Getting a Gun

[dqhall]

Why is it okay for people to protect their loved ones, but some people think it is not okay to protect yourself?

I do not have any children or a wife. So, I don't know what it is like to have that protective feeling, like parents do. But when I talk about buying a gun to protect myself, some people tell me that I am wrong. Don't I have the right to love myself the way you love your family?

Update: This was not news. I meant to put this in Christian Advice. Oops

So, I asked the staff to move it. Sorry about that.

Some people got into more trouble with a gun than if they never had a gun at all. People attacked from behind. Having a gun is no guarantee of safety. More people killed themselves with their guns than shot armed home invaders. I watched too much scary news and bought a gun. A terrible waste of money. I will probably never fire it. One place where I lived someone fired a bullet into my carport siding. I moved rather than stay and try to shoot the perpetrator.

 

[Broken Fence]

When I read posts like this I am glad that I live in a country with a different mentality and strict gun controls.

I was hopping around YouTube yesterday and came across an American saying after living abroad 2 1/2 years she had reverse culture shock on returning to the US as she said in the US it is a life with a constant thread of underlaying fear of being mugged, broken into and in some way becoming a victim to crime. Her Sister-in-law said she was 'brave' to take a bus. That the whole time she was aborad she had no weapon and had felt fine, used buses and felt safe.

So I assume this is your culture of fear coming through. This is a very American way of thinking. Looking on countries for highest crime rates, the US does not even make the top 3. That goes to Venezuela, Papua New Guinea and South Africa. The US was way down the list at 50th place. So maybe the US mindset of fear is somewhat misplaced.
I have never owned a gun.
Never thought of owning a gun
Would not want to own a gun
We came in at 72nd place for crime.
Never really thought about protection except when my husband is away I do take care to make sure doors are locked and that my mobile phone is on the bedside table. That is my idea of protecting myself.

Well God is your protection. However the only thing that stops a bad person with a gun is a good person with a gun. You have to protect yourself and your family or people will take you for all your worth.

 

[coffee4u]

Well God is your protection. However the only thing that stops a bad person with a gun is a good person with a gun. You have to protect yourself and your family or people will take you for all your worth.

That ^ is the American mindset, it's not an Australian one I can tell you now. I've been a Christian for 30 years but even before that as an agnostic I never thought like that.

 

[Rescued One]

Why is it okay for people to protect their loved ones, but some people think it is not okay to protect yourself?

I do not have any children or a wife. So, I don't know what it is like to have that protective feeling, like parents do. But when I talk about buying a gun to protect myself, some people tell me that I am wrong. Don't I have the right to love myself the way you love your family?

Update: This was not news. I meant to put this in Christian Advice. Oops

So, I asked the staff to move it. Sorry about that.

A lot of people live all alone and don't worry about owning a gun. There are home safety systems; some of them are deterrents.

I live in a town that isn't riddled with violence. But a young father here was fearful so he purchased a gun. He kept it loaded and put it in his coat pocket when he took his children out to play. The gun fell on the ground, went off and killed his young daughter!

 

[Aussie Pete]

Why is it okay for people to protect their loved ones, but some people think it is not okay to protect yourself?

I do not have any children or a wife. So, I don't know what it is like to have that protective feeling, like parents do. But when I talk about buying a gun to protect myself, some people tell me that I am wrong. Don't I have the right to love myself the way you love your family?

Update: This was not news. I meant to put this in Christian Advice. Oops

So, I asked the staff to move it. Sorry about that.

What happened to "In God we trust?" Has it become "In Glock we trust"?

 

[friend of]

I'd say that's a bad idea Chief. What do you need a gun for? I ask this as a Canadian

 

[Darkhorse]

But a young father here was fearful so he purchased a gun. He kept it loaded and put it in his coat pocket when he took his children out to play. The gun fell on the ground, went off and killed his young daughter!

This is a good reason for the OP to post a similar thread in the Firearms section.

We have many knowledgeable people there who can advise about selecting a gun (if desired), including one that is "drop-safe" (will not fire if dropped).

 

[Gregory Thompson]

Why is it okay for people to protect their loved ones, but some people think it is not okay to protect yourself?

I do not have any children or a wife. So, I don't know what it is like to have that protective feeling, like parents do. But when I talk about buying a gun to protect myself, some people tell me that I am wrong. Don't I have the right to love myself the way you love your family?

Update: This was not news. I meant to put this in Christian Advice. Oops

So, I asked the staff to move it. Sorry about that.

