And their chicks have hot accents.

I actually never heard a woman with an Australian accent before. For me, German accent is a turn-on.

Ireland gets my vote. One of the top freest countries (above the US, too) AND number 2 on beer consumption.

You can not beat that.

Also hot accents for their women. Went there a while ago on vacation....good times.

Highest concentration of Gingers.

And as we all know, gingers have no souls.

Ireland loses.

What do they look like with a tan? Can they even get a tan? I demand experiments.

I never suggested banning guns. It wouldn't work, and it'd simply give crime a one-up. I'm saying that our society has devolved to this point where the people are put against eachother.

And other countries with fewer firearms have lower violent crimes. It's a concept of lowest denominator. America has decided that defending your property requires threatening the life of another. That's a disgusting entitlement if you ask me.

Uh no, you see this is a normal animal thing.

Where're your statistics on that, huh?

http://www.aic.gov.au/stats/crime/violence.html
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/05cius/offenses/violent_crime/index.html

I am about to go to a party, but compare those that i found after a few minutes of searching. Hey, maybe even find some better numbers. I'd like to see them.

Defending my property requires threatening the life of another?

How about using force while unlawfully on my property results in you putting your own life in jeopardy? You're playing the "blame the victim" game here...

He's also assuming the burglar is just going to wave his hand and leave if I catch him in the act.

Or that the police will arrive as soon as you dial 911.

Heh.

Or that there are no burglars.

Gross. D:

9 year survey that uses crimes per 100,000 is hardly comparable to a survey of four years that uses the total number.

guns don't kill people, chuck norris kills people

also, those graphs more than likely are using EXTREMELY different methods of calculation, and also, what about unreported crimes?

What about unreported incidents where crimes were prevented by legally owned firearms? You can play this game all day...

you still havent responded to what i said about people manageing to get shots off even after being shot.

Also, where must you live to have an HONEST fear that any day someone could just wander into your house and intend to kill you? And if you do live in an area like that, how is it that you are able to afford the costs related to firearm ownership that include things like time at a gun range so that you actualy have a chance at hitting the person intending to harm you before they get you, and do enough damage so that they cant get back up. Also, remember, in any area where you can get an illegal firearm, the people intending to harm you are just as able to get illegal weapons, and are probably willing to take higher risks to get something more dangerous than you would be willing to take the risk to get (and if you can afford an expensive weapon legaly, you probably could have used some of that money on buying things to secure your actual house, and gone with a cheaper weapon, because junkies wont bother trying to rob a house that is reasonably secure, and someon who is specificaly trying to kill you (in which case, GO TO THE ****ING POLICE AND TELL THEM THAT SOMEONE IS TRYING TO KILL YOU, BECAUSE IF YOU HAVE ENOUGH PROOF TO JUSTIFY A WEAPON FOR THAT REASON, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO AT LEAST CONVINCE THE POLICE TO LOOK INTO WHAT IS GOING ON *sorry for caps*,) probably would be smart enough to wait till you are somewhere that is not your home, because it would be far easier to kill you as you got out of your car, as they could just follow your car, wait till you get out and are not looking, shoot you, and make their getaway.

So i just dont get why people say they have a NEED for guns, i can understand that people would like to go hunting or something, but just because you have a right to do something, doesnt mean you actualy have to do what that right grants you. I mean, freedo of speach gives you the right to say certain things about groups, but i am sure that you know that saying some things that you have the right to say could come back to get you in the future.

Sans paragraph form, didn't read.

I am the "****ING POLICE", and I'm telling you that we're going to get there in time to clean up the mess, but we probably won't get there in time to save your tail.

It doesn't take a lot of money to be fairly proficient with a firearm. With no training whatsoever, you could easily be making shots from 5-10 yards on a consistent basis.

I don't live my life in fear. However, that doesn't stop me from having car insurance, wearing my seatbelt and carrying my gun. I don't always carry, but that's only because it's rather difficult to conceal a Glock 21 on my 155lb frame.

Hollow out one of your legs like robocop.

Jlee, you also assume that the person that breaks into your house makes enough noise to wake you up, because if they are trying to rob a house, they are going to try to be quiet. Also, you dont know who the person is that is in your house, because if they are armed and they hear you approaching, they will take cover, and if they know the direction that you are coming from, you are extremely unlikely to be the one that gets the first shot off.

