I own guns. Here's why I'm keeping them.

[Kang Colby]

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/i-own-guns-heres-why-im-keeping-them/ar-AAf9HPr?li=BBieRxq

Here is a short essay that I thought many of you will enjoy. I don't agree with it verbatim, but I think he does a good job of providing a real world scenario where firearms are a great equalizer for self defense purposes.

Bobby was also abusive. One night, my girlfriend called me to ask if Diane could stay with us because Bobby had beaten her up (again). Diane said she was finally fed up with the abuse and was going to leave. She was scared for her life and needed a place to stay.

I didn't hesitate to say yes, but I understood that this positioned my girlfriend and me for a potential conflict with a terribly violent man. (Not to mention a man more than capable of hurting us: The first time I met Bobby, he picked me up and fireman-carried me up a full flight of stairs on a lark. Then, as now, I was 6 feet tall and weighed more than 200 pounds. I hadn't been picked up so easily by anyone since I was a child.)

Bobby knew where we lived and, because controlling abusers often limit the number of people allowed in their victims' personal lives, almost certainly knew where Diane sought shelter. I couldn't take him in a fight if I wanted to, and any non-firearm weapon I could use would require close contact and increase my risk of being overpowered, endangering everyone.

[world wide wally]

1. and….?

[snort]

2. and later that night

I called Bobby and told him Diane was here and ready to talk. When he arrived and opened the door, I blew his head off with a shotgun, because that's what guns are good for. Later, we told the Police that we felt our lives were in danger. Problem solved! Thanks guns.

[friendly_iconoclast]

4. <sigh> Didn't read ther rest, did you?

I loaded my gun and kept it out all night. All I could think about was the weight of the responsibility I had to protect Diane and my girlfriend, the possibility that I would need to kill another human being. I couldn't stand Bobby as a person, but the thought of taking his life was not something I relished or wanted to do. Still, I was prepared to do it.

Thankfully, I didn't have to use the gun that night — Bobby never showed up. But that gun was my best — and, frankly, only — weapon against someone who had already proven himself willing and able to hurt me and those I care about.

[ileus]

3. I have a friend that's been waiting on the cops to arrive for 12 years now...

She called 911 after a violent attack by a boyfriend and they promptly sent an officer out. It's an election year, maybe a deputy will show up this year.


She always brings up that whenever gun control talk surfaces...

Remember if you call the cops and lives are on the line you're probably hosed, you're probably going to become the stat controllers live to harp on. Don't let others decide the degree of easy victim you are.