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Originally Posted by xepherys
That's cute! I never said anything about shooting and killing anyone and everyone who could pose a threat. I think in the spot you quoted me before saying this, I was talking about someone who had violated the law, my private space, and may possibly cause my family harm. I don't consider that a movie-goers experience... I consider it a possible, real-life nightmare. It DOES happen. Actually, it happens fairly frequently in metro cities. Watch the news in Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta, LA, NY, Dallas... 5:00 news... you'll see something similar at LEAST once or twice a week. I don't personally carry a gun... and currently I don't have one in my home, simply because I have not purchased one... however, I feel it's a good thing, and that with proper care and use, the ownership of a firearm is a huge benefit from a safety perspective.
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Unless you take into account how many justifiable homicides there are every year in the US.
According to the FBI data, there were 1,412 justified homicides in the United States from 1987 through 1991 (the most recent figures available). That's about 141 justifiable homicides a year, on average. How many people in America own guns? I'd guess about 8 million. Those figures don't equate.
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Originally Posted by xepherys
Yes, most criminals are stupid... some are VERY bright. There's also organized crime, which involves both types of people. Yes, the chance is minimal, but this chance also varies depending on where you live. Go buy a house in Hamtramck, MI and try to tell me the chance of something happening to you is minimal. As for the two-year-old daughter... that comes down to good parenting. In rural areas, where nearly every house has a rifle or shotgun for hunting and safety uses, children are MUCH less likely to shoot themselves or someone else than in urban areas where parents try to "hide" the gun from their kids. Children have an amazing capability to learn. Just be a parent and teach your child about guns and gun safety, and she's FAR more likely to be safe around the house with a firearm in it. *shrug*
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I'm more likely to be hit by lightning that to be broken into and murdered in San Jose. Even still, I take more preventative measures for the breaking and entering threat (the security doors were kinda expensive).
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Originally Posted by xepherys
Again, not every criminal is there with intent to steal. There are rapists, murderers, kidnappers. Those types are more likely to break in when you ARE home... they don't want your DVD player or TV... they want to harm you. I'm not paranoid. I lock my doors and that's about it. I don't have an alarm system, or sleep with a gun under my pillow... but I also think you are mildly delusional, or you live in an EXTREMELY safe area. Either way, good for you, but not everyone does. In fact, the vast majority of the US population live in dense urban areas, which also happen to be the places with the highest occurance of violent crimes.
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Rapists: Not really a threat because most rapists aren't trained fighters. ALSO, my wife and I are home at the same time at almost all times. 2 fighters who have a combined experience of almost 30 years vs. one rapist (they don't travel in packs) = I'm not too worried.
Murderers: Statiscitcally speaking, it's a virtual impossibility. San Jose is the safest large city - city of over 1,000,000 - in the US (we either rank #1 or #2, either way, not too bad). Combine that with security doors, and having good connections with neightbors, and we;re quite safe.
Kidnappers: this would be my greatest concern. I can't guerentee my daughters safety when she's in daycare, but no one really can. Having a gun wouldn't really help me in this scenereo.
We shouldn't use me and my family as examples, though. Not everyone has training in martial arts. Not everyone lives in San Jose. Not everyone has security doors.
Would you mind if we were to use you?