Psychology of Gun owners

[US Crash Fire]

As the registered owner of 2 firearms I can say that I have them for different reasons.
one is my late Grandpa's Colt 1911 from WW2 and I have it for sentimental value and I don't even have any rounds for it and I have the firing pin removed.
the other is my Mossberg 500c pump action shotgun. I bought the one that has 2 interchangeable barrels. One is 26 inches and i use it for skeet shooting and target shooting (SAFETY! SAFETY! SAFETY!). the other is a 18 inch barrel and that ones only purpose is home defense. Now I'm not some paranoid redneck, I live in a bad community (and in the process of finding a new place to live) and I have had my neighbors apartment broken into 3 times last year, my car broken into, people trying to tell me drugs, and local gangsters giving me shit because i look white (I'm half white/mexican). And even if someone did break into my house, I would use the shotgun to scare him off with that classic CLICK CLICK noise that pump action shotguns make that's so scary. If that didn't work I probably still wouldn't shoot him just because of how my apartment is set up. Also I'm more than skilled in hand to hand or with a knife anyway.

 

[cubikill]

Because it gives the every man a symbol of power in a world where he has little to no power. Also it gives a reason for the government to fear its people.

 

[Aardvark]

Shooting things is fun.

 

[Halfbreed13]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atqYLcGyuUY&feature=sub

That is all I have to say about gun control.

 

[CaptainCrunch]

I've used guns over the years, and found them to be quite safe when handled properly. I would own one, but the cost associated and maintenance required is more than I want to deal with right now.

That said, I'd go with the Zero Sum argument, based on the intrinsic simplicity of the mechanics involved in firearms. I'm entirely certain a full-auto AK47 could be manufactured from memory by a child, using primitive tools. However, I disagree with your listed assumptions.

Being afraid of guns is no more reasonable than being afraid of technology. If you can browse the internet, you can handle a gun safely, and need not be a criminal. (Some exceptions apply, of course.)

 

[CNKFan]

Guns are expensive. That is why people want to keep the guns they got legally.

 

[slipknot4]

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^^'

 

[Crossborder]

I have a gun for sharpshooting. You know, firing a gun for recreational purposes.

 

[Billy Sastard]

I own a gun and I do not hunt. Instead, I refuse to fall prey to criminals who seek defenseless victims. Anyone who asks why people own guns shows their naïveté. Must be nice in their hide-your-head-in-the-sand world. On a tangent note, gun owners will never decrease crime as criminals commit crimes regardless. Gun owners are simply less likely to be DEAD.

 

[Worgen]

meh, Ive always viewed gun for hunting as generaly a pretty wussy thing to do, I mean your going up against something that cant hope to defend itself, really for hunting unless your using a bow Im gonna call you a wimp.... or better yet chasing down the animal with a knife and killing it in a frantic blood soaked melee.

Target shooting can be fun, I got pretty good at skeet awhile back but if it was taken away I dont think I would care.

Ive always wondered why in most states its legal to carry a gun, concealed or not but not legal to carry a blade that is more then a few inches, at least here in tx you cant, that always confused me.

 

[McClaud]

Ok this I really don't get, I've googled this and only found some stuff about whether gun ownership increases/decreases crime/suicide/etc.

1) The Zero Sum game, this is from supporters who claim that if criminals have guns, citizens should have them as well. Some basic assumptions,

a) Where you live, Cops are corrupt/too slow/incompetent to protect the citizens
b) If there was a law to remove all guns, criminals will still find a way to get them.

To a certain extent, both are true but not entirely. For example in Japan, a strict gun control policy is in place, but the Yakuza can get their hands on weapons, same for the Hong Kong Triads (but they use knives more). However, small time crooks are unlikely to find them and it is pretty unlikely that you'll run into gangsters if you're on the straight and narrow.

That last bit is actually incorrect. China saw a dramatic rise of gun violence (especially in Hong Kong) in the late 80's/early 90's. Even with strict gun laws in place, the gangs still get guns and they still kill a lot of innocent bystanders as well as their victims.

Japan has just recently seen a larger increase in the common criminal obtaining and using a gun to commit crimes.

The criminal culture drives that first point home for some gun users - the US is huge with giant borders in the same hemisphere with other countries (primarily in Central and South America) that use guns quite frequently. Guns aren't seen as mere tools for muggings to the criminal element - they are objects of power, and a very easy way to gain credibility. Not to mention killing someone who slightly upsets you in an expedient manner. No number of guns laws ever practiced in the US and other countries with carry laws have ever stopped the criminal element from getting firearms.

I keep reminding everyone who says they don't understand the open gun culture in other countries to actually read about their gangs and criminal culture. It's rather narrow-sighted to say, "Our criminals aren't like that, so why would your criminals be like that?" or "It's all Triad/Yakuza related" when in China and Japan that's not the case anymore.

(I have my masters in psychology and sociology, and so I keep up with this topic and others on a regular basis. I'm rather amused by the rather obtuse assumptions people have about other cultures around the world, and the constant threads that pop up that constantly place blame/deride other cultures because of people not understanding that cultures vary vastly between locations)

 

[Novan Leon]

What man wouldn't use a gun to protect his wife and kids in the case of a home invasion, mugging or rape? What woman wouldn't use a gun to protect her children?

If he or she doesn't use a gun, what would you suggest?

