When it comes to guns, I fully support our right to own firearms.
Personally, I don't want a gun. I believe that guns are meant for killing someone. Not scaring someone. Not wounding someone. Killing someone. I'm not prepared to have that power in my pocket. It's far too easy to pull the trigger and think about the consequences after the fact.
My job puts me in very dangerous situations. I wear a level iiia bulletproof vest, with additional protection against a blade. I carry a small knife with me (and I know how to use it beyond "stick them with the pointy end"), and I also have a bit of hand to hand training. I'm capable of disarming someone with a knife or gun, if I'm able to get close enough to them.
If an attacker is close enough for me to kill them with my bare hands, I would have no trouble doing that... as that would truly be life or death. With a gun, though... even if the other person had a gun, some part in my mind would say "maybe they won't shoot", and i will hesitate. I would die. Having a gun would probably increase my chances of getting shot considerably!
That's just my own personal reasoning, though. That is why I don't own a firearm, and why I doubt I ever will.
I support the rights of everyone else to own and carry (though I believe that right should be forfeit for anyone that has been convicted of a violent crime involving a firearm.) My only reservation is that there are some truly STUPID people in this world.
Compare firearms to automobiles. Automobiles are extremely dangerous things to operate, even when done so by a competent, aware, cautious driver. Many people behind the wheel of a vehicle are not such people. Not 100% of the time, anyway. They are careless. They are aggressive. They are intoxicated. They are distracted. They are uneducated ("what does 'yield' mean?") They are selfish. They are often ignorant of their vehicle's condition. Far more deaths and injuries involving motor vehicles are due to pure carelessness than anything else.
Average people. Stupid average people. Operating their death machines without proper care and foresight. Even if it's just for a moment... that's all it takes to cause a 15 car pileup, or to send a 6 year old kid tumbling over the roof of your car.
Road rage is something I see very often (I live in New Jersey... it's a way of life here.) I've had little old ladies in SUVs cut me off, brake check me, and try to run me off the road because I wouldn't let them change lanes (in the particular incident I'm referencing, I was already next to her when she put her signal on... going 50mph.) This lady ATTACKED me with her 2.5 ton vehicle. She didn't hit me, but she certainly threatened me with a 2.5 ton weapon. Had I not been fully aware of her intentions, I may have crashed. Had I panicked, I may have hit someone else. Had I not had my girlfriend in the car with me, I may have retaliated, escalating the situation. My suspension is already shot, so my braking and handling are both compromised. That woman didn't know that my car might not have been able to avoid hitting her when she stomped on the brakes.
In a situation like that, someone is attacking with a deadly weapon. A weapon that requires a bit more maneuvering and forethought to intentionally use in a deadly manner than a firearm. Remove the car and add a gun to that situation. A situation with unreasonable anger that escalates to deadly levels. An average person that is enraged beyond reason over something utterly stupid could very easily pull a gun in anger. If they don't shoot, they may get themselves shot by someone else carrying a gun.
I'm not using this as an argument against people owning and carrying guns... but it is a reason why the idea makes me uneasy.
Ultimately, no system is foolproof. People rely on the government for protection, and give them what may be too much power to provide that protection. What some people consider protection, others consider a violation of rights.
Put it in the context of hiring a bodyguard. You can have a bodyguard sitting in his car outside your house. He'll prevent anyone from entering through the front door to attack you in your sleep. If they sneak in through the back, you're on your own until the bodyguard realizes the threat and makes his way to your bedroom.
If the bodyguard is sitting in your living room, he can respond faster and see/hear more. However, a good intruder could still slip by him and stick a knife in your ribs before the bodyguard is able to intervene. The intruder may not make it out alive, but neither will you. Additionally, you're not going to be able to come downstairs to the kitchen to eat that midnight snack stark naked.
Now, put the bodyguard in your bedroom. Nobody is going to get to you without going through him first. It's the best protection you can get. However, in an effort to be protected, you've sacrificed all of your privacy. No more jacking off under the covers to the new Victoria's Secret catalog before you cry yourself to sleep!
That's how the government works. The government is run by politicians. Politicians are businessmen. Businessmen sell to the highest bidder. In the case of politics, votes are the currency of choice. The politicians, and therefore our government, will cater to whoever votes the most. If the strongest demand is for more protection at the cost of privacy, they'll do that.
Our government, as a whole, is not some shady conspiracy machine. Yes, shady things do happen, and there are certainly crooked officials everywhere. However, as a whole, our government is a largely reactionary governing body, performing the duties demanded of them by the general public within their abilities. Those duties are restricted, limited, and thoroughly confounded by our extensive laws.
Just from running this site, which functions as a benevolent dictatorship, I know how difficult it is to please everyone. I know how my actions can be interpreted in a way that I did not intend. I know that my "laws" can often seem unfair and far too strict by those that don't understand them. I know that the people working under me can occasionally get overzealous and abuse their power (that's happened maybe once or twice... very rarely!)
To the uninformed, my actions may be seen as elitist, exclusionary, or targeted harassment. My actions are ALWAYS for the good of this community, regardless of how it may seem.
I know our country's government isn't exactly the same in that regard, as things are much deeper, and there are far more people involved to be corrupted... but the government as a whole is not evil. Our government is still OUR government, with all positions of power being limited. If we don't like something, we have the power to change it. We also have the freedom to leave, if changing it is too much work.
