I’ve never really liked guns. Didn’t particularly enjoy going to the shooting range at Boy Scout camp. Not very comfortable with the thought that the people I encounter on the street, or the driver who cuts me off, might be armed with lethal force at his fingertips. But that’s just me.
Can logic change a gut feeling like mine? Well yes, it can. If I review all the data, the statistics, it appears that I don’t really have to worry. People in nice middle class neighborhoods like mine aren’t randomly killing each other. Domestic violence, suicide, yes, but they’re not going to shoot me.
Mass shootings? They’re in the category of plane crashes. Scary, yes, but statistically unlikely that I’ll be hurt in one.
So I’m OK.
Yet, even though it doesn’t affect me, I still believe that our country would be better off without guns. For the mass murders, sure, but I was more moved by the pleas of a black woman minister in Titusville, near me, who lamented that she’d lost six young men in her church, in separate incidents of gun violence.
Regulating bump stocks is not going to help the kids in her neighborhood.
I talk to people, reasonable people, who own guns, who feel it’s important to have one for defense of their home. I believe that’s where the debate has to happen.
Admittedly, I only know of about 10 people who keep guns in their houses for that reason, but that’s the data I’ll work with.
None of these people has ever had to use their gun. But it makes them feel safe. I wonder about the logic of that?
First, I would think that most people who want to break into a home want to steal stuff, and would rather do it when the residents are away. So a gun doesn’t help there.
Hostile home invasions are scary, but just not that common. It takes a twisted person to want to do that. The question is, will having a gun make you safer in that situation? I’ve seen enough cowboy movies to know that having a gun for self defense simply isn’t good enough. You’ve got to be quicker and a better shot than the other person.
You’ve got to have the gun ready, and that means having it ready before the home invader is ready, so you can get the drop on him. But he’s showed up ready. And he’s probably better skilled at using his weapon.
So how many scenarios are there where having a gun for self defense makes sense?
It seems having a gun for self defense will only protect you against bad guys who have worse gun skills than you.
Isn’t making it harder for bad guys to get guns a better way to make us all a little safer? Yes, there’s millions of guns out there, and maybe we can’t control them for our generation, but if we start now maybe our grandchildren will live in a safer world.