 

[Jepix]

I own a gun and I do not hunt. Instead, I refuse to fall prey to criminals who seek defenseless victims. Anyone who asks why people own guns shows their naïveté. Must be nice in their hide-your-head-in-the-sand world. On a tangent note, gun owners will never decrease crime as criminals commit crimes regardless. Gun owners are simply less likely to be DEAD.

Statistics conducted in USA shows that you are more likely to get shot in your home if you own a gun, and not by a perpetrator, but by another member of your home.
Discuss.

Oh, and about the head in the sand: Guess what, no one IN MY CITY owns a handgun, and as far as I know, the worst that has happened this year is that a bike got stolen. You just have a violent example of tunnellvision ignorance.

 

[asinann]

And what about people that hunt? A single deer will bring in enough meat for a family of four to eat every day for months for a far lower cost than going to the supermarket and buying beef and chicken.

Then again all the guns I own are only taken out of the case for cleaning most of the time any more and the one hand gun I own was purchased while I was in the army for use as a sidearm to replace the crap 9mm the gave me, I prefer the .44.

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^^'

Large caliber rifles and shotguns are MEANT for hunting, not full auto assault rifles. The guns that are predominantly used for home defense and killing are hand guns.

But go ahead and try walking down the street with a rifle or a shotgun (and you can't really hide them) to go shoot up your local 7-11. See how far you get without at least being stopped by the police.

Now try the same thing with a hand gun, those you can hide pretty easily, probably keep them hidden until you intend to use it.

 

[McClaud]

I own a gun and I do not hunt. Instead, I refuse to fall prey to criminals who seek defenseless victims. Anyone who asks why people own guns shows their naïveté. Must be nice in their hide-your-head-in-the-sand world. On a tangent note, gun owners will never decrease crime as criminals commit crimes regardless. Gun owners are simply less likely to be DEAD.

Statistics conducted in USA shows that you are more likely to get shot in your home if you own a gun, and not by a perpetrator, but by another member of your home.
Discuss.

Oh, and about the head in the sand: Guess what, no one IN MY CITY owns a handgun, and as far as I know, the worst that has happened this year is that a bike got stolen. You just have a violent example of tunnellvision ignorance.

Are you talking about this survey relayed in this thread? http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.148009

If you read my replies (which it is apparent that no one is reading rational replies and responding to them, because people are trying to be pants-on-head retarded lately), you'll see that the study is not proof that people who have hand guns are more susceptible to gun violence than other people, since they did a shoddy initial survey.

Also, since the criminal culture in other locations varies, the mindset of criminals and gun owners varies. In some areas, criminals don't own guns strictly for committing robberies and muggings. They own guns as a symbol of power, respect and control. And they frequently use their firearms on the population seen as weaker randomly to gain and raise credibility.

It would be nice, as I mentioned in that other thread, if the world were more like Britain in some respects as it's easier to control guns (since Britain is a relatively small island) and the criminal element doesn't view guns in the same aspect as American gangs. But the reality is that a lot of gangs are seeing the guns more and more as a way to be popular and strong, and not really as mere tools.

And gun violence has been high in parts of China for a long time, even with strict gun laws. Same with Japan - gun violence is rising, as more smaller gangs are starting to view guns the way that - say American - gangs view guns.

 

[AnarchistAbe]

This is a list I have saved that pretty much sums up the need for guns (in my opinion).

1. "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." ~Thomas Jefferson

2. Those who trade liberty for security have neither. ~John Adams

3. Free men do not ask permission to bear arms.

4. An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject.

5. Only a government that is afraid of its citizens tries to control them.

6. Gun control is not about guns; it's about control.

7. You only have the rights you are willing to fight for.

8. Know guns, know peace, know safety. No guns, no peace, no safety.

9. You don't shoot to kill; you shoot to stay alive.

10. Assault is a behavior, not a device.

11. 64,999,987 firearms owners killed no one yesterday.

12. The United States Constitution (c) 1791. All Rights Reserved.

13. The Second Amendment is in place in case the politicians ignore the others.

14. What part of 'shall not be infringed' do you NOT understand?

15. Guns have only two enemies; rust and politicians.

16. When you remove the people's right to bear arms, you create slaves.

17. The American Revolution would never have happened with gun control.

 

[Sparkimus Prime]

Here are my reasons why I own guns:
1) Hunting is fun and yields meat I can feed myself with.
2) Marksmanship is fun.
3) If there is someone committing a crime and I have the opportunity to stop him, I would like to have a gun on me. It's better to have it and not need it than it is to need it and not have one. You may not get the chance to draw if the criminal is already aiming at you, but the criminal can only aim at one person at a time, so someone else nearby may be able to.
4) Police take approx 10 minutes to respond to something; the crime will already be done by then.
5) Criminals are more afraid of citizens with guns than police.
6) If someone is breaking into my house to steal stuff, he may not want to let me live to testify against him. Most criminals won't kill you, but one of them may.
7) It's not impossible for my country to dissolve, given how deep we are in debt and how much the dollar is degrading.

 

[Aitruis]

In many places in the US, the attitude is not so much the police are too stupid, it's the assumption that even a patrol will be quite far away if someone should come through your front door. Many gun owners, myself included, see the home defense side of guns as a last resort. The hope is that when criminals see you are armed and won't take shit, they'll surrender or run away. If they charge you, feel free to turn them into a rousing game of bullets kaplunk(to quote Yahtzee).

Being in Arizona, and quite close to Mexico, is another concern. With all the recent border/drug war problems, the theory is that these criminals will be less inclined to come into the bigger cities to chase someone/shoot something. This being a frontier state, a hell of a lot of people here have guns.