Majority of Americans say guns make homes safer

[markomalley]

From the Washington Post:
The failure of popular Senate gun proposals Wednesday affirmed — even in the wake of Newtown shootings — the rigidity of the politics on the issue.

Lost amid the debate is the fact that for the first time a majority of Americans say having a gun in the household makes it a safer place to be, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. By a wide 51 to 29 percent margin, more people say a gun in the house makes it safer rather than more dangerous.


See the links in the story, above, for the poll internals.

 

[Robert_Sock]

But what is it in reality? The data I saw strongly suggested that an innocent person is more likely to killed with an owner’s gun than some home intruder. What’s being suggested here is a far cry from an adequate survey that actually show real-life statistics.

 

[buffalo]

As we remove God from society we need more weapons. Makes perfect sense.

I myself 30 years ago did not think I needed a weapon in the home, no longer. Another aspect is that Americans are feeling helpless and that law enforcement cannot respond and protect them fast enough so we have to fend for ourselves.

 

[Robert_Sock]

As we remove God from society we need more weapons. Makes perfect sense.

I myself 30 years ago did not think I needed a weapon in the home, no longer. Another aspect is that Americans are feeling helpless and that law enforcement cannot respond and protect them fast enough so we have to fend for ourselves.

Fine line between self-defense and murder. Even if you shoot an intruder, you can still be liable for the killing.

 

[Francoist]

It is morally advisable to take personal responsibility for the safety of one’s self and one’s family. Don’t rely on the government. They cannot be everywhere and you don’t actually want them to be.

 

[Bill_Martin]

20 blocks cordoned off, thousand or so police on the ground, helicopters, armored vehicles, and SWAT teams on patrol, and they couldn’t find a 19 year old kid for over a day. What would you do if you were one of those residents locked in your home while a desperate armed terrorist broke in to take you hostage or up his body count? Call 911? There is only one solution in that scenario and that is a firearm.

Now think of a common criminal on the prowl in your neighborhood who does not have every LE agency in the free world on the lookout for him. What will stop him? If the combined forces of the FBI, Boston PD, Watertown PD, MA State Police, and a few alphabet agencies couldn’t track down a single person for an entire day in a confined area, there is no way the regular PD will be able to save anyone from the average criminal break in. The solution is the same as above.

The only person responsible for your safety, unless you are a minor, is you.

 

[Sabda]

20 blocks cordoned off, thousand or so police on the ground, helicopters, armored vehicles, and SWAT teams on patrol, and they couldn’t find a 19 year old kid for over a day. What would you do if you were one of those residents locked in your home while a desperate armed terrorist broke in to take you hostage or up his body count? Call 911? There is only one solution in that scenario and that is a firearm.

Now think of a common criminal on the prowl in your neighborhood who does not have every LE agency in the free world on the lookout for him. What will stop him? If the combined forces of the FBI, Boston PD, Watertown PD, MA State Police, and a few alphabet agencies couldn’t track down a single person for an entire day in a confined area, there is no way the regular PD will be able to save anyone from the average criminal break in. The solution is the same as above.

The only person responsible for your safety, unless you are a minor, is you.

:sad_yes:
Absolutely, although in some situations even the minor is responsible for their own safety. One story I can think of off the top of my head is a girl, I think she was about 12, who had someone break into the home and she had to shoot the person though a closed closet door because he was trying to get in the closet to get to her.

I know in our case it takes the police at least 15-20 minutes to get to our house. That’s an awful lot of time for a criminal to do whatever he wants and get away.

I know if our family had been one of those living in that area of Boston we would have had the gun out loaded and ready in case the guy tried to get in. No sense in taking a chance with your life or that of your families.

 

[Holly3278]

Last I checked no one was advocating taking guns away from every law-abiding citizen in the United States.

 

[Bill_Martin]

Last I checked no one was advocating taking guns away from every law-abiding citizen in the United States.

