Gun laws..
Out of context: Reply #194
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- orrinward20
One of the things I found very unnerving when staying with my girlfriend in New jersey, where I believe there is control over firearms, was that you'd find guns in such random places.
I was over at a family friend of hers and we were sitting down to eat dinner. I went to the cutlery drawer to get myself a knife and fork and in the drawer was a big shiny handgun. As the drinks flowed I had the liquid courage to ask the question "Why do you have a gun in your drawer?". Their answer was simple and delivered with a very stern tone - "In case I need to have to shoot somebody". I asked if they thought about that eventuality and they said they thought about it all the time, if a door bangs loudly at night or if someone approaches them at an ATM.
I find this on constant alert worst-case-scenario paranoia incredibly scary. As far as I'm aware this person, and others I've met that casually own and use guns, have never faced a gun.
I've had a gun pulled on me once in a dodgy mob-run London club and I was scared shitless, but I've never wanted to carry a gun 'just in case'. I've also faced knives a few times - I don't want to carry a knife in self-defence.
The 'knives and cars kill people too' argument - I really hope you don't hold this view and you're just trolling. Knives are used in food preparation and eating. Cars are used for getting to places. Guns are there to kill things. There are guns that serve other purposes but handguns that are so prevalent in the USA are not designed for animal hunting at all. Hunting rifles are made for long range, steady use. Handguns are designed to be concealable and are less accurate over distance. They're for person-to-person over relatively short distance. They are made to kill people.
I think there must be something incredibly wrong with a place if it's people are stashing guns in kitchen drawers 'in case they need to kill someone'. The guy I spoke to about his kitchen drawer gun (which had the safety off, just sitting there - not sure if it was loaded) further justified his ownership by saying it was to protect his children.
Quite how putting a death-instrument within reach of a kid helps save their lives I don't know...
Hypocritical side to me - I own two .22 Air Rifles that are at my parents house as I used to do sport shooting on a target range. I also had to do 4 years part time cadets in school where I regularly used Cadet GPs (Single fire versions of the SA80).