I think this is a very cultural question since you're posting from the US.

For example, it's not normal for people to go out and buy a gun in Canada, but I understand it's not only normal - it's easier to obtain one by virtue of availability in the US due to the right to bear arms and such.

Thus cultural.

In terms of "Christian" advice, Jesus said to Peter that those who live by the sword die by the sword.

So on that same note, relying on a gun will most likely result in you getting shot - especially when you live in a country where that is the norm - it's just statistics then.

 

[Blade]

So many have been getting guns.. hey.. they can by the law so praise GOD

 

[nonaeroterraqueous]

Try discussing less loaded subjects...

 

[bèlla]

Safety systems didn’t prevent commercial stores from being entered and destroyed. I’m certain their systems were more involved than the average homeowner.

If someone desires to enter your home they will. An alarm isn’t a deterrent for that sort. Some reside in areas with smaller populations and lower crime rates. Others live in large metropolitans with greater challenges.

~Bella

 

[Fidelibus]

As a survivor of a Mass shooting, I legally protect myself with a Smith and Wesson M&P Shield 9mm with a concealed carry licence under the protection and right given to me by the 2nd Amendment of the United States of America!

 

[Redwingfan9]

Why is it okay for people to protect their loved ones, but some people think it is not okay to protect yourself?

I do not have any children or a wife. So, I don't know what it is like to have that protective feeling, like parents do. But when I talk about buying a gun to protect myself, some people tell me that I am wrong. Don't I have the right to love myself the way you love your family?

Update: This was not news. I meant to put this in Christian Advice. Oops

So, I asked the staff to move it. Sorry about that.

Why would it be wrong to protect yourself? If someone breaks into your home do people expect you to hand over your valuables because you don't have a wife and kids?

 

[Swag365]

That ^ is the American mindset, it's not an Australian one I can tell you now. I've been a Christian for 30 years but even before that as an agnostic I never thought like that.

Well who else will stop a bad person with a gun? Perhaps you will offer him a cup of coffee and he will be on his merry way because of it?

 

[Sketcher]

Why is it okay for people to protect their loved ones, but some people think it is not okay to protect yourself?

I do not have any children or a wife. So, I don't know what it is like to have that protective feeling, like parents do. But when I talk about buying a gun to protect myself, some people tell me that I am wrong. Don't I have the right to love myself the way you love your family?

Do the people who tell you that you are wrong to protect yourself with a gun believe in protecting their families with guns?

If so, that could be one of two things.

1) Hypocrisy.
2) Matthew 5:38-42 seems to forbid using violence to protect yourself, but it doesn't have a single word forbidding you to use violence to protect others. Perhaps they are very convicted about this.

 

[coffee4u]

Well who else will stop a bad person with a gun? Perhaps you will offer him a cup of coffee and he will be on his merry way because of it?

The US: One person gets a gun. Another gets a gun to protect himself from the first person, a third person buys a gun to protect himself from the other two and so on. This is why you feel a need to have a gun, because everyone else does and they are easy to obtain. You assume that you will meet a bad person with a gun and since there are so many guns your chances of this are much higher than mine and you feel that by having one you will be safe. Bad assumption because come crunch time you may find you can't use it and they will take it and use it against you, or you could shoot someone that you shouldn't have or worse your own children or another child will find the gun.
Lots of guns makes for lots of gun deaths.
From 2006-2016, almost 6,885 people in the U.S. died from unintentional shootings
Examining Accidental Shooting Death Statistics – Aftermath Services

Australia: Very few people own guns, we are unlikely to ever run into a person with a gun and do not feel a need for a gun. The gun can't be used against us since we don't own one, we won't accidentally shoot someone that we shouldn't have and there is nothing for our kids to find. A cricket bat is far more likely to be the weapon of choice. The only place I have only ever seen a gun is on a farm and that is just a regular shotgun.
Australia – Total Number of Gun Deaths
We cracked down on gun ownership after the Port Arthur massacre in 1996 and we all feel a lot safer for it. We have had zero mass shootings the past 20 years. Australia's gun laws may have stopped mass shootings
Here are all the mass shootings in the US in 2020 alone Mass Shootings in 2020 | Gun Violence Archive 9 pages of them.

 

[Dave G.]

A lot of people live all alone and don't worry about owning a gun. There are home safety systems; some of them are deterrents.