Again, people that enter houses to rob them rarely come in with the intention to murder the occupents, it is when someone goes to investigate that they will most likely panic and then shoot you.

Also, if you do live somewhere where people break into houses of random people just to kill them, then you must be in very deep denial if you say that you do not live in fear. People that live under oppressive governments that do things like that (or with serious crime problems such as the worst areas of a number of latin american countries) would probably be offended if someone would say that they could live in an area where people are randomly killed in thier own homes by people that they do not know for no reason at all and not live in fear.

Also, being a good shot at a shooting range =/= being a good shot in a dark room at a person that you may not even know the exact location of while trying not to panic. while a member of law enforcement may be able to do something like that, I highly doubt that low income john doe with the cheapest (possibly illegaly purchased, and therefore possibly not as high quality as cheap illegal weapons are quite likely poor quality, old, and possibly connected to major crimes, as i doubt an illegal weapons dealer will care if some random guy on the street buy a weapon used in a recent murder) weapon he could find, and was only able to do a small amount of training would be able to react in the same way as you.

just having the weapon being fired in the room WILL SCARE THE PANTS OFF THEM, if these are the type of people that are resorting to sneaking in at night, they are not brave enough to do it in the day and quite possibly run when endangered! People that have taken the work to legally get one are trained in what as an American I have what I perceive to be a respect for a firearm, 99.99999% of us do because we understand the perceived power and fear criminals have for a weapon, and as a deterrent, GUNS WORK IN THIS COUNTRY

As you are an Australian, I have to ask you: DO YOU RESPECT THAT ABILITY OF THEM TO DETER, OR JUST STRAIGHT UP DISMISS ANY GOOD THEY CAN DO BECAUSE THEY CAN DO HARM?

If they hear a Remington 870 racking a round into the chamber, they'll probably GTFO. If you think it's so easy to enter a house and take out an armed guy inside, while having no idea where he is, why do we even have specially trained SWAT units for high-risk entries?


So you're saying I should just hope that they don't want to hurt anybody, hide in the corner, and wait for them to leave, hoping that I don't get discovered? Maybe I'm a little more aggressive than you, then.


You're hardly even making sense here.


Exactly. Being a good shot in a dark room is not the same as shooting at a range. What then makes you so sure that someone in my house is going to shoot me first, when they have no idea where I am, and I know that there's only one way upstairs?

We were talking about legal gun ownership, and now you're providing examples of John Doe defending his house with an illegal firearm? At least keep a consistent line of thought here...

Btw - a poor quality, cheap old firearm will kill you just as dead as a $800 H&K.

If you're so confident that it's easy to break into the house of an armed American, how would you feel about making entry to my house?

Pray that he doesn't unlawfully enter my home. You sound more merciful than I.

I'd rather be robbed than kill someone. I'm not sure many thieves want to be killers. You've got to travel in the wrong crowd to think someone's particularly out to kill you, and then that's a different problem all together. You're only in danger if it's a serial killer, and chances are, they'll kill you long before you realize they're going to do it.

Protecting your property is buying a security alarm, or putting up a fence. Shooting someone on your property is territorial Americanism, and proves my point entirely.

assuming that someone will run away just because you have a weapon is foolish, because the day you get someone who will get more violent when faced with a weapon, you will be very surprised.

If you get a weapon for self defence, you obviously assume that you will need to use it, otherwise you would be using something simpler and cheaper. Also, people sneak in at night, BECAUSE THERE IS LESS LIGHT, SO THEY ARE LESS LIKELY TO BE SEEN BREAKING IN. Also, if they wait till night, it is far easier to tell if there is anyone inside that is awake that will be able to see them aproach, as anything that is giving off light will be more obvious at night.

If you want to protect yourself from someone invading your home, you need to know how they think. you also should most DEFINATLY NOT underestimate them, as underestimatling someone is likely to get you killed.

And you still havent told me where you live that you are constantly at risk of having someone come into your house and kill you, and why you think that a gun is the only way to stop them, especialy when it is easier to just do something to keep them out of your house.

Also, have you though about what you would have to do if you actualy had to shoot an invader and kill them?

I'd rather shoot someone than be killed. But hey, maybe that's just me...and a few million other Americans.


