Had a friend in highschool I ran cross country with commit suicide. I remember one race where we decided that we would just cross the finish line together. Then with 50 yards left it sprinted away to beat me. Had a squad mate in the army blow a hole in his leg when he dropped a loaded weapon. My dad shot the end of his finger off in a hunting accident... he had safety off because he was siting a deer and then noticed the end site was loose... though he better just pull it off and put it in his pocket so he wouldn't lose it... trigger caught on keys and finger disappear. Stupid all of them... I suppose... but accidents happen. My personal feeling is with kids in my house... no way I'd have a gun at home. If we didn't have kids maybe my opinion would be different. I think guns can give you a false sense of security. In general I think good people think twice about pulling the trigger and bad people don't.
Okay, so let me clarify, it's not fair because i'm comparing suicide to burglary? It would better if I included people that carry their guns around with them too? Okay feel free to add more to the list. So that's now 4 suicides and an attempt, to 3 burglary stops and 1 situation that could have been avoided, and 2 stopped assault (or murder). edit: 4:6. (FYI I can't exactly ask if anyone has commited suicide themselves with a gun.) and not counting the military suicide, because that is not firearms in homes.
The invisible elephant is the enormous prevention effect guns have on a populace. Here in Beautiful Central Oregon house the handful of break-ins and burglaries usually involve a relative or an acquaintance, someone who knows not only the victim but also the victim's neighbors. Most people here own guns and use them regularly. To just break into a random house around here almost guarantees you'll be staring down the barrel of somebody's gun, if their dog doesn't tear you apart first. It's not what you'd call easy money. Road rage is nearly non-existent here for the same reason.
I've lived in "the ugly big city" I have never seen Road Rage. I would prefer to have a dog over a gun. But if the break-ins are in fact family friends, then the dog would also know the burglar? This reminds me of a joke, do you know why elephants paint their feet red? So they can hide in cherry trees! Never seen an elephant in a cherry tree, well that's because it works so well! All joking aside, perhaps guns are necessary for your safety. I'd assume most of the burglaries are due to meth addiction though. Oregon should address the meth problem and I would hope burglaries will go down.
It's good to hear that there aren't many home invasion break ins in central Oregon. That's not the case in Lane County. Lane County laid off about 50 from Public Safety a year or so ago. Until recently, the county jail had been "matrixing out" guys busted for home invasion within 24 hours. There was not enough budget to keep enough jail beds open for business. It seems like the criminals come here because they know there is little chance of going to jail for long. When the Sheriff was asked about how the public should guard themselves without enough police, he said, 'get a dog.' (Not bad advice, but I expected better from the guy in charge of our safety.) That tells me that I'd better be prepared to take care of myself, whatever the situation. I feel like I am up to it, with my gun. I'm not so confident about going mano a mano with some Billy Badass in my living room in the middle of the night. So, while the odds are that I won't have a bad guy in my house in the middle of the night, it does happen here, at lot. I sleep better with my gun on the nightstand, and a dog sleeping the living room. I've owned and shot all types of guns for over 40 years and have never come close to accidentally shooting anyone. I'm also blessed to never have had any inclination to commit suicide. Go Blazers
I would add that the three burglary stops could have also been rapes, murders, kidnapping, etc. Hadn't thought of that. Good point. lol! Go Blazers
i am sure if you get busted with meth you have to go to some sort of rehab, or at least i'd hope. tho they might need to build some more rehab centers
I really doubt they do just based on the fact that they let so many burglars out after a short time, that they have money for rehab.
Agreed. It's hard to imagine the amount of depression one must feel. I don't have any sort of stories about suicide related to guns, sorry. Ashburn is very dull, but that seems to be a good thing. I have a lot of stories about car crashes though...
