Psychology of Gun owners

[El Dingo]

More guns means more violence. Less guns means less violence. I hear this argument a lot. I completely disagree with this. Weapons aren't violent. People are violent. Weapons are a tool, that is all. Saying guns kill people is like saying hammers and nails build houses. The person that wields them is the one responsible for what they do.

If guns create and encourage more violence, then why is that there aren't mass shootings at gun shows? Why aren't there mass shootings in gun stores?

Why are the mass shootings in our schools? Why are mass shootings in our post offices? Why are mass shootings all in places where guns ARE illegal to carry.

If you own a gun, you know you aren't allowed to carry it into a school or government building, even with a CCW (permit to Carry a Concealed Weapon). Yet those are the places where the most horrific acts of gun violence have taken place. I'm not saying that if everyone had a gun there it would have prevent it, but you know what? It definitely would have increased the odds of a better outcome if someone else had a gun there.

Bad people WILL get guns, illegal or not. And I guarantee you, there isn't a shepherd alive that wants a wolf in his flock of sheep without something to keep them safe. If the sheep had teeth, the shepherd wouldn't be needed nearly as much. Outlaw the wolf all you want. He'll still come prowling sooner or later.

 

[Billy Sastard]

You are wrong. Statistics show gun owners are far less likely to be victims of violence crimes. There ... like you I have claimed unsubstatiated statistics for my own goals. Unlike you, I did not ride the short yellow bus to school. Please piss off you ignorant gnad.

 

[Soggy_Popcorn]

I hate guns in possession of normal people just for "protection", at least when it comes to assault rifles and heavy calibre rifles/shotguns.

Hunting on the other hand is fine for me^^'

Your logical capacity is about on par with your taste in music, judging by your name.

I have no use for a Wii. I find it rather boring. Thus, I think no one should be able to have one in their home, due to its total uselessness. Yay, logic!

As some other guy said earlier, crime does exist. I have a two cops who live on my street and one's house has been broken into multiple times. And my house has been scouted for burglary or other illicit purposes as well. We get a disconcerting amount of crime on our street, and owning multiple firearms DOES make us more safe. Think what you will, but the Constitution was specifically designed to keep retards like you from infringing upon our rights (especially regarded the Second Amendment).

 

[BlackJack47]

I find guns immoral, I wish we could go back the days where men solved their problems with more conventional violence...like swords and clubs made from the bones of a fallen enemy.

 

[Kimono dragon]

A bell intends ringing, a button intends pushing a weapon intends attacking.

Guns can be many things, a tool, a piece of sporting equipment but what is often forgotten is that they are first and foremost weapons. A society where everyone is allowed to have weapons is innately more dangerous than one that doesn't. The weapon is the advantage, criminals are dangerous because they give themselves unfair advantages by breaking the law, allowing everyone to carry guns does not cancel this out but merely raises the stakes as it were; now the criminals must be even more dangerous the worst case scenarios become even worse.

Coming from a country where guns are completely illegal gun crime is very rare, what we would consider a horrendous and shocking act of violence in my country would pale in comparison to crimes in a country where potentially lethal weapons are commonplace. When the right to bear arms was written into the American constitution it was a time where guns really were necessary, people hunted to live rather than for sport and America was under a very real threat of invasion from other world powers. Times have changed and this argument is no longer applicable to modern society.

It saddens me to think there are those that that think the right own guns for sport is worth the death and misery they cause. It may not affect you or those you know who may well be highly responsible gentle people but the right to own weapons increases the danger for everyone. I am not saying there should be an end to guns in sport or for those who genuinely need them as tools for their work just the right for individual to posses and carry them, shooting should become the same as archery or the javelin. For those this would upset I would ask to imagine explaining their position to a parent of a student killed in one of those school shootings, a tragedy like many others that would be near impossible in a country where guns are illegal.

 

[Sub_par]

i enjoy target shooting from time to time, not exactly the deep psychological study you seem to be after, but that's it.

 

[Venatio]

Gun laws are overated,
Just watch Penn and Teller on Gun Laws
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCXtfR0_roE&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtqufzEFCzw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoIKlO20RqM&feature=related

Penn and Teller? Are you kidding me? People actually take those two sensationalists as source material to prove their arguments?

I admit that they act like clowns at time, and even they dont ask anything of you in the way of looking up to them. Their job is be critics and skeptics and they perform their job admirably, with an excellent dose of comedy any fan of Zero Puncutation should appreciate.

The most important thing they do is make you think, not persuade you to their view, but make you think about long held beliefs and why you believe them. It is a powerful tool when you think of it, employing a successful medium, comedy, to get your point across. That and their Gun Episode was pretty damn good. Before that I was for Gun laws for atleast Automatics, but it made me think which, after watching a few episodes of Gangland (seeing punks get their hands on weapons even you havent heard of using drug money) brought me over to the conclusion that Gun Laws are Bullshit - or atleast of highly questionable nature regarding soundness.

 

[Pegghead]

I know a man quite well who owns two rifles, he's a nice bloke.

 

[RaNDM G]

I know things would be a lot better in our world if guns were taken out of the picture. I'd love it if everything were rainbows and butterflies, and I'm pretty sure everyone else would too. But as long as there's at least one person with a gun out there, then we shouldn't keep everyone else from having one. It's a simple matter of not letting people take advantage over others.

