As reported, a criminal went to the back door of a Georgetown, KY home at 2 AM and knocked. When no one answered the door, the criminal kicked in a window and made his way inside the home. The home owner was waiting for him – with a shotgun. The criminal was held at gunpoint, until the police arrived and arrested him.
When a person’s home is invaded by a criminal, their life is in danger – and complying with the criminals demands is no guarantee that they will refrain from harming the victim. Running away from the criminal often doesn’t work out any better, and is often not a viable option due to the need to protect one’s spouse, children, etc. However gun ownership can often prevent those tragic outcomes, just as it did here.
I don't think that having stringent requirements for either gun ownership or the carrying of a gun would be a good thing. First, I fear governmental abuses that would deny qualified individuals the right to have a gun for self defense. For example, in my home state of Illinois, USA, the state police routinely break the law and don't issue gun ownership licenses in a timely fashion. More information about that problem can be seen here: http://www.learnaboutguns.com/2008/10/29/sign-a-p…
Similarly, just having the police aware that a citizen owns a gun can lead the police to use excessive force against that citizen: http://www.learnaboutguns.com/2009/02/07/a-terrib…
I am not comfortable with the government having too much power to regulate guns or who carries them, as the government tends to abuse power. I trust my fellow citizens more than I trust the government.
Secondly, I don't think that having a gun for self defense and using it responsibly is beyond the abilities of most citizens, even those with very little training. A member of the military or the police force is often called into a situation where they must detain people, investigate crimes, and do a lot of other complex tasks. They must quickly determine who is a "good guy" and who is a "bad guy," often in situations where they know neither party. That is difficult to do without making a mistake, which is why there are so many cases of police shooting the wrong person: http://www.learnaboutguns.com/2009/02/23/an-often…
Citizens who are armed for self defense, on the other hand, have a much less challenging task. Armed citizens have the right to defend themselves, but not to form a posse and try to track down criminals. As such, they are not faced with the difficult situation of deciding who is a criminal that a police officer may be faced with. If a criminal comes up to the citizen and tries to rob or hurt them, then the citizen can and should use their gun to fend off the criminal. The situation is the same if a criminal were to break into the armed citizen's home, as the citizen is easily able to tell that the criminal does not belong in their home. Statistics show that armed citizens are many times less likely to shoot the wrong person than a police officer: http://www.learnaboutguns.com/2009/02/17/fact-pol…
With that said, I am firm believer in gun safety and use training. I think that everyone should take many hours of training to become the safest and most skillful gun owner that they can be. I just don't want the government to require or regulate such training, due to concerns over abuse.
Just ran across an interesting website:
http://armsandthelaw.com/ You might take a look if you haven’t already.
Question: Do you think it would be a good idea to have a requirement when you purchase a gun that you must sign up for proper use instruction classes? Seems to me that would prevent a lot of “mistaken identity” shootings and accidents.
Thank you. Your response makes absolute sense. The role of government must be to protect us without trampling on our rights guaranteed under the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, to allow us to live peaceably and without harassment from them. "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Thanks again for your informative website.
Your website has made me realize how many stories there are every day in print and other media in which the writers seem to have anti-gun agendas. Yes, of course, guns are used in crimes but it seems to me that most everywhere guns are used for protection, there is less crime. I’m coming more and more to the conclusion that when they come for our guns, it’s kiss the Constitution goodbye.