That’s exactly what Dianne Feinstein has said. That’s what a CT bill would essentially have done. There are plenty of people who want this, and the so called “common sense” legislation they propose, such as registration and back door registration, is the mechanism by which it will happen.

 

[Holly3278]

That’s exactly what Dianne Feinstein has said. That’s what a CT bill would essentially have done. There are plenty of people who want this, and the so called “common sense” legislation they propose, such as registration and back door registration, is the mechanism by which it will happen.

Well, that’s pretty sad if people are actually advocating taking guns away from law-abiding citizens in the United States. Personally, I have never advocated such but I do advocate stronger gun control laws.

 

[Sunflake9]

With proper storage and educating children from a young age and practice and training there is nothing wrong with having firearms in the home. If you ever need one and have it,know how to use it properly there may not be a better way to protect your family in a dire situation. You have the right to use deadly force to protect yourself if, God forbid someone decides to break into your house.

In that kind of situation talking them into leaving you and your family alone, taking what they want and leaving is not likely. You can bet that they have a gun and aren’t afraid to use it. I will admit that it’s sad that this is the world we live in but, I prefer to be prepared and am willing to protect my loved ones, and property from evil people. Remember criminal don’t follow the law. Background checks can and do help but a majority of criminals don’t buy weapons through legal dealers who do check backgrounds. They buy them off the street. To many restrictions or outright bans on legally purchased guns only affects law abiding people not criminals. It just leaves you at a horribly possibly dead disadvantage.

 

[nitesnake]

That’s exactly what Dianne Feinstein has said. That’s what a CT bill would essentially have done. There are plenty of people who want this, and the so called “common sense” legislation they propose, such as registration and back door registration, is the mechanism by which it will happen.

True. Also liberals will not admit that what they really want is confiscation. The silly notion that more gun control laws will keep criminals from getting guns is nonsense.

Cocaine is outlawed in the U.S. Does anyone really think I couldn’t get cocaine anytime I wish? What makes getting a gun any different?

 

[_Abyssinia]

Research by criminology professor Gary Kleck at Florida state university who has researched gun control laws since 1976 and was a supporter of gun control laws, and is a liberal politically found that businesses and homes are less likely to be targeted by burglars in countries that have high rates of gun ownership compared to countries with low rates of gun ownership

He found guns prevent estimated 6849 crimes per day, 2.5 million crimes annually and per day 1100 murders, 5200 other violent and 550 rapes per day are prevented by showing a handgun. Less than 0.9% of that time a gun is fired

rense.com/general76/univ.htm

 

[_Abyssinia]

Research by criminology professor Gary Kleck at Florida state university who has researched gun control laws since 1976 and was a supporter of gun control laws, and is a liberal politically found that businesses and homes are less likely to be targeted by burglars in countries that have high rates of gun ownership compared to countries with low rates of gun ownership

He found guns prevent estimated 6849 crimes per day, 2.5 million crimes annually and per day 1100 murders, 5200 other violent and 550 rapes per day are prevented by showing a handgun. Less than 0.9% of that time a gun is fired

rense.com/general76/univ.htm

 

[Kelfa28]

20 blocks cordoned off, thousand or so police on the ground, helicopters, armored vehicles, and SWAT teams on patrol, and they couldn’t find a 19 year old kid for over a day. What would you do if you were one of those residents locked in your home while a desperate armed terrorist broke in to take you hostage or up his body count? Call 911? There is only one solution in that scenario and that is a firearm.

Now think of a common criminal on the prowl in your neighborhood who does not have every LE agency in the free world on the lookout for him. What will stop him? If the combined forces of the FBI, Boston PD, Watertown PD, MA State Police, and a few alphabet agencies couldn’t track down a single person for an entire day in a confined area, there is no way the regular PD will be able to save anyone from the average criminal break in. The solution is the same as above.

The only person responsible for your safety, unless you are a minor, is you.

