I was kidding, relax. As long as you know how to properly use and operate a gun, then you shouldn't have any problems.
Admittedly this is a topic I'm torn on, as I'm for tighter gun laws, but for years I've contemplated getting a firearm for home protection. I'm curious if there are any non-lethal weapons that are viable alternatives? Doesn't seem like a tazer would give you much of a chance due to the short range. Rubber bullets? Just wondering if there's anything out there for home protection that would incapacitate a person, but not kill. Maybe the compromise is to buy a small caliber gun like a .22? I'm about to have my first child, so the safety aspect is a concern.
Up to this point I've never carried a gun or a knife. I'm 37. Lived in and walked through some of the poorest, most crime-ridden areas of Central America, Caribbean and Texas and never been robbed, assaulted or threatened. Then again I don't have much anyone would want to steal. If anyone broke into my house in H-town with the intent to harm my family or loved ones. They better be ready to A) Kill me and receive the death penalty here in TX or B) Have their eyes gouged out, their throat ripped apart, be beaten to a fricking pulp with a baseball bat, set on fire and have their smoldering corpse pissed on while bleeding on my living room floor. I'm ok with this.
I don't own a gun and I don't plan to but I have fired rifles and .45 semiautomatic pistol. At the risk of sounding like an internet tough guy I don't feel I need a gun because of extensive training in martial arts and have fought off someone trying to break into my house before and also someone attempting to mug me. I firmly believe everyone should learn martial arts particularly grappling type arts (Judo, Jujitsu, Aikido and etc.) because those can be used close in. A gun or a knife can be taken from you and used against you but martial arts training cannot. Also if you can't get to your gun you will always have that training with you. Further if you want to incapacitate but not kill there are many techniques that can be used to incapacitate, injure but not kill or even do minimal harm. Even though I am very critical about the easy access of guns that we have in our society especially to semiautomatic high capacity weapons I am not against people having guns if they feel they need it. What needs to be kept in mind though is that a gun is not an end all to self-defense. A common exercise that police do is with a holstered gun have someone charge them. In almost every instance someone can not draw a gun and fire before that person gets to them from 20' distance. That is an officer with hip holster consider a civilian with minimum fire arms training trying to get a gun a from a safe, cabinet, or purse. Also this cannot be emphasized enough but guns need to be kept secured. As we see with Adam Lanza where even though his mom had grown up with guns and gave every impression of a responsible gun owner still had her guns taken and used against her. Also a two weeks ago in Minneapolis a 4 year old got hold of his father's gun (that he kept for self-defense) and shot his little brother. Unfortunately needing to properly secure a gun means that it will take longer to get it in the case of an emergency. That said if you have children the most irresponsible thing you can do is leave a loaded gun underneath your pillow.
Yes, you can buy dummy rounds, but I think they're only compatible with certain firearms. Maybe I'm wrong on that, but I not wrong on this: you can load a shotgun shell with rock salt. My buddy does this for the first round, with all subsequent shots the real-deal. As to myself, I keep a Glock 9mm in easy reach.
There are a ton of different shell loads to get for shotguns, rubber pellets, rock salt, flash bang shells, etc. Heck, Even a small bird shot would be non-lethal with a little distance between you and the target.
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Hahhaha, in a stand-off he'd win.. My home is as small as Bilbo Baggins, I'd slice him in close range...
I've never understood the concept of keeping a gun in the house for self protection, especially a handgun. (doubly so for those with kids) 1) If someone is going to break into your house, odds are they're going to make sure you're not home. They don't want you around, they want your stuff, not a murder charge. 2) A dog (or alarm system) is a far, far better way to make sure you don't have any intruders in the first place. 3) If someone did want to break in while you were home, it's typically because they're either some deranged serial killer (super unlikely), you gave someone a reason to want to harm you (also unlikely, but preventable nonetheless), or (most likely) a random confused/drunk person or worse yet someone you actually know. 4) If I was going to keep a gun in the house (let's say I lived in a really sketchy neighborhood), it wouldn't be something like a handgun, it would be something far more stopping power and far more cumbersome to operate (to deter children). For example, a shotgun. If someone breaks in my house, I will unload a shell into a window. If that doesn't send them running, the next one goes at them. Of course, the logic of all this is predicated on the assumption that I could ready a weapon and neutralize an intruder (who, by all reason, should have the upperhand) in the first place. Seeing as how I'm a civilian and not a regularly trained shooter or paramilitary, I don't give myself too much chance.
