“While Gallup figures on U.S. gun ownership have not shifted much since 2006, the percentage of Americans who say that having a gun in the home makes that household safer has drastically climbed over the past eight years. Americans own guns for a wide array of reasons, but the increase in the perceived safety value of owning them suggests that guns are taking on more of a protective role than they have in the past.” – Gallup analyst Justin McCarthy in 63 percent of Americans: guns make a ‘safer home’ [at washintontimes.com]
“more of a protective role than in the past.” So before cell phones, 911 and professional police forces guns were just recreational?
Guns are more recreational than ever, despite what the clowns at the Washington Post think.
The booming “tacti-cool” gun/accessory market illustrates that fact. I’ve seen more than my fair share of guys walking around the range with an 11 pound rifle bedazzled with more widgets than you can shake a stick at… If that ain’t for fun, then I don’t know what is…
Some of it may be fun-related, but my experience indicates a lot of it is a misguided attempt to “buy competence”, vs. getting it the old-fashioned way: training and practice.
True enough.
Guns don’t make my home safer…
The ablity of all family members, with the exception of the two year old (and I’ll be remedying that in a few yrs), to handle guns safely and effectively makes my home safer.
Having guns doesn’t make you any safer than having guitars makes you a musician.
I’ll respectively disagree. Guns are dirt easy to use. If you need one, and have the will to use it, chances are you’ll do the right thing. There are tons of people that successfully defend themselves with cheap double action revolvers that they’ve never fired before.
That would be “respectfully,” but autocorrect disagreed.
Right, but they still knew how to use it and did what they had to do with when the time came. The weapon didn’t jump up and protect them…
It was the person and their mindset that yielded the result. If guns don’t kill people, people kill people be true. Then guns don’t make people safe, people make themselves safe.
That was more of my point.
I respectfully disagree. I live in the highest crime neighborhood in my city. There are break ins, assaults, invasions, etc all around me. All the time too. We’ve been here 14 years and not once have we been bothered. Not our house, not our vehicles – nothing – and it is a well known fact that we have guns in our home. Our vehicles make it known how we feel about guns.
We know very well how to use them – correctly – as do our children – however, the people in my neighborhood don’t know that. They only know we have them. Knowing that is why they don’t mess with us.
Well, I live in a rule Texas where there is a really low crime rate. And where you don’t have to ask who has a gun, everyone has one… But there are still robberies and there are still crimes committed.
If guns truly made you “safer” then gangbangers wouldn’t have such a high rate of early death, because all of them pack heat.
I really don’t understand how the gun community chides the anti-folks for blaming the inanimate object and then we turn around and credit the inanimate object.
I think everyone should be armed, but the reality is until the human interface happens it’s just a freaking piece of metal.
“I really don’t understand how the gun community chides the anti-folks for blaming the inanimate object and then we turn around and credit the inanimate object.”
It’s pretty simple, really. The knowledge of how/when to use a gun, is useless without having one.
“I think everyone should be armed, but the reality is until the human interface happens it’s just a freaking piece of metal.”
And if you don’t have a gun, you have nothing to interface WITH.
It all starts with having a gun.
Mugging victim: “I know how to use one of those (gestures to mugger’s pistol)”.
Mugger: “Yeah, me too, so shut up and give me your wallet before I have to give you a demo.”
Or you could have the gun and do absolutely nothing with it…
I’m sorry, but I don’t to credit the inanimate object for being anything other than inanimate object.
There are plenty of people who have died with a gun in their hand.
Yes, we I think we all understand that it’s not a guarantee of success in any given situation. But even you started off one of your statements above by saying: “I think everyone should be armed,…”
It all starts with the gun. The knowledge of how to use a gun can’t be banned, can’t be removed from our consciousness by anything other than generations of lack of exposure and practice.
It all starts with the gun. That’s why the anti-gunners aren’t called anti-know-how-to-use-a-gunners.
It all starts with the gun.
“There are plenty of people who have died with a gun in their hand.” That’s very true. And some of them were well-trained and practiced cops, so knowledge isn’t the magic talisman, here. There are also plenty of people who have bought a gun, learned how to load it from the guy at the store, took it home, loaded it, dropped in into the nightstand, and later used it to scare-off or drive-off an attacker, with very little to no knowledge. I don’t recommend this course of action, but it is a common one.
It all starts with the gun.
People were armed long before the gun ever existed, my friend.
