4 ms·

"Well, the thing is that guns aren't a very effective means of protection -- especially not from cops" It's not about protecting yourself from cops. It's prot

"Well, the thing is that guns aren't a very effective means of protection -- especially not from cops" It's not about protecting yourself from cops. It's protecting yourself from criminals..but it seems with all of the latest news stories, criminals are protected, adored, and idolized. It's also not even about the actual effectiveness of the gun. When it's well-known that you have a weapon, crime decreases. "I mean, what scenarios do you see guns being a good solution for, compared to nonlethal self defense tools like pepper spray?" Pepper spray is also heavily regulated in nearly every state and isn't really that effective. The way I see it, if I can't legally own a gun and a criminal hurts myself or my family, the people that passed the laws prohibiting me from protecting my family (and those that supported these laws) should go to jail as well.

bjelkeman-again 11y ago
> It's also not even about the actual effectiveness of the gun. When it's well-known that you have a weapon, crime decreases. Do you have some citation for that? Curious to read it.
- mdpopescu 11y ago
  This is a fun read (I've stayed in Kennesaw for a while in 2000 and people told me about this law): http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/5c1b6a72-c5eb-11df-b53e-00144feab49a.html#slide0 http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/5c1b6a72-c5eb-11df-b53e-00144feab4... More generally, Lott's book "More Guns, Less Crime" is a study on the subject - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/More_Guns,_Less_Crime http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/More_Guns,_Less_Crime - though not without opposition.
- paulhauggis 11y ago
  I even see it in bank robberies in my local area. Bank tellers are instructed to just give the robber whatever they want, which usually ends up being roughly $3000-$5000 in cash. So, the result is an increase in bank robberies. Because the criminals don't really care about the laws and know they will always be given cash, it puts more people in danger when they get the money and run. People potentially (and do) get hurt, etc.

bjelkeman-again 11y ago

> It's also not even about the actual effectiveness of the gun. When it's well-known that you have a weapon, crime decreases. Do you have some citation for that? Curious to read it.

mdpopescu 11y ago
This is a fun read (I've stayed in Kennesaw for a while in 2000 and people told me about this law): http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/5c1b6a72-c5eb-11df-b53e-00144feab49a.html#slide0 http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/5c1b6a72-c5eb-11df-b53e-00144feab4... More generally, Lott's book "More Guns, Less Crime" is a study on the subject - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/More_Guns,_Less_Crime http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/More_Guns,_Less_Crime - though not without opposition.
paulhauggis 11y ago
I even see it in bank robberies in my local area. Bank tellers are instructed to just give the robber whatever they want, which usually ends up being roughly $3000-$5000 in cash. So, the result is an increase in bank robberies. Because the criminals don't really care about the laws and know they will always be given cash, it puts more people in danger when they get the money and run. People potentially (and do) get hurt, etc.