Exactly.

Yesterday, I was at home with my daughter and my husband was at work…typical day.
The news was on and I wasn’t paying much attention…until the news reporter mentioned that the second bombing suspect was a student at UMASS Dartmouth.

Suddenly, I had great interest in the story because that campus is only about 10 mins from my house.
Since they hadn’t found the suspect at all…the only thing I could think of was the fact that he was trying to make it down to my neck of the woods to get to his dorm room, only to discover the campus was locked down and then try something else.

Yes, my mind was racing but it wasn’t entirely out of the realm of possibility. We keep a weapon in the house…and I knew that cops were being sent to Watertown and the surrounding Boston area from all over the state. They were all watching Boston…no one was watching Southeastern Mass.

Anyway…my husband came home and was just as surprised by the news as I was…he joked that he half expected the gun to be out of the safe and ready to go for quick access, just in case.

I firmly believe that a gun in my home makes me safer. During most days…it’s me and my daughter against whomever comes through that door.

It was even worse when my husband worked overnights…but knowing I wasn’t defenseless made me sleep better at night.

No one will ever convince me it’s a good idea to do away with my right to legally keep a weapon.
I believe in another trinity as well…praying to God, a cell phone, and a gun to hold off the intruder until the cops get there. You need all three to guarantee your safety and survival.

 

[LilyM]

True. Also liberals will not admit that what they really want is confiscation. The silly notion that more gun control laws will keep criminals from getting guns is nonsense.

Cocaine is outlawed in the U.S. Does anyone really think I couldn’t get cocaine anytime I wish? What makes getting a gun any different?

And that, of course, is why nobody has attempted to outlaw cocaine … oh wait …

 

[GaryTaylor]

Exactly.

Yesterday, I was at home with my daughter and my husband was at work…typical day.
The news was on and I wasn’t paying much attention…until the news reporter mentioned that the second bombing suspect was a student at UMASS Dartmouth.

Suddenly, I had great interest in the story because that campus is only about 10 mins from my house.
Since they hadn’t found the suspect at all…the only thing I could think of was the fact that he was trying to make it down to my neck of the woods to get to his dorm room, only to discover the campus was locked down and then try something else.

Yes, my mind was racing but it wasn’t entirely out of the realm of possibility. We keep a weapon in the house…and I knew that cops were being sent to Watertown and the surrounding Boston area from all over the state. They were all watching Boston…no one was watching Southeastern Mass.

Anyway…my husband came home and was just as surprised by the news as I was…he joked that he half expected the gun to be out of the safe and ready to go for quick access, just in case.

I firmly believe that a gun in my home makes me safer. During most days…it’s me and my daughter against whomever comes through that door.

It was even worse when my husband worked overnights…but knowing I wasn’t defenseless made me sleep better at night.

No one will ever convince me it’s a good idea to do away with my right to legally keep a weapon.
I believe in another trinity as well…praying to God, a cell phone, and a gun to hold off the intruder until the cops get there. You need all three to guarantee your safety and survival.

Amen,

My thoughts exactly.

I imagine this is what went through residents minds in Watertown yesterday, while they wondered “what” would be knocking on their back door.

 

[LilyM]

Research by criminology professor Gary Kleck at Florida state university who has researched gun control laws since 1976 and was a supporter of gun control laws, and is a liberal politically found that businesses and homes are less likely to be targeted by burglars in countries that have high rates of gun ownership compared to countries with low rates of gun ownership

He found guns prevent estimated 6849 crimes per day, 2.5 million crimes annually and per day 1100 murders, 5200 other violent and 550 rapes per day are prevented by showing a handgun. Less than 0.9% of that time a gun is fired

rense.com/general76/univ.htm

High rates of gun ownership are not inconsistent with controls on that ownership. Everyone in the Army has weapons, after all, but they are thoroughly background checked before those weapons are provided.

