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> You also have a substantially reduced ability to defend your families against violent criminals that live in your country Does that really happen enough to w

> You also have a substantially reduced ability to defend your families against violent criminals that live in your country Does that really happen enough to worry about? Should I spend my money on a newer, safer car or a gun? Or maybe on more comprehensive healthcare for my family instead? Perhaps on living closer to schools and other amenities so we don't have to drive as much? I can't imagine that there are that many scenarios where a gun saves the day from violence... but maybe that's because I don't live in america

sDlEzAtyoNAz 8y ago
>Does that really happen enough to worry about? Yes, of course it does. There are literally millions of violent crimes in the US in any given year. >Should I spend my money on a newer, safer car or a gun? I leave that to you to decide. I don't know you. Bringing a gun into your home might make you less safe if you are an irresponsible person or if you have psychological issues. If you are a responsible person with no psychological issues, but you live in an area that has virtually no violent crime, then it might just be a waste of money. >I can't imagine that there are that many scenarios where a gun saves the day from violence There are estimated to be over 100,000 defensive uses of guns in the US each year. The widespread ownership of guns has had a clear influence on the behavior of violent criminals. Particularly, in the US, criminals avoid breaking into homes when they are occupied, because they know many occupants will be armed.
hokumguru 8y ago
I believe the CDC estimates the low-end of lives saved by guns in the USA each year to be 300,000. High end to be a few million. Dwarfs the number of gun deaths
- ebbv 8y ago
  Hahaha uhh no. Not even remotely. This is completely pulled out of your ass. First of all the CDC has been banned from studying guns since GW Bush administration. Secondly deaths by homicide in the US aren’t even close to that. California had the most murders of any state in 2016 and it wasn’t even 2000, then it drops off quickly from there. Total murders in the US is less than 20k per year. For your number to be right guns would have to be stopping 93.7% of murders. Where did you even get that ridiculous number from? Insanity.
dbbk 8y ago
This is where the argument always fails for me. "But having a gun means I can defend my family!" Against what? I just don't buy the premise that you're significantly at risk of a violent attack out of nowhere, for no reason, at any given time. I've never felt even remotely unsafe living in London, let alone felt the need to keep a weapon on me.
- sDlEzAtyoNAz 8y ago
  >Against what? In the US, that would be against the individuals who collectively commit millions of violent crimes per year (surveys indicate this number easily exceeds 5 million per year).
  - dbbk 8y ago
    What are the odds of that happening to you though? I don't know what the actual statistics are but it seems highly improbable. And it doesn't seem logical to me that a criminal who wants to (i.e. rob you) is really going to actually shoot and kill you to do it.
    - sDlEzAtyoNAz 8y ago
      That's hugely dependent on who you are and where you live and so on, but there are estimated to be around 6 million violent crimes per year, or about 55 people per violent crime. Of course many people are victimized more than once, so you can't easily extrapolate to how likely a random person is to be victimized. Either way, over a lifespan, that is a significant risk. >And it doesn't seem logical to me that a criminal who wants to (i.e. rob you) is really going to actually shoot and kill you to do it. What you're missing is that I don't want someone to rob me. I don't want my family to ever be at the mercy of a violent thug. They ultimately depend upon me for their safety, and I am going to do what I can to guarantee it.
      - dbbk 8y ago
        > What you're missing is that I don't want someone to rob me. Of course. > I don't want my family to ever be at the mercy of a violent thug. No one does. > They ultimately depend upon me for their safety, and I am going to do what I can to guarantee it. Buy a pepper spray? What do you need a weapon of killing for?

sDlEzAtyoNAz 8y ago

>Does that really happen enough to worry about? Yes, of course it does. There are literally millions of violent crimes in the US in any given year. >Should I spend my money on a newer, safer car or a gun? I leave that to you to decide. I don't know you. Bringing a gun into your home might make you less safe if you are an irresponsible person or if you have psychological issues. If you are a responsible person with no psychological issues, but you live in an area that has virtually no violent crime, then it might just be a waste of money. >I can't imagine that there are that many scenarios where a gun saves the day from violence There are estimated to be over 100,000 defensive uses of guns in the US each year. The widespread ownership of guns has had a clear influence on the behavior of violent criminals. Particularly, in the US, criminals avoid breaking into homes when they are occupied, because they know many occupants will be armed.

hokumguru 8y ago

I believe the CDC estimates the low-end of lives saved by guns in the USA each year to be 300,000. High end to be a few million. Dwarfs the number of gun deaths

ebbv 8y ago
Hahaha uhh no. Not even remotely. This is completely pulled out of your ass. First of all the CDC has been banned from studying guns since GW Bush administration. Secondly deaths by homicide in the US aren’t even close to that. California had the most murders of any state in 2016 and it wasn’t even 2000, then it drops off quickly from there. Total murders in the US is less than 20k per year. For your number to be right guns would have to be stopping 93.7% of murders. Where did you even get that ridiculous number from? Insanity.

dbbk 8y ago

This is where the argument always fails for me. "But having a gun means I can defend my family!" Against what? I just don't buy the premise that you're significantly at risk of a violent attack out of nowhere, for no reason, at any given time. I've never felt even remotely unsafe living in London, let alone felt the need to keep a weapon on me.

sDlEzAtyoNAz 8y ago
>Against what? In the US, that would be against the individuals who collectively commit millions of violent crimes per year (surveys indicate this number easily exceeds 5 million per year).
- dbbk 8y ago
  What are the odds of that happening to you though? I don't know what the actual statistics are but it seems highly improbable. And it doesn't seem logical to me that a criminal who wants to (i.e. rob you) is really going to actually shoot and kill you to do it.
  - sDlEzAtyoNAz 8y ago
    That's hugely dependent on who you are and where you live and so on, but there are estimated to be around 6 million violent crimes per year, or about 55 people per violent crime. Of course many people are victimized more than once, so you can't easily extrapolate to how likely a random person is to be victimized. Either way, over a lifespan, that is a significant risk. >And it doesn't seem logical to me that a criminal who wants to (i.e. rob you) is really going to actually shoot and kill you to do it. What you're missing is that I don't want someone to rob me. I don't want my family to ever be at the mercy of a violent thug. They ultimately depend upon me for their safety, and I am going to do what I can to guarantee it.
    - dbbk 8y ago
      > What you're missing is that I don't want someone to rob me. Of course. > I don't want my family to ever be at the mercy of a violent thug. No one does. > They ultimately depend upon me for their safety, and I am going to do what I can to guarantee it. Buy a pepper spray? What do you need a weapon of killing for?