Why do americas think they need guns to protect them?

Question

POST - thats not the question...

Answer 1

So, let me get this straight... if someone is attacking me, your answer is for me to.... what, talk it out with them?  Hug it out?

Guns aren't evil, people are.  The gun crime rates don't say anything about a gun problem, what they communicate is a PEOPLE problem.  Your reasoning is that we should ban guns and the problem will go away, but that simply is wrong.  That's like saying we should ban pharmacies because there are drug addicts in our nation.

Let me be completely clear... Do I NEED a gun to protect myself?  In most cases, no, and I certainly hope I never have to.  But it certainly helps.  If the crime rates here are as high as you claim they are, then for me to not take measures to protect myself and my loved ones is a lack of intelligence on my part and also a failure to take responsibility for their well-being.  Our world as a whole has gotten to the point where it is spinning out of control.  Banning a tool that can just as easily be used for defense as it can for wrong is not going to resolve anything.  All it will do is make the law-abiding citizens fall at the mercy of the ones who are already acquiring illegal firearms anyway.

The issue is self-control and discretion... not guns.

Answer 2

I bet the Georgians wish they had guns right now.

Why don't you just learn tolerance of other cultures and stop being so backward.

Answer 3

Protection from the government---far more people killed by their own governments than by individual criminals.  Protection from criminals---who cares if they have a gun or not, a couple thugs can kill you just as completely with a brick or a bat.  

As for the UK, they had more than 22,000 crimes with knives last year, let alone other weapons....and this is your model for why people don't need to be able to exercise their right to self defense?

Sorry, but if you don't like the truth, then you shouldn't have asked the question.  History has proven the factual need for firearms.  You don't have to like it, but that's not going to make it disappear.  I carried a jack in my truck for years....never got a flat tire.  Do you think that makes it dumb to carry around a jack?  Try asking someone with a flat tire that doesn't have a jack....how many of them are going to say, yeah, I'm glad I'm stuck on the side of the road.  Good thing I didn't waste time carrying around a jack that I really need???  Nobody I've ever heard of.

Answer 4

Well the police aren't going to protect anyone. By the time they get there, you may be dead and it is a crime scene.  

You say USA has high gun crimes, but you will find that crime is higher where outlawed and lower where the private citizens do not have their rights infringed. Compare the crime rate of the UK where open daylight break-ins happen and the owners are not allowed to even hit them with a golf club. compare to Kennessaw Ga. where every homeowner is required to own a gun.Little to none.  Think about it, would you break in to  home where you knew the owner was required to have a gun, or break-in a home where you know guns are outlawed?

Answer 5

Because in a lot of rural areas for one, police response at best in such areas is 30 minutes. That is plenty of time for someone who wishes to do you harm or kill you to do so easily many times over.

Two, the police here are not obligated to protect each and every citizen individually, they are only obligated to protect as a whole, not each and every person as well as from a practicality standpoint, cannot do so even if they were obligated as there is not enough money or manpower to have police everywhere all the time.

Three, as of now, if you do need to defend yourself and you are in immediate danger, no tool exists that is as effective or easy to learn its proper use and handling as a firearm. Martial arts skills take years to hone and even then may not stop a determined, armed assailant. Defense sprays may work on most people most of the time, but not always and like anything else, some people may be insensitive to such sprays either naturally or via the influence of drugs.

Four, criminals by definition do not care about the law or you and therefore have no qualms on doing you harm if they want to and if you are defenseless, you have no appreciable means to stop them or try to stop them or try to stop them from harming someone else. Even if you comply with their demands for your wallet, ipod or whatever, who is to say they won't hurt or kill you anyway?

Guns do not cause crime on their own. Like any other machine or tool invented, they cannot and will not function without the human element, either good or bad, intended or otherwise, used or misused, young or old or otherwise.

Why does the average person need one? For one, if said person is properly trained it can save his life, his family's life and the life of others.

Two, again if you live in a remote area, it might be your only viable choice against those who threaten you with extreme bodily harm or death

Three, if you are a U.S. Citizen and not a felon or mentally incompetent, it is your right to own and possess a firearm as stated in the U.S. Constitution and reaffirmed by the recent Supreme Court decision as well as the constitutions of many states.

Answer 6

If you will recall, we defeated the British. Since that time we have written into our constitution, the second amendment, that it is our right to own and bear arms. My mother is British, by the way.

