We live in fear. Violence, robberies and personal attacks seem to be around every corner. “I’ll get a gun, then I’ll be safe”, say many and believe this to be the answer. But is it? Do the risks and dangers of carrying a gun outweigh the benefits.
To answer this question it would be good to look at possible scenarios a victim of crime could be faced with. Let’s look at it from the viewpoint of the criminal. Let’s say that a person wants, for whatever reason, to commit a crime against you. The best chance of a criminal to succeed would be to surprise their victim. So they are suddenly standing there before you with or without a weapon.
The attacker has a weapon
If the attacker has a gun they probably have already pulled it out before you see them. If you go for your gun you will likely come off the worst. If they have any sort of weapon and you go for your gun then the chances are that they will use their weapon on you before you can use yours. They may even be able to plead self-defense in court. Of course, that won’t concern you if you are in the hospital or the morgue.
The attacker does not have a weapon
Firstly you cannot know for sure the person is up to no good until they are almost in your face. If they do not have a weapon and they threaten you and you use your gun you could miss or only wound the attacker. The attacker could then take your gun from you and use it against you. Or they could take it away from you and use some other form of violence against you.
Let’s say you are on a crowded street or in a shopping center and you miss. You could accidentally shoot an innocent bystander. This may be a remote possibility but the consequences of this happening don’t bear thinking about.
Say you do not miss and you succeed in injuring or killing the unarmed attacker. You could then find yourself in court facing a criminal charge or a civil case as the aggressor. The injured attacker could take the stance that they were the innocent party and you would have to prove otherwise. Also, It is not beyond the realms of possibility that you have shot and killed someone that was merely coming to ask you the time or for directions.
Guns can be misplaced or not secured
We all lose things or fail to do what we should, for whatever reason, in our lives. None of us are immune from making mistakes. With a firearm, that mistake could be disastrous. Whether we lose it in the home or outside the outcome can be serious. If a child or anyone finds that firearm they could use it on themselves or someone else. Could we live with ourselves if this happened?
There are many different and varied situations that could lead to disaster. Logically, though, no matter which way we look at it, it is probably not going to go well for us if we have a gun. The police, themselves, have to exercise extreme care when using firearms even though they are well-trained and experienced. Even if we are the target of a crime, the use of a gun is not likely to help. Crime is a major problem but there are much better ways of protection than carrying a gun.