And if the world fell into chaos and ammunition was no longer widely manufactured, people would find other ways to arm themselves.
There have been people throughout history who turned in their guns willingly, only to be slaughtered and others who had no guns at their disposal who stood up to fight.
A warrior is in spirit, not the hand, the weapon is secondary.
Your first line is true, but there is a reason Samuel Colt never called the sword, the sling, the pike, or the longbow “the great equalizer.”
Skill at arms used to require apprenticeships and/or years of practice. Once firearms became more common, the required skill to put on a successful defense from a criminal attack was revised downward. Now, even a modicum of skill, teamed with (as you said) the proper attitude and spirit, gives the firearm-armed defender a far better chance of surviving and thriving after a serious criminal attempt.
But (say it with me, now), it all starts with the gun.
I think we’re going to have to respectfully disagree with one another on this one…
But no harm no foul, at the end of the day were on the same side.
I live south of Chicago. My neighborhood is going to hell with breakins, the occasional mugging, murder and even drive-by shootings. I have also had( when I was way too enthusiastic) several black men at the gym tell me their guns were STOLEN. Why? Lowlifes knew they had them. Like we know you do. Why would you advertise? The only gun I admit to having is a $200 Chinese pardner pump. Whatever-it’s your life…
” This includes 81 percent of Republicans, 41 percent of Democrats, 67 percent of men and 58 percent of women.“
41 percent of democrats? That is astounding. 67 percent of men… seems to me like a lot of democrat men stayed home due to gun control. Something about “he’s not going to come after gun rights” being a total lie…
More detail at http://townhall.com/tipsheet/sarahjeanseman/2014/11/09/draft-n1916309
Comparitively low number of demtards get it (no surprise). Appears Conservatives/Republicans have figured out the mainstream media is full of it and have decided logically how the world works.
Republicans and Independents simply have a better grasp on reality than Democrats. I figured ” AR-15s are hard to aim” and “if you like your doctor you can keep your doctor” was bullshit from the start.
Just the public coming more to their senses!
I am sure Shannon has one in her home but lied on the survey
It’s telling how few people get the right answer: “Depends.”
It sure is.
Context is needed. If you’re pro-gun, realize that the question does not specify responsible, sane, and mentally healthy people. If you’re anti-gun, consider that police officers (peace be upon them) may keep their guns in their home to be readily able to protect the public and their neighbors. Just as civilians do, might I add.
I think this trend reflects the impact of the Internet. As recent as 15 years ago, mainstream
propagandamedia outlets were able to fool the masses because the masses didn’t have practical or convenient access to primary source information.The Internet has enabled the masses to bypass mainstream media and examine primary source information themselves.
I would also argue that more and more people are recognizing the bias in mainstream media and are rejecting the associated attempts at social programming. Keep in mind that basically all traditional mainstream media originates in New York City or Los Angeles. While the local masses in those two locations love the bias, the rest of the nation — about 260 million or so people — do not.
By the way I have a crisp $20 bill that says almost all of the 30% (of the population that thinks a firearm in the home makes them less safe) live in/around the Los Angeles and New York City megalopolises.
Make sure that Chicago and some of the larger cities in the South/Southwest don’t skew your stats. There are plenty of dumbarses to go around…
…but even considering those folks, I wouldn’t bet against you. 🙂
So, Gallup, you’re saying that 63% of American households feel safer with a gun in the home, yet only 42% actually have one in the home? So you’re saying that the 20% disparity is people who are answering your “feel safer” question are answering a hypothetical? I don’t buy it. If you think your home is safer by owning a gun, you’re going to go buy a gun. Even in the most restrictive states buying a shotgun isn’t that hard. Which should indicate that the difference is much more likely to be associated with people who aren’t willing to tell a complete stranger whether or not they own a gun. Meaning that the 42% number (and frankly any of their numbers on the subject) is bogus.
Correct.
Kyle, it is a well known phenomena in polling on such issues that there will be severe undercounts if people feel their is social stigma even if supposed anonymous. All the science says pollsters undercount persons who have had illicit sex, people who enjoy erotica, people who own money, or anything that a respondent might feel the questioner may make a judgment about
There are also mostly regional cultural aspects. My sister lives in Mass and she would never tell anyone including form Gallup she has a firearm. My male cousin is in Louisiana has pics of himself and his kids with firearms on his facebook So I think we get serious undercounts in the North East, and among females as well as general undercounts.
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