Don't tell her I said that.

Answer 7

"Why do americas think they need guns to protect them?"

Let's see, could this be a reason-

Elderly Woman Grabs Gun, Holds Would-Be Burglar At Bay

http://www.wpxi.com/news/17223812/detail...

"LAKE LYNN, Pa. -- An 85-year-old great-grandmother from Lake Lynn, Fayette County kept an alleged burglar at bay using a .22-caliber pistol."

This is what happens when the homeowner is UNARMED-

Woman killed after 911 call in which she begged police to 'hurry'

"RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. (April 21, 1998 8:49 p.m. EDT)

-- Leasa Ivory's call for help came too late. Police arriving just two minutes after her 911 call found her stabbed in the back with a fishing knife. She died less than an hour later, on her 27th birthday.

"He's trying to get in. Hurry up, hurry up," the woman yelled into the phone early Monday. "He's taking the door off the hinges and coming in."

The call ended with the sound of the telephone being dropped and screams."

Also in the US average citizens, NOT the police, use personal firearms 2.5 MILLION times per year, or 6,849 EVERY DAY, for defense, yet kill less than 100 criminals. That means EACH DAY 550 rapes, 1,100 murders, & 5,200 other violent crimes are prevented.

Now lets compare this to the numbers killed or wounded by firearms each year. The number comes out to about 100,000 per year, or 273 daily, for firearms. So that means that firearms in the hands of responsible, lawabiding citizens prevent 25x's more crimes EACH DAY than they "cause". Oh, and by the way, remember that firearms don't "cause" crime, they are mearly a tool, and that most of those crimes would still be commited even if the criminals couldn't get guns, they'd just use something else.

So how is the "Knife crime" problem in the UK going?

Banning guns has certinly made the UK a paradise-

England has worst crime rate in world

By David Bamber, Home Affairs Correspondent

www.news.telegraph.co.uk

Filed: 01/12/2002

"England and Wales have the highest crime rate among the world's leading economies, according to a new report by the United Nations.

The survey, which is likely to prove embarrassing to David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, shows that people are more likely to be mugged, burgled, robbed or assaulted here than in America, Germany, Russia, South Africa or any other of the world's 20 largest nations. Only the Dominican Republic, New Zealand and Finland have higher crime rates than England and Wales."

You asked-

"Why do they need guns, the only thin i can think is the viscus circle or "we need guns to protect us against people with guns"?"

No, guns don't serve to protect just from other guns, but from criminals armed with knives, baseball bats, clubs, cars, sticks, sheer physical size, glass bottles, ice picks, sharpened metal, metal pipes, bombs, fireplace pokers, etc.

You also responded-

"yes we do have knife crime, as our srims cant get hold of guns, and there not thinking of banning them that ludicrous, its illegal to have on you possession a knife unless you have a good reason (chief, scout fisherman etc...) what they are thinking of is cutting points of the ends of huge kitchen knives!

knife crime is higher here but thats cause getting a gun is harder and knife crime isnt as high as you gun crimes!"

Why is a crime commited with a knife any different than one commited with a firearm? A murder victim is just as dead whether it's a gun, a knife, a bat, a glass bottler, etc. People have been killed by cars, tall buildings, knives, pillows, medicines etc and no one calls for banning them.

You want to ban something that kills alot of people, well let's see what's out there in the US-

- Cars kill 40,000+ each year

- Medical Errors kill 400,000 each year

- Tobacco kills 438,000 each year

Oh, it may also interest you to know that I've worked for 10 years in Emergency Medical Services, including urban areas, and have personaly dealt with both living and dead "firearm victims", yet I am still pro-gun, imagine that! You'll also find that the majority of our police officers SUPPORT private firearm ownership.

For some more info you should read-

http://www.gunfacts.info/

EDIT: I should also add that in addition to hunting & personal defense that firearms are also used for-

- Sport/Competition

- Recreation

- Defense against predetory animals-> comming home at 3AM and having a close encounter with one of these- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cougar -while unarmed, will change your opinion very quickly. I know, I had one, it's not fun. It is also a very sobering realization to recognize that you are totaly impotent against it and that a firearm could become very usefull at that moment.

- National defense

- Collecting

- David

Answer 8

Well, I can't depend on the government to protect my family from some criminal who breaks into my house.  So I prefer to protect my family myself.

RE: What good would a fist or a bat do if the criminal has a firearm that they recieved illegally?

