The Lifetime Likelihood Of Needing A Gun For Self-Defense

[jmorris]

https://gundigest.com/handguns/personal ... ihood-data

[BigGuy]

I follow the rule expressed by a couple of sayings:
1) I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
2) Ever needing a gun is a low probability, but high impact event.

[troglodyte]

I believe TAM, or maybe his son, said it well, "It's not the odds, it's the cost." (I hope I didn't butcher it too much)

[RoyGBiv]

It's not the odds, it's the stakes.

[BigGuy]

I believe TAM, or maybe his son, said it well, "It's not the odds, it's the cost." (I hope I didn't butcher it too much)

[BigGuy]

It's not the odds, it's the stakes.

[JRG]

I refuse to be unarmed, if at all possible. There are many places I no longer frequent due to their policies regarding personal weapons. Of course, at my age (72), I have many visits to doctors. Those visits are about the only times I am unarmed.

Hopefully, I never need my gun, but it is comforting on my body to have it.

Joe

[carlson1]

I have been carrying since 1978. Same every day activity. Check to make sure it is still loaded from the next day. Grab at least one reload and the pray and ask my Heavenly Father to protect me. The next prayers is help me not to need my gun today.

If I think I need a gun because my destination is awful dangerous I don’t go.

[The Annoyed Man]

If I think I need a gun because my destination is awful dangerous I don’t go.

How many times over the years have we all discussed the rules of stupid?

1. Don’t do stupid things
2. with stupid people
3. at stupid times
4. in stupid places.

I might have the order incorrect, but it’s still valid.

[chasfm11]

This is all good but I don't think the crime statistics are the only risk exposure. Outside of the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, I don't think that there is a time in our history where neighbor was willing to off neighbor over politics. Neither the shooter of the health insurance company nor the one for Charlie Kirk had criminal histories. One doesn't have to watch the violence at protests very long to realize that the people fighting for several of those causes seem unencumbered by legal constraints. Yes, I know that deliberately going to a protest would qualify as a stupid place. I'm trying to address the one-off situations where an individual perceives me to be a threat because of an article of clothing. I'm very amazed at the little things that some of these people count as "triggers." I"m probably just paranoid to believe that I might succumb to political violence sooner than criminal violence but that my current thinking. And that is because the political crazies are already in my neighborhood. I don't have to go to a stupid place to find them.