random gun musings...

holy bullets, batman... i guess i sort of knew in the back of my mind that "guns" were a semi-hot topic... not so much in my sheltered world, necessarily, but after posting on facebook that i was contemplating buying a winchester shotgun, it became clear that "guns" were in the category of "religion" and "politics" when it comes to people's opinions on the subject...

for me, i pretty much feel the same way about all of these topics... i have my opinions, and i don't feel the need to impose or persuade others to agree with me... partly because i don't feel i have enough information to really argue a valid point on any of these subjects, but mostly because i hate (and yes, i do mean "hate") when other people try to force their opinions on me... i'm a "live and let live" kinda girl...

anyhoo... i don't think i've received so much attention on a post or comment EVER in my life... and everybody seems to be adamant one way or the other... either "go for it!  get a gun, girl!" or "absolutely don't do it!"

now, my entire life has been gun free, not by any kind of conscious choice, i just didn't grow up around guns... or people using guns... tbh, guns always scared me, they still do, and i realize that this fear is based solely on the fact that i know NOTHING about guns, but after an attempted break-in to my house (while i was home - a crazy scary experience to say the least) two days ago, it got me thinking that having a gun would've made me feel much more in control of the situation, and not so reliant on the police showing up and doing something to stop it... thankfully, they left before successfully breaking in, but if they had made it into my house, there was no way i was prepared to do anything to protect myself from these two men, and that TERRIFIED me... TERRIFIES me, still.

i like to think i'm a fairly rational person, and i realize that i went straight to getting a gun as a major reaction to what had just happened, but i also stocked the house, myself, and my kids with pepper spray... and i activated the security system, and i have definitely started thinking about actually having plans for what we would do should somebody actually breach our secure little world, so in that respect, perhaps something good has come from this... it does make me feel better knowing i at least have a plan for some kind of control over a horrifying situation...

but, i digress... i have not yet completely decided on the gun idea, but i am definitely still thinking about it... i have one kid who is dead-set against it, and one kid who is ok with the idea, but since neither of them (like me) have ever been around guns, i can understand the hesitation and fear... i feel it too... but i'm beginning to think i'd like to at least see what it's all about, instead of just blanket dismissing the idea.

so on that front, i spent about four hours this morning researching the topics of "guns in homes."  some of it was peoples' opinions, some of it was statistics (which don't in and of themselves ever convince me of anything since statistics can be skewed or presented in a way to make anybody's point about anything... and quite often don't include the opposing side's converse stats) and this is what i found:

(1)  (opinion)  guns in homes was just fine as long as everybody is educated and taught respect and things were locked up in various places for safety...
(2)  (statistic)  guns in homes created conditions where homicides and suicides were greatly increased in those homes...
(3)  (opinion)  guns in homes are just too scary and not worth the worry of previous statistics...
(4)  (opinion)  people who agree with guns in their homes for protection feel more empowered and capable of protecting themselves and their family...
(5)  (opinion)  people who don't agree with guns in their homes for protection (or really for any reason) feel like they are either an accident waiting to happen, or a convenient tool too readily available for someone who might have an irrational moment...

here's what i couldn't find:

(1)  (statistic)  how many home invasions were prevented because the intended victim brandished a gun in self-defense... i'm assuming this kind of thing would never make the news, or any kind of statistic-gathering organization, especially if the incident was never reported to the police...
(2)  (statistic)  how many (or few) times a victim had to actually fire their gun at a home invader, as opposed to just making its presence known...

much of this information was terrifying and sad to read about, but as i was reading it, all i could think was that the majority of these cases were anecdotal, and included many outside factors such as guns not being locked up in homes with small children; people in the house who were not educated or taught to respect or use guns; and/or guns in the homes of people who have or had depression or alcohol or drug dependencies...  a major argument for the case against guns in the home was that people are human, and make mistakes, and that the outcome of some gun-owners mistakes was just not worth the risk... i can see their point here, but...

i am still on the fence about the issue, and intend to go with some friends to a shooting range, and possibly take some gun safety and training classes before i ever purchase a gun, but this is what i do know...

if i had a shotgun two days ago, and those two men had managed to kick down my front door, they either wouldn't have stuck around after i cocked it, or they would've been severely injured (or worse...)

and  i would've been ok with either scenario...

if you have any opinions, anecdotes, statistics, or whatever to share on the topic, please comment below... as i am still in the research stages, i'd like to hear what people have to say on the matter...  no judgement...