Armed Citizen stops mass Mall shooting.....

Only good people with guns will stop bad people with guns.

 

Very good sources that do add credence to your statement. However, when we remove from the data (studies) those deaths that occur because of suicides, spousal abuse, family arguments that escalate into violence, drug deal encounters, and accidents by children and mishandling of firearms, the data becomes much more difficult to draw conclusions from.

If we begin with stable households with gun owners who are properly trained in the use of their firearms and only look at invasions of homes by would-be robbers, rapists and other ill-meaning individuals, the data would be more balanced. ( I live in such a home). So, even if the instances of deaths from firearms is higher in those areas where people own more guns, I believe having a gun on ones person or at home (ready for use and not locked up) does make a person more likely to survive a deadly encounter.

The NRA magazines all have a monthly column called, I believe "The Armed Citizen" that quote actual news reports about legal gun owners who saved themselves from likely death or great harm by using or displaying their guns. There are 6 or 7 each month. So, if a burglar or other scum bag enters my home intending to do me or my family harm, I'm gonna be glad I can make it tuff for him.

All that said, I can't argue with your statistical data. Thanks for posting it.

 

the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in a 2013 report concluded that studies routinely find that Americans use firearms in defense of themselves or others between 500,000 and 3 million times every year.

 

To bolster the news bias angle, look at the NY Times front page I posted. A legally armed good samaritan stops a mass shooting in progress (one that likely would have had numerous victims, and breathless tearjerking, rage inciting news coverage, if he hadn’t acted) and it’s barely mentioned.
There’s no telling how many actual ‘events’ occurred that didn’t get reported outside the local paper, combined with the uncountable times an armed citizen wasn’t a crime victim because the criminal was scared away. The NRA seems to be the only place these stories are shared, and because they’re ‘a terrorist organization’ the mainstream media refuses to acknowledge anything they’ve touched.
I’d say some victims don’t even know they prevented an assault, but did, because the would-be assailant realized the would-be victim was armed.
Patrick

 

You have to dig deep, and parse the facts from the opinions. The SA story is an opinion piece.. and academic studies are funded by those sympathetic to gun control lobby, so imagine that, they find the "evidence" to back up their backers political position.

There are a million way to skew a study like that. Take those numbers from an impoverished, drug ridden neighborhood and you going to come up with a whole different set of "facts" than if you take that same study out in the more affluent suburbs. While it's no doubt that gun violence happens everywhere, it is many times more common on the streets of Compton, or South Chicago, than it is in most of the country. Many, many rural jurisdictions have not had a murder in decades. And yet nearly all homes in these jurisdictions have guns in them.

The simple fact of the matter is that the vast majority of the households in this country have firearms in them, and no one is getting shot. This has been true for nearly 300 years.

I grew up in a house with many guns.. but I was taught from a very young age that they are not toys, and they demanded great respect. My dad did not have to lock up his guns, he had children who obeyed their parents.. wow, what a concept.. that whole personal responsibility deal that some folks just can't come to grips with.

We were also taught how to shoot them, and went thru full gun safety courses, so there was no mystery to them.

The fact remains that the gun control lobby wants to blame the gun for shootings.

That's silly, the problem is with the people. From Mental illness to just simple lack of respect for authority, because of horrible failed, or absent parents.

This is a societal problem that has to be solved in the home first. Removing guns from people because of mass shootings, is like removing automobiles from people because of road accidents. There is fundamentally no difference.

I am not a gun "nut".. I own 1 firearm, my 12 ga 870 Wingmaster that I got from my 18th Birthday to go duck hunting with my Dad. My girlfriend is a retired sherriff's deputy, so she has her Glock 40 in the house here... so we have guns, be are not militant about it. My Father left behind dozens of guns, but I have no particular interest in them, my mom just stores them in a safe location so they don't get stolen, and then get used by CRIMINALS to commit gun violence. We are all responsible gun owners, nothing more.

I just respond to things like this, because I get tired of having my intelligence insulted.

JW

 

Fortunately, in this country we still have a "Right" to keep and Bear Arms. I feel that if you so chose to defend your family and property, that should be your right. We do have a "Castle Law" in my home state which guarantees that right.

Do I believe every household should be armed and prepared? No, obviously there are some who are not responsible. Fortunately, when I obtained my CCL, we underwent very rigorous training and testing, However now anyone who can legal obtain a firearm in our state, can legally open carry.

I must admit, sometimes I am a bit uncomfortable when I see that guy that looks like he is a Charlie Manson follower walks into a convenience store with a Colt Python strapped on his side. However, people do mind their own business and don't seem to step out of line.

