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Originally Posted by crisis
I never said you shouldn’t be able to protect yourself. All I argue is that owning a gun is not a necessarily a crucial or vital element in doing so.
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It was absolutely crucial for me...
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What I am able to do is state that it is impossible for you to know what would have happened despite the likelihood. Your assumption may have more veracity but it is still an assumption.
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The difference here is that you'd be willing to wait and see what four armed men would do to you and your wife. I was not willing to take that same chance where my wife and I were concerned.
I had little doubt how the evening was going to turn out...
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But someone will be dead. Perhaps innocent. Unnecessarily. Does this concern you?
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No, not really. An unnecessary death would certainly be tragic, but I'm also smart enough to know that innocent people will die every day as a result of poor decisions. The best thing I can do is make the best possible decisions that I can, and hope others do the same.
Even the police, on occasion, make mistakes. The difference is in taking responsibility. I was willing to do that. I would be absolutely willing to do it again. I know that, when I do, if I use my weapon, that I will be making the right decision. If someone else makes the wrong decision, that's unfortunate.
But it's his decision he has to take responsibility for, not mine, and vice versa...
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Yes you would. But the next guy? What about him.
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I'm not concerned about him. I'm far more concerned with someone like you preferring that someone like me not be armed than I am of someone making a poor decision and killing an innocent person. While that's tragic, it should never preclude me from being able to protect myself...
I'd say it's a pretty fair bet that Erik's fuckin' somebody up if he was threatened, so I'm not worried about him...
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What about AdrienXII with his warning shots or Wallaroo with his leg shots?
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Frankly, Adrien and Wallaroo would be killed by their assailants.
If an assailant has a knife, it's a fool who concludes he doesn;t have a gun. Expect the worst. While Adrein's busy pointing his gun in the air, an assailant could be putting a second bullet into his chest...
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Four of you here cannot agree on exactly what is a reasonable reaction and I am sure you all think you are right.
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Erik and I are, pretty much, on the same page.
Adrien and Wallaroo, quite honestly, don't have the experience or the knowledge to speak intelligently on the subject. I applaud their efforts, but their arguments are mired in ignorance...
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The fact that some people will overreact and kill uneccessarily is exactly the reason why the public cannot be trusted to walk around armed on public streets. This however has little to do with you being able to protect your family.
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Bullshit. As part of the "public", I disagree...