Personally, I don't want a gun. I believe that guns are meant for killing someone. Not scaring someone. Not wounding someone. Killing someone. I'm not prepared to have that power in my pocket. It's far too easy to pull the trigger and think about the consequences after the fact.
My job puts me in very dangerous situations. I wear a level iiia bulletproof vest, with additional protection against a blade. I carry a small knife with me (and I know how to use it beyond "stick them with the pointy end"), and I also have a bit of hand to hand training. I'm capable of disarming someone with a knife or gun, if I'm able to get close enough to them.
If an attacker is close enough for me to kill them with my bare hands, I would have no trouble doing that... as that would truly be life or death. With a gun, though... even if the other person had a gun, some part in my mind would say "maybe they won't shoot", and i will hesitate. I would die. Having a gun would probably increase my chances of getting shot considerably!
That's just my own personal reasoning, though. That is why I don't own a firearm, and why I doubt I ever will.
I support the rights of everyone else to own and carry (though I believe that right should be forfeit for anyone that has been convicted of a violent crime involving a firearm.) My only reservation is that there are some truly STUPID people in this world.
Compare firearms to automobiles. Automobiles are extremely dangerous things to operate, even when done so by a competent, aware, cautious driver. Many people behind the wheel of a vehicle are not such people. Not 100% of the time, anyway. They are careless. They are aggressive. They are intoxicated. They are distracted. They are uneducated ("what does 'yield' mean?") They are selfish. They are often ignorant of their vehicle's condition. Far more deaths and injuries involving motor vehicles are due to pure carelessness than anything else.
Average people. Stupid average people. Operating their death machines without proper care and foresight. Even if it's just for a moment... that's all it takes to cause a 15 car pileup, or to send a 6 year old kid tumbling over the roof of your car.
Road rage is something I see very often (I live in New Jersey... it's a way of life here.) I've had little old ladies in SUVs cut me off, brake check me, and try to run me off the road because I wouldn't let them change lanes (in the particular incident I'm referencing, I was already next to her when she put her signal on... going 50mph.) This lady ATTACKED me with her 2.5 ton vehicle. She didn't hit me, but she certainly threatened me with a 2.5 ton weapon. Had I not been fully aware of her intentions, I may have crashed. Had I panicked, I may have hit someone else. Had I not had my girlfriend in the car with me, I may have retaliated, escalating the situation. My suspension is already shot, so my braking and handling are both compromised. That woman didn't know that my car might not have been able to avoid hitting her when she stomped on the brakes.
In a situation like that, someone is attacking with a deadly weapon. A weapon that requires a bit more maneuvering and forethought to intentionally use in a deadly manner than a firearm. Remove the car and add a gun to that situation. A situation with unreasonable anger that escalates to deadly levels. An average person that is enraged beyond reason over something utterly stupid could very easily pull a gun in anger. If they don't shoot, they may get themselves shot by someone else carrying a gun.
I'm not using this as an argument against people owning and carrying guns... but it is a reason why the idea makes me uneasy.
Ultimately, no system is foolproof. People rely on the government for protection, and give them what may be too much power to provide that protection. What some people consider protection, others consider a violation of rights.
Put it in the context of hiring a bodyguard. You can have a bodyguard sitting in his car outside your house. He'll prevent anyone from entering through the front door to attack you in your sleep. If they sneak in through the back, you're on your own until the bodyguard realizes the threat and makes his way to your bedroom.
If the bodyguard is sitting in your living room, he can respond faster and see/hear more. However, a good intruder could still slip by him and stick a knife in your ribs before the bodyguard is able to intervene. The intruder may not make it out alive, but neither will you. Additionally, you're not going to be able to come downstairs to the kitchen to eat that midnight snack stark naked.
Now, put the bodyguard in your bedroom. Nobody is going to get to you without going through him first. It's the best protection you can get. However, in an effort to be protected, you've sacrificed all of your privacy. No more jacking off under the covers to the new Victoria's Secret catalog before you cry yourself to sleep!
That's how the government works. The government is run by politicians. Politicians are businessmen. Businessmen sell to the highest bidder. In the case of politics, votes are the currency of choice. The politicians, and therefore our government, will cater to whoever votes the most. If the strongest demand is for more protection at the cost of privacy, they'll do that.
Our government, as a whole, is not some shady conspiracy machine. Yes, shady things do happen, and there are certainly crooked officials everywhere. However, as a whole, our government is a largely reactionary governing body, performing the duties demanded of them by the general public within their abilities. Those duties are restricted, limited, and thoroughly confounded by our extensive laws.
Just from running this site, which functions as a benevolent dictatorship, I know how difficult it is to please everyone. I know how my actions can be interpreted in a way that I did not intend. I know that my "laws" can often seem unfair and far too strict by those that don't understand them. I know that the people working under me can occasionally get overzealous and abuse their power (that's happened maybe once or twice... very rarely!)
To the uninformed, my actions may be seen as elitist, exclusionary, or targeted harassment. My actions are ALWAYS for the good of this community, regardless of how it may seem.
I know our country's government isn't exactly the same in that regard, as things are much deeper, and there are far more people involved to be corrupted... but the government as a whole is not evil. Our government is still OUR government, with all positions of power being limited. If we don't like something, we have the power to change it. We also have the freedom to leave, if changing it is too much work.
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