I have had a CCL for over 20 years, and have never had to pull my firearm one time. I do practice regularly and keep up with the local and federal carry laws.

There is a great deal of comfort knowing I have the opportunity to protect my home, my family and my friends should the need arise.

 

One thing that has always bothered me is you have to jump through hoops to get a CCL. After you have it there is no updates or testing to keep it. I personally know a few that carry and have not run a round through any gun in YEARS! I have always felt that if you carry you should have to renew the license every year with a test that proves you are competent with the gun you carry.

 

Again, things like that do not get a lot of publicity; neither do the multitude of 1-death, 2-death, 3-death, etc. shootings that happen every day. July 4th shooting in a nice suburb of Chicago got a lot of press because it was somewhat unusual; there were numerous other multiple-death shooting the same day that were barely noticed nationally, and probably some instances of bad guys getting shot that went barely noticed too.

Yes the NRA covers good guys fighting back; they aren't quite so enthusiastic about reporting on good guys or average people getting shot dead.

 

Great to hear an armed citizen was able to take the shooter out, a true hero.
But he did take on a huge responsibility in doing so. Too much could go wrong in a crowd situation, it's not something most citizens should attempt. Awareness of the situation and accuracy are critical to prevent injury to bystanders.... and legal consequences. It's fortunate our 'armed citizen' was successful, I'd like to hear his story, his background, and what his thought were at the time.
There was a shooting in a Texas church about 2 years ago. A shotgun wielding shooter got taken down by a single shot to the head by one of the churchgoers.... a 50 ft shot. He was a shooting range instructor. Another churchgoer was armed and attempted to take the shooter out and was unsuccessful, and died for it.
My point is, it takes practice and training to be able to handle a situation like this. Ya gotta do what is right, but only attempt if you can do so without harm to bystanders. Tough call, I'd hate to be in this situation.
Here in Pa, it only take $25 and no training to get a carry permit. Pa has one of the highest carry permit rates in the US at over 10%. There are a lot of guns out there, better know how to use it. It's a BIG responsibility.

 

I think this true for having a driver's license. Need to be fully retested at some point or at intervals (every 15 years maybe?). Full exam including written test (laws change and people aren't always aware), eye exam (many folks don't have eyes checked as they age and can't see well), and driving on the road (it's obvious that there are people on the road that no longer know how to handle their vehicle).

okay, now back to the topic at hand. I predict the thread will be locked within 24 hours. prove me wrong.

 

Having a piece of pizza in front of me also doubles or triples the chance that I will eat a slice of pizza than someone who has no slice of pizza in front of them. Long story short, the people in the mall all breathed a sigh of relief when this good Samaritan put holes into the shooter. Those are odds I would gladly accept any day of the week.

 

At least Florida leads the way, oddly, with Red Flag laws to keep guns out of the hands of people deemed dangerous.

Crazy fact: Arizona driver licenses are valid for 50 years. You get to working on a third license, you are doing quite well for yourself.

 

Here comes the cray-cray.

 

Do you take a drivers test every year? I believe some should.

 

However, when we remove from the data (studies) those deaths that occur because of suicides, spousal abuse, family arguments that escalate into violence, drug deal encounters, and accidents by children and mishandling of firearms, the data becomes much more difficult to draw conclusions from.
Dude, come on, you can't cherry pick and remove most of the gun deaths in order to prove there are fewer gun deaths.

If we begin with stable households with gun owners who are properly trained in the use of their firearms and only look at invasions of homes by would-be robbers, rapists and other ill-meaning individuals, the data would be more balanced.
So you are in favor of psychological exams to confirm stability and safety?
Again, you can't just "only" look at home invasions to equate things.

Aren't suicides by gun the highest form of gun death? If they didn't have a gun, do you think they would cut their wrists, or hang themselves? Nope, but a gun makes a bad decision really fast and makes it irreversible.

I grew up shooting with my brothers and have no real problem with guns, however it seems the gun advocates are getting a little crazy.
How many million of guns does this country really need?

 

You all know guns just go off by themselves, ask Alec Baldwin....

 

I'm not sure that I understand the above. Are you suggesting that mass shootings are for the purpose of having guns banned? If so, I would like to see your source for that information.

 

I would like to see a statistic for how many households that have guns that have NO household deaths. While we are at it, I'd also like to see a statistic on how many potential lives have been saved by having a carrier present during a mass shooting.

 

Again, lack of coverage of this dovetails with lack of coverage of all kinds of shooting all over the place. All these shootings, weekly, daily, hourly -- we are just used to it -- pretty sick, eh?