Submitted by existential1 in AskRaddle

Trying to decide if I should get a strap. Never thought to since I'm usually focused on minding my own business but it seems like that might not be enough anymore.

What ya'll think? And do you have any?

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masque wrote (edited )

I have two arms, which is slightly more than average.

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86944 wrote

I generally think It's a good idea to be armed. I own five guns. Two pistols, a shotgun I inherited, a mosin because 70$ rifle and an AR-15 I made via 80% lower.

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Raxalor wrote

Are you going to actually take the time to learn to use it safely and train to be very competent with it?

If your answer is anything other than "Abso-fuckin-lutely!", then no I would not suggest a firearm.

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AnarcheAmor wrote

I'm debating on getting something non lethal.

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tavra27 wrote

If your intention is to buy a gun to carry concealed or otherwise out in public with the idea that you might need to use it against a stranger in an active shooter situation, don't unless you intend to get very deep into situational awareness active shooter drill training. You have to be very well trained for that to be an effective application of a weapon, and you need to know the laws in your area to protect yourself legally in the event you do discharge a weapon in public.

If your intention is to buy a gun to keep in your home and use for personal protection should a stranger break into your home, you can get away with less training with more focus on accuracy and speed rather than full-on active shooter drills (you will still need a plan and should practice that plan with everyone you live with). But in any situation that you own a gun, you should be able to shoot it accurately, load it, unload it, take it apart to clean it, and put it back together again.

I don't say all this to scare you off of buying one. Just want to drive home how much work being a gun owner should require. Do other people actually do all that shit? Not a ton of them, no. But I've seen firsthand the difference between a trained professional and someone who recently bought a gun out of fear.

A couple of other things to note: know where your local shooting ranges are. You'll need to practice somewhere. If you have the money, invest in a safety class or two with a reputable trainer (anyone using post-apocalyptic imagery/fearmongering in their advertising should be avoided). A gun safety course should go over the mechanisms within a gun, how guns work, and basic trigger safety at minimum.

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existential1 OP wrote

Yeah, it's the 2nd situation. Just keep it in my house near the bed in my room. I live amongst some flag-waiving q-believers. I went to an john brown gun club training a couple years ago. So i'll have to also check which sales stores are worthy of patronage too.

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Hibiscus_Syrup wrote

They are much more trouble than they are worth in my context.

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Raxalor wrote

Are leftists who claim they wont kill nonvoilent burgulers just bullshiting me?

They're probably bullshitting themselves.

You can't know if they're non-violent without communication and any to attempt to communicate with someone that broke into your home (whether it's shouting a warning, loudly pumping a shotgun, etc) is incredibly detrimental to your safety if they are violent, since it alerts them to your presence and general direction.

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Raxalor wrote

You're making a lot of assumptions.

I never said to kill anyone...

Just don't put yourself at greater harm by making yourself a potential target.

If an intruder, whose intentions you don't know, isn't aware that you're there, you may be able to:

  1. quietly leave to safety

  2. set off a loud, disconnected alarm system to scare them, if you have one

  3. secure and barricade a room

That all being said, can you tell me how it's priveledge to prioritize the healthy and safety of myself and my child over a stranger that has broken into our home?

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tavra27 wrote

See, and what's funny about that is a reputable trainer will teach you about the laws in your area, which more often than not prohibit the shooting of someone who is not actively threatening your life. If a burglar breaks in and tries to steal your jewelry, you can't shoot him in the back if he jumps out the window to get away from you (in many states; there are possibly a few that let you shoot anyone who trespasses). Good training should encompass deescalation tactics.

But you're correct, many people who say they want a gun for their protection will either never use it in their John Wayne fantasy, "good guy with a gun" scenario or will use it for the smallest provocation to either intimidate or kill someone. But that's just my experience from my dad's firearms safety business. He teaches a lot of right-wing + wealthy people how to shoot so they can get concealed-carry certified, and the stories he has are phenomenally awful. In the case of non-white and/or non-cis-male people, the validity of the statement "I just want a gun for protection" goes up considerably, in my mind.

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tavra27 wrote

Any shop you go to will probably require a background check, putting you through the federal database as a gun owner. The state you live in might have background check exclusions for private sales, so if you can/are safe to go to a gun show, it would probably be a better option for keeping yourself off the Fed's radar (obviously, pay cash). If that's something you're concerned about.

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AnarcheAmor wrote

I really meant stuff even less lethal than that. Anything that only causes temporary injuries at max but almost all of them are, somehow, military or police exclusive or too costly. I'm looking into flash weapons at the current moment as those are the most harmless below certain lumens and so have the lowest risk of injuring anyone other than who in targeting.

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432Hz wrote

If you live in a country where you can't buy a weapon in a supermarket that's a really strange question.

I am just glad to know not every buffoon can buy a gun. So it is no question to me if i should do it to protect myself.

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