Right to bear arms?

[Soterios]

What I want to know, is how many people have actually needed to use guns to protect themselves or their family? I haven't heard of many cases so I'm slightly confused.

That statistic is completely irrelevant, that's why.

A .001 percent chance that my gun could save my wife's life is all I need.

[DM1975]

Technically the only people using guns for good are officers, and there are definitely more people in crime.
However, things like hunting and protection are different. They aren't doing anything 'good' by killing something but it may be for their hobby or families sake.

I do agree that we have the right to bear arms. Don't worry.
But everyone says it about protecting their family from crime. What I want to know, is how many people have actually needed to use guns to protect themselves or their family? I haven't heard of many cases so I'm slightly confused.

Being a former police officer, I have seen it a few times, I have even had to myself (at home, not just on the street). I am not a paranoid gun owner or anything, but I have enough training to know how to handle a firearm very well and will always have one close by. You do not always have to discharge your weapon, or kill someone to have used a firearm to protect yourself or your family either. And any time my family is safe when they otherwise might not have been is a very good cause, regardless of what I have to do to ensure it.

[DM1975]

That statistic is completely irrelevant, that's why.

A .001 percent chance that my gun could save my wife's life is all I need.

It is always that 1% that is going to bite you in the butt.

[blackcrystal22]

Being a former police officer, I have seen it a few times, I have even had to myself (at home, not just on the street). I am not a paranoid gun owner or anything, but I have enough training to know how to handle a firearm very well and will always have one close by. You do not always have to discharge your weapon, or kill someone to have used a firearm to protect yourself or your family either. And any time my family is safe when they otherwise might not have been is a very good cause, regardless of what I have to do to ensure it.

Thank you for having a useful answer to my question.
As I said, I was just curious if anyone had any cases actually involving a gun rather than a baseball bat.

That statistic is completely irrelevant, that's why.

A .001 percent chance that my gun could save my wife's life is all I need.

Thank you for not answering my question. I understand the reasoning as to why people keep guns for protection. I was asking if there had been any cases that this had actually been successful that people have encountered.

In the case of owning a gun for protection, I would be more worried about getting to it quickly enough to actually protect you when you weren't expecting it. This is assuming the gun is locked and hidden safely from children or teenagers.

[BPHERP]

That statistic is completely irrelevant, that's why.

A .001 percent chance that my gun could save my wife's life is all I need.

Owning a firearm It comes from the same part of logic as having auto insurance; just because you have not used it doesn't mean you don't need it. You also hope you never need it, but you would rather have the insurance and not need it, than not have the insurance and be left with no recourse; its called being smart, prepared and being forever diligent, rather than asking statistical questions and pondering what if's.

[dc4teg]

i love blowing stuff up! (responsibly and safely)

[dsirkle]

Technically the only people using guns for good are officers, and there are definitely more people in crime.
However, things like hunting and protection are different. They aren't doing anything 'good' by killing something but it may be for their hobby or families sake.

I do agree that we have the right to bear arms. Don't worry.
But everyone says it about protecting their family from crime. What I want to know, is how many people have actually needed to use guns to protect themselves or their family? I haven't heard of many cases so I'm slightly confused.

Due to the fact that anti gun people claim that it is rare for anyone to use guns to save themselves or others from rapists,home invaders and killers, the NRA has for several years published monthly a whole page of these incidents in short paragraphs giving names,dates and details of the incidents in their monthly magazine "The American Rifleman" under the heading "The Armed Citizen." You can read past articles on line by doing a Google search for NRA The Armed Citizen.

[abuja]

3,054,574 votes with 97% voting YES!

Yeah, but the bad thing is the 3% who voted No are about 90,000 people!!!

Does anyone believe these statistics? They actually make lots of sense: http://www.breakthechain.org/exclusives/drguns.html

[orphan]

There's an old saying: If you outlaw guns, only outlaws will have them.

I keep one near me at all times. I'm lucky enough to live in a state where you can legally carry a weapon in your car and home as long as the weapon is legal (i.e. no fully automatics) and without a concealed weapons permit. Heck, you can even "cowboy carry" here which mean you can where a gun holster on your hip as long as it isn't concealed without a permit.

[mainbutter]

Heck, you can even "cowboy carry" here which mean you can where a gun holster on your hip as long as it isn't concealed without a permit.

Cowboy carry all the way. I don't understand places that only allow conceal and carry.