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Originally Posted by PBO
I understand your point. I find it a little doomsday but hey, plenty have optimists have been caught short before!
In Australia you can only use reasonable force even if you're the victim of home invasion or forced entry. This means (in general terms) you can't kill them, shoot them, bash them, detain them etc...you're supposed to shoo them out the door & call the cops!!
I however live in a reality that says; "if you come in uninvited, you're getting whatever I have that will hurt or maim until you leave". Part of this reality also recognises that these events are very rare in Sydney & rarer still where I live. As I suggested before it may be a case of nation-centric mindsets that don't fit specific circumstances
My mother chose to live on Sydney's meanest street for 10 years (it's long story). It was a no-go area during the day...don't even think of it at night!! She had bullet holes in the front of her house & acquired more as more guns were brought into the street. The residents armed themselves against rivals who had guns...things escalated (or degenerated) from there & drive-by's were happening almost weekly...point being, violence & especially armed violence, in my opinion breeds more of the same as the arms race ensues...
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Reasonable force, gotta love the socialist terms that the gov't tools use to make court cases draw out...
Lets just say there are no guns, and a very well trained martial artist breaks into your home. You attempt to defend yourself against him, not knowing that he is well trained. He kills you and your family.
Same scenario with you having a gun, bang, and he is dead.
Lets see them prove in court that he was not capable of attacking and killing you. Maybe he has a black belt, and you are quasi handicapped? Seems like shooting him was a pretty good idea at that point, and certainly not excessive. Or you are a 80yr old frail woman. No one is going to go against her protecting herself with a gun.
People who are physically handicapped, old or of small stature are targets. They are easier to overpower or subdue. No one is going to say a 90lb 5ft tall woman is a match for a 250lb 6'4" cage fighter. No contest. So that is where a gun is a great equalizer. Most 9mm midsize pistols or a 38spl revolver are easy enough for anyone to handle safely and effectively.
And here is another way to look at it. Criminals are not stupid, and they are opportunists. Lets say they know for a fact that you do not have a gun, and your neighbor does. Who are they going to rob? Tough choice, huh. A gun is a great deterant, and when everyone has one, people are much more polite as the stakes are higher. You would not start a fight with an armed man if you were not armed, just not a good idea. If you are both armed, the element of suprise is there, but you still run the risk of getting shot, which is alot worse than a black eye or some bruised ribs.
I will never understand the issues with guns. You would not try to frame a house up with a 10oz hammer, you would use a nailgun, faster, easier and more effective. Same thing, why protect your family and possesions with a stick when you could use a gun? I can only think that people lack the guts to end another persons life. Not like we are running out of people, and the ones who want to start trouble better be ready to reap what they sew. If every criminal though he had a damn good chance of being shot to death he would rethink the situation. These criminals are not going away, no matter how much "hope and change" you wish for. Being armed and ready is just good sense to me.
Crime is more prevalent here in the US, and it is spreading out of the major areas too. I live in the suburbs, and own a business. I have a gun handy in the places I frequent, in my house, my car, and my business. I had to run off a vagrant recently who was drunk and combative. I had a broomstick at the time, and would have been happier to have a gun. He would have got a beating from me, and I was sober so I had some advantage. It all depends where you stand. Get in a situation where you need a weapon and the best weapon is not good enough.