longbough

I am a practicing physician in the California State prison system. My perspective is based on my experience working for the past 3 years. During my time I've gotten to know a few things about the criminal mentality. I've done so with everyday interviews and when I am involved with the staff psychologists in order to explore possible realms of rehabilitation.

There is a perfectly rational explanation as to why one would use a gun for home defense.

The idea of having a gun isn't to stop someone from robbing the house - material possessions aren't worth the risk of death or killing another person. A gun is useful in the event that a home invader is looking for more (e.g. rape) or is seeking to do harm to someone in your house. Believe it or not the majority of people who do home invasions are prepared to do violence at an instant - and some of them even enjoy it (that's not just a right-wing fantasy - it's true. It has to do with exercising a sense of empowerment) Many of my patients tell me that they never feared the police at all (for home invasions) since the criminal is gone by the time the police arrive.

What they DO fear is a big dog and/or the possibility that the homeowner is armed with a gun. Yes, there ARE people who choose to rape and kill for pleasure. I have met many of them. In my own home I choose to keep a gun in the house to defend my loved ones. It doesn't mean I'll shoot at every shadow I see - like anything else you need training and education to use a tool properly. A gun is a tool.

There's nothing wrong with a baseball bat - but a gun I find to be more useful. The majority of seasoned criminals aren't impressed with a baseball-bat wielding homeowner. In fact many of them aren't intimidated by guns, either. Have you ever swung a bat in an enclosed space? Do you know how to follow up after a wild swing? You choose your weapons. I choose mine.

Why a "powerful" gun? The most effective caliber is one that stops the subject with as few shots as possible. That's a practical consideration. I have seen many gunshot injuries in my line of work - including wounds inflicted by "gangbangers" and cops. Through that experience I have formed my opinions on what's an effective caliber.

For what it's worth I had an uncle who owned a grocery store in another state. One day someone tried to rob him so he just gave the man all the cash in the register. The robber shot him in the face for no reason. My uncle died that day. I'm not saying a gun would even have saved his life - who knows? The message is that there ARE people out there who do kill for no reason. It's hard to conceive if you've never seen it personally - but by then it's too late. I know of many families who only believe this principle after it's too late.

In any case, if you're interested in a logical explanation as to why an intelligent, educated and peace-loving person (like myself) would own a gun then please read the following link to this article I wrote:

http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthread.php?t=101330

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"I do believe that, where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence. Thus when my eldest son asked me what he should have done, had he been present when I was almost fatally assaulted in 1908, whether he should have run away and seen me killed or whether he should have used his physical force which he could and wanted to use, and defended me, I told him that it was his duty to defend me even by using violence." - Mahatma Ghandi