I live in a town that isn't riddled with violence. But a young father here was fearful so he purchased a gun. He kept it loaded and put it in his coat pocket when he took his children out to play. The gun fell on the ground, went off and killed his young daughter!

If anyone knows anything about gun safety then you know never to have a cocked gun in your pocket in the first place. Added to that the safety had to have been off on the gun for it to go off when dropped. This is why we all say get training !! In some states now the training is mandatory in order to get the permit in the first place.. It's a real shame this happened in your town and to that family and especially to the girl but that guy was careless or just plain uninformed, certainly ineffectively trained up in the use of firearms. And added to that the gun should have been in a concealed holster to begin with.

For the most part the home systems work well. But you get a drug crazed nut breaking in, that isn't about to make him flinch. The thing about home safety is you feel secure until you find out you really weren't, now your faced with a 260lb hairy nut in your house and he's coming for your throat or wants into your body ( yes I mean rape) that little buzzer going off isn't helping you any. And these day's will the police ever even show up ? That's getting questionable. He could kill you meanwhile or just have fun where you don't want him to be.

God doesn't give us the right to attack another person or even seek revenge but he does give us the right to protect ourselves in the night at home for sure and in other cases as well.


What does the Bible say?

1. Exodus 22:2-3 “If a thief is caught in the act of breaking into a house and is struck and killed in the process, the person who killed the thief is not guilty of murder. But if it happens in daylight, the one who killed the thief is guilty of murder.”

2. Luke 11:21 “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own mansion, his property is safe.”

3. Isaiah 49:25 “Who can snatch the plunder of war from the hands of a warrior? Who can demand that a tyrant let his captives go?”



Buying Firearms or other self-defense weapons.

4. Luke 22:35-37 “Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you out to preach the Good News and you did not have money, a traveler’s bag, or an extra pair of sandals, did you need anything?” “No,” they replied. “But now,” he said, “take your money and a traveler’s bag. And if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one! For the time has come for this prophecy about me to be fulfilled: ‘He was counted among the rebels. Yes, everything written about me by the prophets will come true.”

5. Luke 22:38-39 “Look, Lord,” they replied, “we have two swords among us.” “That’s enough,” he said. Then, accompanied by the disciples, Jesus left the upstairs room and went as usual to the Mount of Olives.”

 

[dqhall]

Safety systems didn’t prevent commercial stores from being entered and destroyed. I’m certain their systems were more involved than the average homeowner.

If someone desires to enter your home they will. An alarm isn’t a deterrent for that sort. Some reside in areas with smaller populations and lower crime rates. Others live in large metropolitans with greater challenges.

~Bella

While walking to a store in DC I was approached by three teens walking quickly. I saw a vision of them being fierce like leopards. I asked, “What do you want?” One of them said, “Money.” I took out my wallet and gave them all my cash. They ran away. I forgave them and did not seek revenge. I did not call the police. I thanked God for being with me and protecting me. One of my neighbors tried to fight off some robbers months before. They knocked him down and kicked him repeatedly. He died within days. It was illegal to own guns in DC at the time, yet there was semi-auto gunfire at night sometimes. After a gun fight the police moved in slowly with siren blaring to break up the fight. After a while I bought a condo in the Virginia suburbs where there was no gun fighting.

 

[Richard T]

A gun can be a weapon of righteousness. If you carry you have to know that God could use you in the place of law enforcement at anytime. It is one of the responsibilities of carrying a deadly weapon. There have been several occasions where a public citizen assisted a police officer and saved their life.
Video shows passer-by shooting Florida deputy's attacker
You should try to work through scenarios as to when you would actually use your weapon. You should be trained as well. There is nothing wrong to use a weapon when it is legal. While there are stand your ground laws in many states, I only would use a weapon for myself, if I could not get away first.

 

[bèlla]

After a while I bought a condo in the Virginia suburbs where there was no gun fighting.

I’m happy to hear you weren’t harmed. The bible says it rains on the just and unjust. Misfortune happens to innocent people all the time. It doesn’t mean they were unrighteous or not in God’s favor.

This is a question of conscience. If your convictions lead you towards gun ownership or compel you to abstain, that’s okay. But its a decision each must reach on their own. No one faces the consequences of that choice but the individual.

And that’s my conviction on giving advice for difficult subjects like this. I have a responsibility because of my gifting. That isn’t my life on the line. It isn’t my loved ones at risk. Without a word from the Lord for the individual specifically. I tailor my response with grace and fairness.

~Bella