Why is it, then, when criminals in prisons were interviewed, they were more afraid of getting shot by an armed citizen than by the police?


If you get a car insurance policy, you obviously assume that you're going to crash? I do believe that most burglaries occur during the day when no one is home. Feel free to prove me wrong, though - I haven't done any research on this.


So, deciding to protect myself with the most effective option available - that being a firearm - constitutes underestimation? So, using a simpler, cheaper method - such as a baseball bat - would then be a much wiser, safer choice? I think not.


I live in northern NH - anybody can see my profile. I do not live in fear. I have not said that a gun is the only way to stop someone. I happen to be qualified with ASP collapsible batons, OC / pepper spray, the X26 Taser and my firearm. However, when presented with a threat of serious bodily injury or death, I'll use the most fail-safe of the above options - that being the firearm.


Firstly, I would still be alive. Secondly, per NH RSA 627:4, I am (as is anyone in NH) legally authorized to use deadly force when faced with any unlawful force from someone committing a felony within my dwelling. Legal justification and I live to see another sunrise. Sounds good to me.

Tell me, alpha1 - if you were to burglarize a house of a Massassian, would I be first on your list? Why or why not?

"You're only in danger if it's a serial killer..."

...I think I missed the memo that told me everything about the guy entering my house.

How about the part where I explained that your life is probably very rarely in danger. The only argument you might make is that you could spook a thief and they might shoot you since they already have a gun because they're afraid of being shot.

That's the thing. In other parts of the world, thieves aren't dangerous, just an annoyance. You lock your door, turn on the alarm, and go to bed. If someone just so happens to break into your house, the worse they're going to do is take something.

Our society has most certainly devolved into a kill or be killed animal like jungle. I'm not suggesting taking guns away would fix that, I'm suggesting it's sad, pathetic, and disgusting that we've got ourselves here. We developed working societies and became more powerful than animals for a reason. We stopped killing eachother.

How often are there serial killers about? That's like not swimming because you're afraid of sharks. Again, having a firearm-society simply because of an unfounded fear of being killed in your sleep is a dumb excuse.

For protective reasons, a gun often act as a last resort. A feeling of paranoia isn't required to keep a firearm locked away to catch dust.



For protective purposes, a gun often acts as a last resort. No one installs a watchtower and shots at anything that moves on their yard. I don't recall anyone patrolling their house at night, marching up and down the halls armed.

So if my life is not in danger....I know this how?

See, I don't do well with "probably" and "very rarely". I "probably" won't get shot when I'm working, and "very rarely" will someone give me a hard time. But you know what? I make damned sure that I wear my vest and have a clean, loaded and reliable firearm - regardless of the chances that either will be used.

If you can suggest a better intruder-deterrent than the sound of a Remington 870 getting racked, I'm all ears. I'll be happy to show you what it sounds like, if you're not familiar.

Jlee, just because you are a trained law enforce ment agent, DOES NOT MEAN THAT ANYONE WHO OWNS A FIREARM HAS THOSE SAME SKILLS.

Also, while you may be able to shoot people that invade your home, I remind you that DUE TO THOSE LAWS THAT LET YOU KILL SOMEONE THAT ILLEGALY ENTERS YOUR HOUSE, you are probably in a whole lot more more danger out of the home to someone that wants to kill you. And, the way some people here sound, it seems like some of you are at serious risk of shooting someone by mistake because you are constantly afraid that someone is going to kill you. Well, guess what happens if two people constantly afraid for their lives that concealed carry are near each other, and something causes one to get spooked, you basicly got a shootout.

If the average American is willing to kill over attempted theft, what about the actual criminals?

Since you apparently lack reading comprehension, READ.

Anyone can go to a range and get just as good, or better, as I.

Did you know that VT, NH and ME all have laws that specifically allow the open unconcealed carry of a loaded handgun? Where are all these shootouts?

Because other nations exist without pistols under their pillows, and have fewer violent crime rates. Home invasions are rarely, if ever with intention to harm an individual. How are you not understanding the points I'm making? I'm not even questioning your owning a gun, I'm questioning how safe you think it really makes you. It's just "land owner" mentality. The chances you'll have to use your gun to physically defend yourself from violence is probably slim to none, and yet most would use it simply at the hint of an invasion. This is stupid, paranoia, and a sign of an unhealthy society.