|
Q:
|
Why do we allow guns in our society when they are so obviously dangerous?
|
|
A:
|
Because lawful Citizens have the right to protect themselves from aggressive criminals. If we take
away that right, we give the criminals the advantage and that is far more dangerous than having
armed citizens protect themselves with guns. When properly trained, a gun-carrying Citizen is
no more dangerous than someone driving a car - and we have no problem at all letting all sorts of
people drive cars.
|
| |
|
Q:
|
Why should people be able to have concealed weapons?
|
|
A:
|
Because a police officer is almost never present when a criminal attacks. Most criminals are smart
enough to make sure of that. The only person who can
be expected to stop a criminal attack is the intended victim or someone close by.
|
| |
|
Q:
|
Isn't calling 911 a better solution than trying to fight?
|
|
A:
|
Picture this: You are walking from your car to your front door. Two hooded figures carrying large
knives jump out from the darkness and rush toward you...
It takes a trained person about 1.5 seconds to draw and fire a concealed pistol. It takes how long to dial
911; then how much longer for the police to arrive? When looking down the barrel of a gun, a criminal will most often flee or submit to arrest (in over 90% of incidents!). No other tool has this life-saving
effect.
|
| |
|
Q:
|
Is the gun lobby destroying our chances of having a peaceful, safe society?
|
|
A:
|
Consider that groups like the NRA are actually the primary Gun Safety trainers in our nation. They
provide safety and proficiency education to military, police and regular citizens. They have only become involved
in politics to resist efforts to remove such safety training and sensible Gun Safety policies from our
society.
Is society more or less safe with guns? All the evidence says we are more safe when the lawful
citizens are armed and trained. It is a given that the criminals cannot be disarmed. Britain tried to disarm
its criminals by disarming its lawful citizens. As a result, violence (murder, rape, gun violence) has been increasing
steadily there ever since1. Britain's criminals are increasingly carrying automatic weapons and using them. In contrast, Lawful Americans have purchased handguns in record numbers for the
past 10 years and our violence (murder, rape, gun violence) has been steadily and rapidly decreasing. [Source: ATF, FBI UCR]
When criminals are aware that citizens around them are armed, they are afraid to attack!
And if they attack, they can be stopped!
|
|
Q:
|
Will keeping children away from guns help?
|
|
A:
|
Small children up to about age 8 should be taught to not handle guns.
The Eddie Eagle program has proven its effectiveness
in this. Older children (youths up to about age 12) should
only be allowed to handle firearms with adult supervision in which they are taught safety and respect for
the dangers of a firearm. Teens are at a developmental stage where they are learning adult behaviors and responsibilities and should attend a Gun Safety
class. This is the best way to teach them proper and safe firearm handling. Failure to teach your children about Gun Safety
(keeping them in ignorance) invites disaster when they do encounter a loaded weapon outside of adult supervision. Too many children
do dumb things because they are naturally curious but have not been taught properly. We cannot take the risk of keeping them ignorant about safe firearm handling
any more than we can risk keeping them ignorant of safe automobile operation.
|
| |
|
Q:
|
Is gun registration a good thing?
|
|
A:
|
What is the goal? To stop criminals from misusing guns? Registration does nothing toward this end. All it accomplishes is to
create a very expensive computer database of who legally owns what guns. Criminals are, by law, NOT REQUIRED TO
REGISTER THEIR GUNS because they are protected from self-incrimination. A registration system lets anyone who accesses it
know who has what guns. This may be abused by a corrupt individual with access who sells the information to professional
burglars or by Government to confiscate firearms.
Registration accomplishes absolutely nothing toward reducing criminal aggression or misuse of firearms. This, combined with
the likelihood of abuse for profit, it is likely to do far more harm than good. Canada recently tried to implement a
registration system, thinking it was a good idea. They learned that it did not seem to solve any real-world problems and
that it actually seems to do Canadian law enforcement a great deal of harm2.
|
| |
|
Q:
|
Why do wackos attack schools? If they really want to make a statement, why don't they attack police stations, or National Guard barracks? - Terence Geoghegan
|
|
A:
|
This is not a cut and dry issue, but might it be because they know where the disarmed victims are, and where
they are not? In the mid-nineties schools were declared a "gun free zone".
This announcement was followed by a rash of school shootings including Columbine and Santee. A law that forbids armed
defense of the children only invites attackers.
|
| |
