I'm sure most of us would like to have GS Dirtboy as a neighbour but he's really not representative of the population in general:
- Not everybody is an ex-Marine
- Not everybody can stay calm in borderline situations (if you are prone to panick with your heartbeat reaching 150 bpm in a dangerous situation, then a gun is definitely not for you).
- Many people are really dumb and don't follow any rules (just see the way people drive... And imagine now all of them with a gun in the car... Ouch).
- The way you'll react facing a danger will depend on your own situation (not the same thing if you only have to defend yourself and defending wife + kids).
- It's no wonder it's a passionate debate: guns belong to the culture & roots of the US nation.
- Then should be considered the question: which kind of weapong to use (in a house, better have a shotgun not to kill your neighbour).
There's no definitive answer and having/not having guns will come with its bunch of pros/cons:
- Having a gun: risk that kids blow up their heads (4000 kids die every year in the US because of that, in some other countries it will be less than 10/20 per year), risk that a father shoots by accident a kid coming back late at night thinking it's a burglar, risk that you get your fancy guns robbed (quite often for now, the scumbags using guns in Argentina have old or weak weapons... If you increase the number of weapons, they'll end up with Uzis or such, which will bring another problem with the balance of fighting power with the cops and such), etc.
- Not having a gun: if some kids completely fucked up with Paco come into your house then you are in deep s**t, you can only count on passive measures or try your luck if there's an opportunity to use a knife or whatever, etc.
0 risk does not exist in both situations, decision to allow guns would deeply affect the society. I personally think it would be better instead to strengthen the Law enforcement corps and that they should be the ones allowed to have guns in the streets. Having a shotgun at home can be useful though but even for that, there should be control/regulation to make sure the owners are trained/psychologically reviewed and such.
Eventhough someone would be perfectly trained, psychologically balanced, with the proper weapons, there will be situations when, assessing quickly the risks/benefits, you'll have to just "let go" and not take your chances.
It's also a question of the life choices you want to make, what you're ready to sacrifice (or risks you're willing to take) to feel more secure, choosing what you will gain for what you will lose, etc.
My situation is very specific since I rescue dogs and have a huge garden but with my 8/9 dogs (four of them around 100 lbs) I feel perfectly secure. I could buy a shotgun someday as a plus but I don't really feel the need for now. I had once a major problem on General Paz at 2am with a guy who had a "tumbera" and wanted to shoot me but I ended up chasing him since I didn't panick & I have the chance to stay utterly calm in such situations & take the right decisions.
