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I've been seeing this question on TV alot the last few days. I have been thinking that question over. To be honest I really don't know, you see the bad guy that is looking to break into my home doesn't know I have a loaded gun waiting for his entry. I do know this, keeping a gun and a loaded one in my home will make him much more sorrier that he did.

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- Jim

Dang seamus that is terrible. Such a waste of life.

Statistically no but you have to see what category you fall into. The most likely person to shoot you is a family member and if you drink or do drugs on a regular basis your odds go through the roof. My brother is an EMT and when ever he goes to a domestic shooting alcohol is almost always involved. I have a friend who thinks it is more dangerous to own a gun then not but doesn't feel safe because of car break-ins in his neighborhood. To me it makes no sense. If someone wants to kill or hurt you they will. I think it is because he didn't grow up with guns in his parent’s house. If you feel unsafe to have a firearm in your house because you don't trust your family members then I would say definitely don't own or never have a gun unsecured. Family shootings are more related to economic status then anything but some people just crack for what ever reason. Mental health disease doesn’t know how much money you have. I trust my better half and family. If I thought any of them where unstable I would immediately address the situation.

Definitely alcohol and drug abuse are factors, but I think in many cases there is some underlying long-term and possibly undiagnosed mental illness that led to the substance abuse.

Then there are the kids that are "just fine" until suddenly they are not. Many mental illnesses start in adolescence for some reason.

The only point that I want to make is that firearms are no more or less dangerous than other items such as knives, power tools, sources of fire, and electricity. Small children drown in buckets all the time, and a while back some idiot was calling for a ban on buckets.

- Jim

Well my kids are grown, gone and live in thier own homes. It is just my wife and I. Neather of us drink or do drugs. I do sometimes overlaod my mouth, humm maybe I should unload my wifes gun

You can't trust most of the "statistics" you see about the danger of having a gun in the home. They tend to only count the deadly incidents and not count the times when guns have saved lives.

stroo wrote:You can't trust most of the "statistics" you see about the danger of having a gun in the home. They tend to only count the deadly incidents and not count the times when guns have saved lives.

You are quite right in several respects, and this topic has been discussed many times.

Counting only homicides skews the statistics, because about half the firearm deaths in the U.S. are suicides, and many others are murders by family members such as those that I referred to.

Homicides are easy to count, because there is no denying the existence of a dead human body. Near misses, "brandishing," "flashing," etc., are not so well defined.

Probably a hundred crimes such as burglary or robbery are stopped for every homicide. No one knows for sure. I have mentioned in another thread that plenty of defenders in places like Chicago do not call the police afterward because they do not have fully legal possession of a firearm or they fear malicious prosecution.

- Jim

stroo wrote:You can't trust most of the "statistics" you see about the danger of having a gun in the home. They tend to only count the deadly incidents and not count the times when guns have saved lives.

I think that is very true. Most published statistics are aimed at hurting the gun culture not promoting it.

Safer from what? There is no definite answer to this question because in some ways having a gun around is more dangerous, in other ways having a gun around is safer. It just depends on the situations that come up in your home.

And, Seamus, of course guns are more dangerous than knives, power tools and buckets or else we would all carry buckets on our hips for protection. Just laying there none of them are dangerous, but their potential is the reality of what the item is.

YES

Having a gun in my home doesn't make me feel "safer" makes me feel like I can defend myself if the need should arise.

tallmike wrote:And, Seamus, of course guns are more dangerous than knives, power tools and buckets or else we would all carry buckets on our hips for protection.

OK. Buckets kill one child at a time. My point is that most people don't give a second thought to having a bucket or even a swimming pool, but many children drown in buckets and swimming pools.

In fact, one might rightfully ask why the Bradys with their "if it saves one child it's worth it" slogan aren't campaigning to ban swimming pools and buckets.

In countries like China where ordinary people cannot easily obtain firearms, lunatics do quite a bit of harm with knives.

Fires caused by an arsonist or negligence of some sort can kill a hundred people within minutes and leave survivors in a lifetime of pain and disability.

- Jim

Yes. I'm safer with a gun in my home when I'm home and carried when I'm not.

seamusTX wrote:

tallmike wrote:And, Seamus, of course guns are more dangerous than knives, power tools and buckets or else we would all carry buckets on our hips for protection.

OK. Buckets kill one child at a time. My point is that most people don't give a second thought to having a bucket or even a swimming pool, but many children drown in buckets and swimming pools.

In fact, one might rightfully ask why the Bradys with their "if it saves one child it's worth it" slogan aren't campaigning to ban swimming pools and buckets.

In countries like China where ordinary people cannot easily obtain firearms, lunatics do quite a bit of harm with knives.

Fires caused by an arsonist or negligence of some sort can kill a hundred people within minutes and leave survivors in a lifetime of pain and disability.

- Jim

I agree with THOSE statements 100%.