Police say a mother is facing a child endangerment charge after her toddler found a gun in her purse and accidentally fired it in a southern Ohio Walmart store last week
Sad thing is is that there are probably many responsible gun owners, but its the jackasses that get publicized and drawn into the public eye.
Though, that's how it should be. It just takes one reckless owner to ruin several people's lives. That's an incredibly low margin of error, and people should talk about it.
Says someone who apparently has the privelege to not feel unsafe in their own home...
I used to be like you, never thought I'd own a gun, then, when I moved to the big city, I had an apartment across the street from a row of houses.
The houses were all owned by the same person who rented them out and each one had problems. Arguments, fights, drugs, pitbulls running loose, one person in particular we called "the crazy lady across the street."
One day I'm watching a live news broadcast and I'm like "Oh, shit, it's the crazy lady across the street!" Looked out the window, yup, there's the news van.
So, yeah, I feel better having a gun in the house. Because you can TRY calling 9-1-1 here, but really if you need to defend yourself, you're on your own.
I used to live next to a neighbor who tried to kill me twice. I was poor, in a poor neighborhood, with shitty utilities and actively-hostile police. My home has been broken into, there was violence outside of my house, and my neighbor got arrested for meth.
I just don't live in fear, because I'm not a coward.
Acknowledging you live in a dangerous situation and taking steps to improve your chances if something should happen isn't living in fear. Nor is it cowardly.
If you think you'll have a reasonable chance of needing it that isn't fear. It's just being prepared. If you are in a situation where a gun is warranted there really aren't better alternatives.
I think there's a big problem with responsible gun owners defending irresponsible gun owners. Like, there's a knee-jerk reaction when someone says guns are dangerous, even though you're supposed to always act as though they are dangerous.