I realize this is going to fall into another debate about whether we should keep guns or not. I figure I may as well throw my two cents into the issue.

Lets think about it for a second.

The second amendment guarantees American citizens rights to firearms as follows:

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

There are two reasons why this was passed.

1) "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State..."

This portion has already been fulfilled by today's National Guard, our own military-police. By having regiments of soldiers on duty, the State is capable of independently handling themselves in the case of invasion or internal strife. They could also be shifted from other States to problem areas in need of military attention. In other words, the National Guard is a standing testament to the traditional Continental Army from our early history.

2) "... the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."

This right applies to the citizens, allowing them to uninhibitedly keep firearms for their own personal use. It is a little known fact that many of the Founding Fathers were noted gun owners during the Colonial period. In fact, they probably couldn't fully arm the Continental Armies without supplying their own stores of guns. They knew it was important for people to arm themselves to stand up against a tyrannical government (the British Empire). And they knew they might need to rise up again in case our own government became too controlling (which happened during our own Civil War and may happen again sometime soon if things continue the way they are now).

In other words, the second amendment isn't just meant to guarantee the citizens personal protection, but to also allow them to check the powers of government when they become too overbearing. And while the Federal government has the best interests in mind when they want to keep certain weapons off the streets, they are inadvertently limiting our ability to check their power. And while I think it better to just get rid of guns entirely, I still know that there are reasons we have rights to certain things and that we shouldn't try to challenge them.

 

[SomeUnregPunk]

SNIP

I ask you to please look up "sensationalism" and apply that to the medium.
P&T in their programs goes nuts with that concept. If the program made you to go out and read the gun laws and try to understand them, then I can agree that P&T is making you think for yourself. But if your just using television media to inform yourself, you are really robbing yourself and honestly making yourself look stupid or sound stupid.

 

[akmarksman]

people people..you are all missing the point.

Zombies. Thats why we need guns. If the gun goes click instead of BANG(or BOOM depending on your type) then you can use the empty gun as a club..

 

[Nova5]

Man, I've had a rifle since I was of legal age, and shoot at the local gun club once a month (at least). It's a helluva lot of fun, and there is a comfort factor in knowing I can competently hit a target if I'd like to.

Over the last few years, the neighborhood I live in has gone downhill a bit, and the police response time is around 1 hour (we have 15 shootings a year in this town, according to local law enforcement statistics). While it's not the reason I own a gun, this does make me feel more secure in owning one.

Important note: I keep my collection under proper lock and key, with no ammunition loaded. Not one of those "loaded .45 under the pillow" types.

 

[DoW Lowen]

Dangerous individuals with psychological problems that drive them to commit crimes are USUALLY not legitimate gun owners. These problem people will commit crimes with or without guns.

And when they are gun owners... holy crap.

Look up Martin Bryant, he was a crazed gunman who shot up 40+ people in Australia a few decades back. In Australia there is very strict gun policy, not to say people here don't have them. Most people with guns here that I've seen are small time gangsters. The news never shows it here (there's something really wrong with Australian Media), but much of the murders here are gun related.

 

[Insomniac55]

I think that the reason a lot of people want to own guns is similar to the reason that a lot of people own laser pointers. IE, the vast majority of people who own either of these things don't strictly need them, but they have them because they are fun.

 

[slipknot4]

Think what you will, but the Constitution was specifically designed to keep retards like you from infringing upon our rights (especially regarded the Second Amendment).

That must have been one of the most rude things anyone has ever said to me on the escapist forums.
I said that Assault rifles and Heavy calibre rifles/shotguns should be forbidden is possession of civilians. I am fine with small guns like 9mm pistols and side-arms.

 

[Inverse Skies]

I've never seen the point of owning a gun or using one. I live in suburbia, and in Australia hunting isn't the biggest of pasttimes, and there's fairly strict gun control as well. As you said, it doesn't stop criminals getting their hands on them, but there's more of a stigma around guns in Australia than in the US say. I guess just because I haven't grown up with guns being normal I see no need for them, just a different culture really.

 

[akmarksman]

Whats interesting about some european countries..they encourage you to buy a suppressor for your gun.

There is more of a stigma on suppressors in the United States then there is in Europe.

 

[Prons]

I have a collection of guns. I like to target shoot, it's loud, it's fun. I know how to use a gun safely and responsibly, I know how to clean and store my guns. Contrary to popular belief there's quite a few people like me in this country.

I don't think of it anymore than I think of a table tennis player having a paddle.

 

[Blow_Pop]

hunting or a sense of security. Some neighborhoods not far from me are really bad, shootouts all the time. Having a gun means your less likely to be hurt....as badly. Also lots of armed robbery.

Me personally, I live in California and want a gun for hunting and target shooting. I love target shooting especially as a stress relief. Nothing more satisfying to me then to just tear up a soda can ^_^

 

[Eldritch Warlord]

Hmm, the majority of gun owners I know (my dad for instance) see guns as tools and rightly so. Mostly they use them for killing pests (groundhogs, skunks, rabbits etc.) or hunting.

They don't see their gun as a crime deterrent, just a useful thing to have similar to a a screwdriver or air compressor.