First off, let me say this. I don't live in the burbs. I don't live in a nice, low crime area where nothing ever happens. I live Here.
One would think I'd be the first people to want a gun for home defense.
(My reasons on the flip)
Well, obviously I'm afraid of guns! Well, that would be a no. I'm a certified Sharpshooter with the U.S. Army. I have used a variety of weapons throughout my career, and when I was younger I owned a Ruger 10/22 rifle.
I am very aware of exactly how dangerous weapons are, and how completely irreversible the actions of a few seconds are. If those seconds happen when someone is holding a gun.
I have stuff. Not much stuff, but stuff. If someone is going to come into my house and take my stuff, I do not see the need to stop them. I see the need to take their license plate, their description, and any other memories of the incident to the police. That's why the police are there. I do not see the need to pull out a weapon and blast said person.
If someone wants to kill me, I would think that having a weapon close at hand would not be a good thing. Said person would be at a great advantage if my weapon happened to be close at hand, and they chose to attack me without warning. A weapon close at hand ensures that at the moment of crisis, that moment can turn deadly.
My kids have been abused. I have no proof of it. Merely the fact that the person who I suspect of being complicit was found guilty of other crimes later. I have had those moments of rage. I am very glad at those moments, I did not have a gun.
I have children in my home. I will not own a gun. I would never forgive myself if I allowed them into my home and the common result occurred.
I'm certain there are good reasons for me to own a gun. But I can't think of a single one of them, especially considering that I lived through a war zone with a gun constantly at my side. Because this isn't a war zone, and I'm not a soldier anymore.
I don't need a gun. Only one person has ever died because of me, and that was when I did have a gun.
If you choose to have a weapon, you're choosing to have the ability to kill and you have chosen to allow death a foothold in your life. Perhaps you're ok with that.
But why are those who want death allowed to drag it into the lives of us all?