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having a gun in your home increases your chance of dying from guns. i cannot comprehend how people still think its a good idea to keep them.
“To defend against intruders!” they’ll enthusiastically exclaim, thinking it makes them some badass… except it significantly increases the likelihood you will, in your adrenaline-fueled and panicked response, accidentally shoot yourself or another family member (or beloved pet) while mistaking them for an intruder— not to mention all of the other statistically higher chances of half a dozen other gun-related tragedies happening simply because a gun is present in the home.
“But we keep it locked up!” These people will claim. Great, but that only lowers the danger somewhat; it doesn’t eliminate it. Kids are very clever. They can find keys. They have intimate knowledge of you and can guess combinations. They can get access to those locked-up guns if they’re determined, and kids are determined. And a locked-up gun isn’t much use when an intruder breaks into your home and you have mere seconds to fumble around in the dark with a key or combination amidst that adrenaline-fueled panic, half-awake, trying to unlock the lock-box and load the gun while trying not to accidentally shoot yourself or a loved one.
And no matter how much time you spend at the shooting range, shooting at a well-lit, stationary, paper target, that won’t prepare you for shooting at a moving, human target in the dark. When faced with the prospect of shooting a living person, many people will freeze, and in that moment, an intruder who may have had no intention of using their weapon may suddenly decide that they now have no choice and pull the trigger. And they very likely have more experience than you.
A knife or a baseball bat is far more effective in a close-quarters confrontation, not to mention far more survivable should the target be a mistaken one. You’re no badass. Just call 911 and try to keep your family out of danger. You don’t have the years of training that the professionals do. Don’t risk the lives of yourself and your family just because you fear losing control.
I don't generally disagree with your point, but I'm not sure why you're making it here.
Lets not pretend like this was anything but intentional use of a firearm by a family annihilator, and that the problem in this case is gendered violence, not gun safety.
They're just expanding on the comment they replied to.
If you can’t see the connection between the dangers of having a gun in the home and what happened here, it’s because you don’t want to.
And the professionals might also mistake you for the intruder. Or they might shoot you by accident or because you were "mentally ill", "uncooperative", or "black". Or they might shoot you for fun. So, you know, choose your risk carefully.
Statistically speaking, the odds of that are far far lower than what might happen when you have a gun in the home.  The cops are certainly more likely to mistake you for intruder if you’re holding a gun. 
Yes, choose your risk carefully. But don’t base it on bravado and fear. 
Well written. It's just cosplay.
Proclaiming that people who keep a weapon for self defense all think "it makes them some badass" is insulting language that will keep some people from being interested in what are some otherwise good points.
I'm a dude that agrees with the sentiment that a baseball bat coupled with bear spray is much better than a gun. The bear spray can be used at a distance of up to 50ft and while it will effectively immobilize someone, it won't do permanent harm if you mistakenly target someone you care about. Baseball bat or knife is definitely a good option, but I can understand a smaller person's concern that both have a need to be very close to a person to be effective and there's a fear of being disarmed. A gun may let them defend themselves from a distance, and any shot, even a bad one or in the air from a distance is a great warning and potential deterence.
An assailant with a weapon themselves may feel provoked to use it if you come after them with a knife or baseball bat too, so it's not unreasonable to opt for a gun in that circumstance too.
A gun itself does bring risk, and like I said I recommend bear spray as that stuff is way more effective than pepper spray, works at a distance and isn't going to kill anyone by mistake. I still however understand why somebody might have more peace of mind knowing they have a gun handy vs just a baseball bat or knife. They'll likely never need either or have an accident, but I won't discount they might feel more secure with a means to defend themselves from a distance.
Ammosexuals lack both
Methinks the “badass” doth protest too much
One of the biggest studies to date tracked nearly 600,000 Californians and found that your odds of being killed by firearm are 8 in 100,000 and increase to 12 in 100,000 if you keep a gun in your house (source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/apr/07/guns-handguns-safety-homicide-killing-study). That means that keeping a gun in your house increases your chances for dying to gunshot by 4 in 100,000 chances.
The average Californian dies from automobile accidents at a rate of 9.1 in 100,000. That's more than double the death rate that keeping a gun in your house contributes. (Source: https://www.eastonlawoffices.com/blog/odds-of-dying-in-a-car-crash-in-california/#:~:text=According%20to%20available%20data%20from,about%209.1%20per%20100%2C000%20people. )
So you can't understand why people still keep guns? It's because they don't perceive it as a significant threat. And statistically, it isn't. At least not as big a threat as many other common behaviors that are accepted as normal.
The takeaway is that if you are paranoid about dying from statistically small things, then ceasing doing a lot of other activities (like driving) is going to be statistically more impactful than not having a gun in your house.
You're saying there's a small danger to keeping a gun in your house, what's the benefit? Shouldn't we also look at how many people don't get murdered because they have a gun in their house?
It is the same benefit as carrying insurance (auto insurance, home insurance, medical insurance, etc). Most people pay into insurance and never use it, and you hope you never have to use it, so you might ask them why they need it and why they keep paying into it. The answer is that you have insurance because if you need it, and you don't have it, it's already too late to get it, and your life can be ruined.
Shouldn't we also look at how many people don't get murdered because they have a gun in their house
There was enough info published in my original citation to derive that.
I left guns in the military, never owned one after I got out. Fuck this shit. I have kids and I don't want to risk shit.
this post was submitted on 27 Aug 2023
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