Answer 9

Do you reaaaallllly NEED the right to privacy, brah?  I bet we'd be heaps safer if the government monitored our activity 24/7.

Answer 10

because I CAN HAVE one...its the right of every American to own what they want, within the law.  The law says: Americans can own guns.

What the UK does and what the US does have no bearing on the laws in the USA.

Just because you dont like guns doesnt mean I cant own one.  I enjoy shooting guns at targets, and knowing that I have one here if i vicious criminal breaks in.  That, and its my right to own one if I so choose, and I do.

Answer 11

The surveys of citizen use of guns for protection are consistent with surveys of criminals. In a National Institute of Justice study of incarcerated felons, 38% said that they had decided not to commit a particular crime out of fear that the victim might be armed.

Answer 12

did you know that crime is lower in cities where more citizens have guns.

the reason that there is a lot of gun crimes is because more bad people have unregistered or illegal guns. If more citizens had guns there would be less crime.

Think about it, if you are about to break into someones home, would you if you knew they had a gun? probably not.

By the way, Many Georgians if they had guns would be shooting at their own government. The Georgian government went in and started killing Ossetians in cold blood, they threw grenades in basements where people where hiding out. Thank goodnes for the Russians that went in and helped out those people. We should send the Russians to Darfore maybe that place will get straitened out fast. The media has not reported on this incident correctly check this out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEwORUYUE...

Answer 13

Ugg because if the Police dont have guns than they are no use, Because someone else may have one and render the police defenseless.

Common Sense

Answer 14

Well, our founding fathers specified that citizens have the right to keep and bear arms and it was written into our Constitution. Why? well I think historically, the way that King George and British Soldiers treated us "Colonists" at the time might have had a hand in it.

If you're happy that the UK has strict gun laws why are you complaining? You don't live here, why is it your concern? Americans also have the right to not own a firearm if they choose not to. But you  seem to be one of those that can't tell the difference between a law-abiding firearm owners that use firearms in a safe and lawful manner, and criminals that are already prohibited by law from possessing one much less owning one commit crimes with them.  

Yes, that's right! most gun crimes are committed by criminals! They don't care about the laws! Do you honestly think that they worry about breaking the law against them having a gun while they rob someone?

Oh yeah, I forgot! While we may have crimes committed by guns you have knife crimes that are getting to the point that your Govt. is considering banning knives. Ironic, isn't it?

EDIT-Are you here to ask questions or argue with everyone's answer? So you don't like guns and think that your way of life in the UK superior, we get it already!

"but well it is i wanted to see if you'd all hid behind 2 answers "its our right" or "cause criminals have them"

Well, it is our right. And we have you Brits to thank for it. Unlike Canada and Austrailia we decided to become our own nation and not remain a commonwealth like the others. Since we did this, we didn't have a standing army at the time and it became every citizen's obligation to defend the nation and each other if need be.

      

I'd say the difference that you're looking for between Americans and the British is that I'm a "Citizen" of my Country while you are considered a "Subject" of yours. I have "Rights" and you have "Priviledges".

Do you get it now?

Answer 15

yeah and the crime rate in the UK is astronomical check your facts the crime rate in conceal carry states is way lower than those without FACT So whats your point if someone is going to kill themselves they will do it with something else,your logic is flawed

Answer 16

@REAGAN REPUBLICA

I live in the UK and the crime rate for violent crime here is much lower than in the USA

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44... I don't know how reliable this source is but the BBC tend to be good with their stats

I don't think Americans should have guns however to achieve this the constitution would have to be changed and that just can't be done.  Changing the constitution would be the greater evil than letting civilians own guns

Answer 17

human nature. if someone breaks into your house what are you going to do? shoot their a$$ or for those of you without guns stab their a$$.

human nature kill or be killed. that's why regular people have guns because every bad guy in america has a gun. the USA has worse people in it than the UK. not to talk bad about my country but it's the truth. if some dumba$$ with a stick come up to me and tried to arrest me, he better have about 5 or 6 people backing him up because i'm going to try everything within my power to break his legs. that's why our police have guns, to keep s**t like that from happing it protects the crimanal as well as the cops.

Answer 18

1. It's my right to own them, having a need it irrelevant

2. If you're an American and you choose not to own a gun that is your right and I respect your choice. If you aren't an American why would we even care what your opinion is on the subject ?