Besides which, burglary is one facet. I don’t seem to recall low rates of gun ownership being associated invariably with high murder rates, for example.

 

[_Abyssinia]

High rates of gun ownership are not inconsistent with controls on that ownership. Everyone in the Army has weapons, after all, but they are thoroughly background checked before those weapons are provided.

Besides which, burglary is one facet. I don’t seem to recall low rates of gun ownership being associated invariably with high murder rates, for example.

Background checks exist for non army citizens

America is number one for rate of gun ownership, 88 guns per 100 people, and is number 28 in gun homicide with 2.97 per 100000 population. America has a lower rate of gun murder than Jamaica, which is 74 on the list of guns per capita; Honduras number 88 and El Salvador number 92 which have higher rates of gun murder as do 24 other countries before America

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_of_guns_per_capita_by_country

Switzerland has three times higher gun ownership than Germany but Switzerland has lower murder rates than Germany

Harvard study, Would Banning Firearms Reduce Murder and Suicide? A Review of International and Some Domestic Evidence, found the nine European countries with low levels of gun ownership, less than 5000 guns per 100000 population have a combined murder rate that is three times higher compared to the nine countries with the highest rate of gun ownership, 15000 guns per 100000 population minimum

Page 661

If the mantra “more guns equal more death and fewer guns equal less death” were true, broad cross-national comparisons should show that nations with higher gun ownership per capita consistently have more death. Nations with higher gun ownership rates, however, do not have higher murder or suicide rates than those with lower gun ownership. Indeed many high gun ownership nations have much lower murder rates

Page 663

[P]er capita murder overall is only half as frequent in the United States as in several other nations where gun murder is rarer, but murder by strangling, stabbing, or beating is much more frequent

 

[_Abyssinia]

High rates of gun ownership are not inconsistent with controls on that ownership. Everyone in the Army has weapons, after all, but they are thoroughly background checked before those weapons are provided.

Besides which, burglary is one facet. I don’t seem to recall low rates of gun ownership being associated invariably with high murder rates, for example.

If you give false information on a form for background check it is a federal felony and if sell a gun to an individual who is mentally ill, drug addicted, alcoholic, or a criminal there is a penalty of 10 years in prison

It is a federal felony for a private citizen to lend, sell, rent, or give a gun to another person whop is not legally allowed to have a gun. It is a crime for all licensed gun dealers at retail stores, gun shows, and everywhere else you can think of to sell a gun without doing a background check. It is a federal felony to buy and sell ammunition and guns without having a federal firearm dealers license

Gun prosecutions are down 45% under Obama, that is a major problem

There are many countries which have lower rates of gun ownership per capita than America but have higher murder rates than America

America is number one for rate of gun ownership, 88 guns per 100 people, and is number 28 in gun homicide with 2.97 per 100000 population. America has a lower rate of gun murder than Jamaica, which is 74 on the list of guns per capita; Honduras number 88 and El Salvador number 92 which have higher rates of gun murder as do 24 other countries before America

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_of_guns_per_capita_by_country

Switzerland has three times higher gun ownership than Germany but Switzerland has lower murder rates than Germany

Harvard study, Would Banning Firearms Reduce Murder and Suicide? A Review of International and Some Domestic Evidence, found the nine European countries with low levels of gun ownership, less than 5000 guns per 100000 population have a combined murder rate that is three times higher compared to the nine countries with the highest rate of gun ownership, 15000 guns per 100000 population minimum

Page 661

If the mantra “more guns equal more death and fewer guns equal less death” were true, broad cross-national comparisons should show that nations with higher gun ownership per capita consistently have more death. Nations with higher gun ownership rates, however, do not have higher murder or suicide rates than those with lower gun ownership. Indeed many high gun ownership nations have much lower murder rates

Page 663

[P]er capita murder overall is only half as frequent in the United States as in several other nations where gun murder is rarer, but murder by strangling, stabbing, or beating is much more frequent