things.

Happens. It's actually MORE of an irritant that people screw with the polls. It's a little time consuming, but I don't mind fixing them. People think they're being "cute". I like showing them that they're not.

Keep an eye out. Sometimes the fools come back and game them again.
 
Glad the polls are fixed. Poll rigging is messed up. Someone rigged the Hillary/Bush poll too I thought, one of my polls.
 
Glad the polls are fixed. Poll rigging is messed up. Someone rigged the Hillary/Bush poll too I thought, one of my polls.

If you want me to fix it, either post or PM me the link. I HATE when the polls get gamed and have no issue taking the time to fix them.
 
More Safe
Less Safe
I don't know
Other

(This thread is not about the 2nd Amendment or banning guns, its about personal choices.)

It depends on whether you are a Billy the Kid for whom carry turned out badly.
 
80% of US suicides are by gun, but not necessarily by the owner.

In gun households with children who where forbidden access to them, 22% of the kids admitted to having handled them, unknown to the parents.

But that doesn't answer my question I asked Ryan. How does he know my neighbor kills someone just because she owns a gun?
 
I loathe handguns for reasons like this. They are so convenient -she had one in a special purse with a zipper for EZ access.
So EZ a 2 year old got to it and killed her/

I realize people want protection, but lock the dang things up with a trigger lock when you aren't actively using it.
Meaning not lugging it around in a purse just because you can do so.

So... the theory is that when you come under threat the threat will wait patiently while you go to your safe, open that, pull out the trigger lock, fumble with the key......


The point of being able to protect yourself is to be able to do so exactly when you need to do so. Not saying you aren't correct that keeping it out of the hands of kids isn't a concern, but "not lugging it around in a purse" sort of destroys the purpose.
 
So... the theory is that when you come under threat the threat will wait patiently while you go to your safe, open that, pull out the trigger lock, fumble with the key......


The point of being able to protect yourself is to be able to do so exactly when you need to do so. Not saying you aren't correct that keeping it out of the hands of kids isn't a concern, but "not lugging it around in a purse" sort of destroys the purpose.
yes I realize that it has to be ready to be useful.
I was ranting a bit for sure, but the point was do not just take it with you in casual manner like your cell phone.

The woman was in a store -why did she need it in her purse? It takes a little time to secure and unsecure it -but isn't it worth it
rather then just lug it around when you are not traveling/ or facing any potential threats?

If I carried, I would make sure it was ready when needed, but in a more secure manner then this.
I don't carry so if this is a wrong headed idea, plese let me know
 
yes I realize that it has to be ready to be useful.
I was ranting a bit for sure, but the point was do not just take it with you in casual manner like your cell phone.

The woman was in a store -why did she need it in her purse?

:shrug: I can only assume because it was uncomfortable/awkward/she didn't want to carry it on her hip?

It takes a little time to secure and unsecure it -but isn't it worth it
rather then just lug it around when you are not traveling/ or facing any potential threats?

That depends. What are the odds that a two year old will be able to operate a handgun if he gets it v the odds that a rapist will patiently wait for you to unlock your pistol from its' secured location?

If I carried, I would make sure it was ready when needed, but in a more secure manner then this.
I don't carry so if this is a wrong headed idea, plese let me know

As a parent of little kids, it's a tension I go back and forth on myself.
 
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