I keep my pistol in one of these. They are around $200-$250 but I have compared with other similar safes, and to me this is the best value. http://www.fas1safe.com/ <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/CcJUGuB35y8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Secure, but fast access. I recommend taking as many training classes as you can, and practicing regularly. Owning a firearm is a huge responsibility.
I agree with your post but more so the last two sentences. Owning a gun is like taking CPR, in my eyes. It could save lives. I will definitely also learn the LAWs that pertain to owning a gun or just laws about using them.
Donny, my family has had personal experience with break-ins. We lived in what we thought was a safe neighborhood. Short answer, I once believed everything you assumed, until it happened to us. My mother's car was in the driveway, sometime in the early afternoon, yet the intruders still kicked in the door. The alarm sounded, and they ran away for a few seconds, but came back and ripped out the alarm, and started looting the house. I thought police would respond quickly. Instead, it took three hours for the police to respond to my mother's 911 call (this was not a monitored alarm system, my mother called in the middle of the burglary). My mother hid until they finally showed up. Years later, my mother told me that in addition to stealing all of our valuables, they also took one knife from the knife rack, possibly to use as a weapon. I don't want to think about what might have happened if they found where she was hiding. Even today, about 20 years later, she does not like to talk about it. We had to sell the house and move because it was so traumatic for her. There are still things she does that I can trace back to that day. As for weapon choice, I chose a pistol because I target shoot with a pistol. I have only fired a few rounds through a shotgun, but thousands of rounds through a handgun. I firmly believe in a possibly life threatening situation, you should use what you have the most practice time with. However I would recommend that if you've never handled a gun, or never trained with one, and never intend to, you should definitely not purchase one. It's not something to be taken lightly. And if you have a weapon, you should always secure it (this does not mean hide it. It means lock it up.)
Mack, Unfortunately, for many, that's what it would probably take for someone to change their view on "needing" a gun for home protection. A lot of people have their alarms and think that alone will scare away an intruder. That is incorrect. For me, thank God that is not the case. However, I do keep guns around because I grew up with them. My Dad was/is a huge hunter & taught me how to shoot around the age of 6. He also taught me gun safety and respect (The most important). I just recently got my CHL and started carrying my pistol while out & about due to the fact I had a scary moment on Westhiemer about a month ago. A car with 2 guys drove up next to me, saying they could fix my bumper and told me to pull over. They were very demanding that I pull over NOW. I politely said No Thank You but they followed me from Hilcroft all the way to the Galleria, swerving at me on purpose and kept pointing for me to pull over. I got my CHL the next week. Times are getting more and more unpredictable people. Be careful out there & at home. Sometimes you have to take justice into your own hands due to the fact the police are not always right around the corner.
A home burglary can happen in less than 5 minutes. The burglars would be gone by the time the police came.
The problem with this thinking in my opinion is you are limiting the ability to best protect your family. A Tazer could work, but what if there are more than one attackers or what if they are on PCP and it doesn't phase them? The same could be said for rubber bullets, which are only viable in shotguns. Smaller calibers like a .22 or .380 will not drop every person, even with accurate shots... and especially if again, they are high on something (including simply adrenaline). When I am protecting myself and my family, I'm not leaving anything to chance.
Sorry you had to go through that, and it's certainly understandable that it would change someone's opinion. I was robbed at gun point several years ago, and my view on the subject has not changed. Your story is interesting in that the intruders grabbed a knife in the house. This tells me they did not enter the house armed. Also, they waited until the house seemed empty or was only inhabited by someone who could not defend themself (i.e. your mother, whom I'm not sure could wield a gun). So, there's other ways to see why this incident might have unfolded the way it did.
