Why so many are so adamant about firearms for self-defense.

Here are two heart-rending examples of why so many believe in keeping firearms for self-defense.

No, no weapon, no amount of preparedness can give you a guarantee of success in the face of adversity.

But my god, my wife will never be in position of the poor woman in the second video.

In the following recordings, both women are fully aware that someone is attempting and succeeding at breaking into their home.

911 call where woman in her home shoots home invader.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTAADW9wNvk

911 call where woman in her home is beaten and raped before police arrive.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd3vWsa4ags&feature=related

Heart-rending.

No guns. That is what the police is for.

Those calls & Constitutional law (aka Warren case, Gonzalez case, etc) that absolutely beyond any legalese makes it 100% clear the Police have NO DUTY OR OBLIGATION TO PROTECT.

The Police more correctly "Law Enforcement Officers" have 2 purposes only
1) to aphrehend suspects.
2) to build credible cases for the District Attorney.
Period.

Now many LEO are "good guys" are go beyond their duty but not all of them are.

Also the easiest way to accomplish #1 is to stop a crime in progress. If the LEO arrive with a crime in progress as a "side effect" they may save your life but their purpose is to protect society as a whole by #1 & #2.

It's been 20 minutes since I watched them and my heart is still jacked up.

I know several police officers and I don't fault them at all in these scenarios. Every police officer I know would be flying as fast as they could to get there and save the woman under attack. You know, these guys are often in continuous radio contact with their dispatchers and can hear the 911 caller on the phone in the background. They know what is happening while they frantically drive across town, edging across red lights, to respond.

Don't think for a minute they don't care. Jesus I don't know how they sleep at night.

Like teachers & soldiers they have a difficult job and often that is going to have situations where they fail.

We aren't a police state and there simply are not enough police for round the clock security.
If you want security then get your own (dog, security guard, firearm, etc).

My point simply is IF the police fail (and they often due it is just a numbers thing) because of underfunding, honest mistakes, or incompetence you have no recourse.

I guess my point (poorly explained) is:
Citizens are wrong to expect the Police will "save them". Police may indeed save them but that isn't their job and citizens shouldn't be so defenseless that they put the security of every individual in the country on the police.

I have couple friends who are cops. One a state trooper and one in a city with a crime problem (Norfolk). Both have talked about how the dept have high divorce rate and high alcohol usage just to "cope". They deal with the worst of society day in and day out and most days don't have a happy ending.

I guess my point (poorly explained) is:
Citizens are wrong to expect the Police will "save them". Police may indeed save them but that isn't their job and citizens shouldn't be so defenseless that they put the security of every individual in the country on the police.

Exactly so.

I have couple friends who are cops. One a state trooper and one in a city with a crime problem (Norfolk). Both have talked about how the dept have high divorce rate and high alcohol usage just to "cope". They deal with the worst of society day in and day out and most days don't have a happy ending.

Can you imagine being the police in the second video who arrive too late to save the woman from her attacker? I would be second-guessing myself for the rest of my life - if only I had run one more red light, if only I had driven 90 instead of 70.

Damn depressing start to the day.

Where you are, and where they are, is separated by alot of misunderstanding. All they see are the folks stock piling ammunition, and looking like the whole survivalist movement. They see gang bangers, and accidental shootings of kids, and folks that want the ability to own anything the gun makers can dream up. And they and their families live their whole lives without need or want of guns.

You of course see a whole different world. You know the differences between weapons, what they are useful for, how to care for them, and their peculiarities. You know people who are proficient in their use. You know people interested in them for alot of different reasons from hobby to professional need. To you they are tools in a tool box to be used by a mechanic, even if a bit on the shade tree type.

I don't know if the gulf can be crossed. People on both sides have little interest in visiting the other side. And they start from almost incompatible life experiences. I can tell you this, your You Tube links bring them to whole different conclusions than you. I can also tell you that many law enforcement, and personal protection consultants would come to different conclusions than you as well. Doesn't make 'em right, but it is because of a different starting point in terms of getting to a "solution".

I'm sure you can come to a variety of conclusions, but there should be one thing that we can all agree on.

Both of these women were under siege in their own homes by men whose motives were unknown.

One woman had a gun, and the other did not. The one with the gun survived her attack physically intact, while the one without one did not.

No one can say that having a gun will always allow you to prevail in such situations. And no one can say that not having one will always mean you won't prevail in such situations. Maybe the woman without a gun could have fled her home while her attacker was still in the basement. Maybe she could have somehow barricaded the basement door. Maybe if her cordless phone battery had not been dead she could have fled to another locked room and bought herself a couple more minutes until the police arrived.

If you could have access to a weapon to defend yourself in such a situation, who in god's name would not have one?!?

This weekend I'm getting a sitter for the kids and taking my wife to the shooting range to get her more proficient with the shotguns.

Such events as these are probably very rare. But I have the means and ability to prepare and so I will do so.

You are extracting all of the context from these events that would tend to provide the understanding of other peoples points of views. Blinders provide clarity for a reason, it tend to remove contradictory information.

Sometimes when everyone looks at a tree they all agree it's a tree, in spite of their different backgrounds.

And some folks can't see the forest because of all the trees.

n/t.

It really does make a difference when you have a possible chance to defend yourself.

was to "hand over the pocketbook". Do you want to stick to that advice? What would you advise in this situation?



http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=118&topic_id=226156&mesg_id=227508